vs Sakura

Statistics:
Stamina: 950
Stun: 1,000
Fighting Style: Self-learned Ansatsuken Karate
Fighter Type: Brawler

vs Sakura: 5.5 - 4.5
Pros: Below-average stamina, low damage
Cons: Good resets, fast speed, solid normals

Move List:
fwd.MK – Overhead attack, comes out fast but damage is low.
cr.HP – Solid AA uppercut move, also her BnB combo starter up close.

Shunpukyaku (SPK) – Armor breaks, safe on block. EX juggles.
Hadoken (HAK) – Chargeable projectile. LP version goes full screen.
Shou’ ou ken (SOK) – AA move. Has ok invul frames and can be FADC-ed.
Sakura Otoshi (SO) – Finisher for juggle or to counter projectiles.

Karu Ichiban (S) - Rush Super, rarely seen as she has strong EX moves.
Haru Ranman (U1) – Rush Ultra, punish or juggle ender.
Shinkuu Hadoken (U2) – Projectile ultra, aims low or high. Juggle ender.

Preferred Ultra: Soulless/Breathless
No real advantages between using either one. Breathless can be used in this match-up to punish a whiffed SOK or ultra or something. Soulless in this match-up is good as well cause she doesn't have that much stamina so landing the FADC combo into Soulless does good damage.

Character Videos:
Uryo (SAK) vs. Nijio (ABE)
pikagoma (ABE) vs matsurigotoJR (SAK)

Strategy:
Sakura seems to play the footsies game easier than Abel does. She has solid pokes (st.HK, cr.HK) and good jump-in normals. Still, she doesn't dominate that area and you have more stamina so work your way in with st.LK, fwd.MK etc. Jump ins don't work well as her cr.hp is a good AA tool. Land a few solid combos in and this match is yours to win.

On offense, her main goal is to try her best to get you into a combo leading into an EX SPK juggle. This leads to her landing an ultra or even worse her excellent reset game. Blocking resets can be a difficult task (see notes on resets below) and can even spell the loss of a round for Abel. Tick throws are also a main part of her game cause of her fast walk speed so watch out for that from time to time.

Flipside:
- Rekka is punishable after first hit and if he tries to roll past you, you can either sweep or throw. Either way you get knockdown and the potential to turn the tides.
- His U2 can be broken in many ways. Reversal Ultra, all shunpuus, all shouoken's, ex hadoken.
- You can escape by using air kara tatsu. ex air kara tatsu goes full screen.
- Try to keep this guy cornered and keep pressuring him or he will pressure you.
- You can lp shou his wheel kicks on reaction. Both Ultras will also punish any wheel kicks on reaction. If you want to fight him air to air then use j. lp alot.
- U2 is recommended for this match but I still use U1 vs Abel.

Notes:
- Sakura's resets are very ambiguous and hard to defend against. Typically she will reset you with a st.LP or st.LK, then dash behind you. If she delays this, she'll end up in front of you instead. She can also throw you, overhead or cr.LK into the same combo and additional resets. Learn to react to which ever reset she's trying to attempt
- U2 is a good ultra to use here vs. wake-up cross-ups and to punish whiffed SOK. Air SPK changes her direction in the air but not by very much (?)
- SPK is safe on block, jumping away is a safe bet on block.
- You can FS Sakura’s jp.HK but it will normally trade.
- Sakura’s cr.HP can be used to counter cross-ups but the timing is a bit strict and she can mess up.
- If Abel does U2 early in Sakura’s jump, she can alter the timing or duration by using Air SPK. However, if she’s coming down in her jump arc then SPK can’t be used to delay the timing.