Noob - Problems with Jacky and Sarah online

All,

I am a noob - I am currently a 1st dan online. I can beat some 7th dan players and sometimes even higher ranked. But it seems some of the Jacky and Sarah players give me a lot of trouble. I go in the dojo and it has helped. Any quick tips - so I do not have to agonize over this so much?

Also what characters/fighters do you have most trouble with and why?

 

When I play Jacky and Sarah players, I just know they are going to go full force on me. I let them, cause I sidestep and punish them. Never get into a speed contest with them cause you'll see and "Excellent" not the kind you like to see, make them fight your pace. Catch the mistakes they make and put them in throw situations. Gotta have the patience of Job with Goh.

 

I think Goh's kick sabaki is pretty useful against both of those characters. If they back up into mid range throw out some /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/b.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/f.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/k.gif as they may just try to close the distance with a side kick or mid kick. Jacky has a very long range side kick that will get eaten up by Goh's kick sabaki so give it a shot (make sure you know what to do once you crumple him though or it's a waste.)

Goh has some brutal combos and throws and he is good in close so you need to dictate the spacing of the match well or you will be in trouble. Sarah and Jacky have good, fast mid and long range options and if they keep you there and you can't get in closer they will control the match much more easily.

Goh is a fairly advanced character and you have to play smart to win. A lot of players will use Jacky's mids heavily too so you elbow/mid punch sabaki will work well in that situation. I can't stress enough that when you do sabaki a mid punch or get a crumple on a kick sabaki, you need to take advantage of it. If you set up a back-turned situation off the mid punch sabaki you can put them away with a couple good guesses. If your dropping combos and not getting your damage, Goh is going to be hard to win with.

Crowd them when you knock them down to stay in close, don't back off farther than you would when you are trying to bait a whiffed rising kick. Goh is better up close and a lot of Jackys aren't comfortable in close range so use that to your advantage. Take them out of their comfort zone and into Goh's.

Grow strong my son!!!

 

Thanks. Staying in close has helped a lot!

 

I LOVE it when people crowd me. It may just be something I excel at, but when someone crowds me I can get up quickly and most the time win that mind game.

...oops saw where this was posted /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif ...

When I play a Goh who is aggressive I tend to do better. Maybe its the lack of good ones out there. The ones that trouble me work well from more of a distance. They back off and play with a more defensive style. Usually moving in just at the right time to punish me with a nice mix up of throws and ground throws. I cant speak of specific moves because I don't know Goh that well. Someone mentioned the mid sabaki that he can pull off, that gives me trouble for sure.