VF5FS Sarah Move Analysis

Top-10 Moves(top)

1. (Rising Elbow): Though a basic tool universal to all characters, Sarah's is probably the best in the game. is a special mid attack that's dangerous on any hit, but especially on a counter hit. This allows Sarah to occasionally throw after the first part on guard, even though it leaves her at a disadvantage. One of the reasons why Sarah is so offense-oriented is because of this type of conditioning. The downside is that if she guesses incorrectly, guarantees a powerful launcher on guard (-18).
2. (High Kick Straight): As a 14 frame half-circular launcher on counter hit, this move is ideal for stopping opponents from evading to her front. Also keep in mind that the first part does 21 points of damage, which may overpower certain attacks in a string (e.g., Brad's or Slipping ). Lastly, while hits high, high, the risk of using it is partly mitigated by the fact that it is extremely difficult for Sarah to be whiff punished when crouched.
3. (2nd Strike, Guard or Hit) (Serpent Frenzy): This is Sarah's best tool to catch opponents evading to her back. As with , it's not easy to punish her when this is crouched. Sarah can end this string with a mid launcher () or a full circular high attack (). The threat of these attacks allows her to condition her opponents in the same manner as .
4. (Back Turn Knuckle): At 10 frames of execution, this is the fastest attack in the game. However, you'll need to practice buffering it in order for it to execute at this speed. This is a useful tool for interrupting an opponent's attacks at a small disadvantage. Sarah is back turned after this attack, and she has above average attacks from this position.
5. (Long Snap Side Chop): When Sarah has a large advantage (+6 and above), she can use this attack to launch them if they try attacking. is the main means by which to create this situation. If you notice the yellow flash, try using this move or a throw! Another useful property of this move is that it is slightly evasive against high attacks towards the beginning of its animation.
6. (Low Spin Kick): The best time to use Sarah's sweep is when you think the opponent will evade or attack high. It is possible to combo an opponent if he doesn't recover after he gets hit (an advantage not afforded by most character's sweeps), so use these occasionally so Sarah can set up her attacks on recovery.
7. (Switch Kick): Sarah's offense becomes stronger if she can safely enter into her Flamingo Stance, so try to learn the best situations to use this move. On guard, Sarah can stop nearly any attack with Flamingo Stance (including ), so consider using that as the base of your pressure once she's in that stance.
8. Flamingo Stance (Cut-in Middle): With enough advantage, this is Sarah's best mid launcher from Flamingo Stance. It launches any opponent on normal hit and is safe, so try finding as many situations as you can to use this move.
9. Flamingo Stance (hit) (Hand Hold Neck Cut): If opponents become weary of Flamingo Stance , Sarah can use this move for a fair amount of damage. If this hits a back turned opponent or an opponent against a wall, then her light down attack is guaranteed. Since it's also safe, consider it as a main option.
10. (Quick Knee and Toe Kick): Further enhancing Sarah's offensive options is this mid, mid string. The first part of the string is a 15 frame knee attack, which is perfect for pressuring opponents with good attacks against punches and elbows (e.g., sabaki attacks). It also has a nice, low hit box to twart her opponent's spacing efforts at close range. The second part is a kick that will often interrupt an opponents attack used after the first part is evaded. Sarah may also use a throw instead of the kick when her opponents are afraid of interrupting. By now, you may have noticed that this kind of tactic is characteristic of her style.

Attacks(top)

P(top)

K(top)

P+K(top)

K+G(top)

P+K+G(top)

Stances(top)

Throws(top)