Distinguish a spaced knee from a prepared knee setup
Sagat’s Tiger Shots encourage movement, but his long normals and knee setups determine what happens when you approach. The Japanese counter notes start near the edge of standing medium kick. Use that spacing as something to measure, then separate neutral Tiger Knee Crush from one timed after a target-combo knockdown.
What to watch for
Standing medium kick at its limit
The counter material recommends working outside this reach and watching for a normal to miss. Commit to a whiff punish after the miss, rather than swinging whenever Sagat moves.
Target combo into heavy Knee
Both medium-kick and heavy-punch target-combo endings appear in the current setplay guide before a timed heavy Knee. The contact is deliberately arranged; a neutral-Knee test does not describe every one of these setups.
How to deal with common situations
The knee is blocked and you get hit pressing
Check strength, spacing, and whether a knockdown prepared the contact. The source continues the timed heavy Knee with medium punch, throw, or shimmy. Do not turn its landing animation into an automatic jab cue.
Light Uppercut leads into Drive Rush
The listed choices include forward medium punch, crouching medium kick, standing medium punch, and throw. Start by recognizing that you are defending a new mix-up rather than treating the uppercut ender as a reset to full-screen fireballs.
Distance-specific responses
At shot distance
Separate High Tiger Shot and Low Tiger Shot in approach practice. Choose the actual projectile from the replay instead of rehearsing only the version easiest for your character to avoid.
Just beyond medium kick
Mark the point where the normal misses and test your reaching response. Move closer only with a reason; drifting into the kick defeats the spacing plan before the punish begins.
After a prepared knee
Watch the following medium punch or walk toward throw range. The shimmy branch means immediate throw-tech is also a commitment, even when you correctly respected the knee.
Common mistakes
- Applying a raw-Knee block response to a timed target-combo setup.
- Using Drive Impact on a predictable rhythm against every shot or knee.
- Attempting a whiff punish before the medium kick has actually missed.
Training mode practice steps
Use your own character as the defender. Turn on the frame meter and input history so you can distinguish a real answer from a mistimed recording.
Establish the medium-kick boundary
Record standing medium kick followed by guard and a second slot that waits. Find the outer edge, then test a reaching whiff punish. Randomize so success requires recognizing the kick rather than counting time.
Recreate the timed knee
Use one target-combo ender from the guide into heavy Tiger Knee Crush. Add medium punch and walking throw in separate recordings. Compare the frame meter with a raw Knee from neutral before choosing a response.
Uses Sagat’s Japanese standing-medium-kick spacing note, target-combo knee setups, and light-Uppercut Rush options. Guard-height and timing-sensitive knee claims are left to the exact frame entry and recorded contact. For current numerical values, use the linked Frame Data page and confirm important situations in Training Mode.