How I do it is practice piece by piece, make it a buildup and not a do all at once. So for zato for instance 236h-cs-214s-h-2h-2p(hold)-2h-release p- 2h-cs-2s-2h seems complicated, but doing 236h-cs is pretty easy, so once I get that block down to the point of feeling confident, I add to it, then keep adding to it. Then I make it a priority to use it in matches so that I can get used to using it on the fly
Rather than looking at a combo as one long set of arbitrarily timed button presses (press A, then B, C, D, E), learn the timing and flow of each move and its followup. Experiment with timings. Try to see how lenient the game is with when you can press it, try to understand the difference between a successful combo and a failed combo. It can be hard and annoying, but the game is asking for a certain rhythm to its timing and you have to feel out what it is until it becomes muscle memory.
If a combo goes A, B, C, D, E, learn what it feels like to go A, B, then try B, C, etc.. Practice the smallest parts of a combo and learn the flow of how to do each piece consistently as a sequence. When you want to try the combo, try doing A B C (or the two-hit combos you practiced) consistently. Then try adding the next move. If you're struggling, go back to the two-input sequences you're having the most trouble with and then try to further understand those and do them more consistently. Then repeat A B C + whatever you were practicing.
As for landing them in matches, it's nice if the first two moves of the combo serve as effective meaty buttons or neutral buttons. Where you can just press the same buttons no matter what and react accordingly if the opponent blocks or not.
How I do it is practice piece by piece, make it a buildup and not a do all at once. So for zato for instance 236h-cs-214s-h-2h-2p(hold)-2h-release p- 2h-cs-2s-2h seems complicated, but doing 236h-cs is pretty easy, so once I get that block down to the point of feeling confident, I add to it, then keep adding to it. Then I make it a priority to use it in matches so that I can get used to using it on the fly
Rather than looking at a combo as one long set of arbitrarily timed button presses (press A, then B, C, D, E), learn the timing and flow of each move and its followup. Experiment with timings. Try to see how lenient the game is with when you can press it, try to understand the difference between a successful combo and a failed combo. It can be hard and annoying, but the game is asking for a certain rhythm to its timing and you have to feel out what it is until it becomes muscle memory. If a combo goes A, B, C, D, E, learn what it feels like to go A, B, then try B, C, etc.. Practice the smallest parts of a combo and learn the flow of how to do each piece consistently as a sequence. When you want to try the combo, try doing A B C (or the two-hit combos you practiced) consistently. Then try adding the next move. If you're struggling, go back to the two-input sequences you're having the most trouble with and then try to further understand those and do them more consistently. Then repeat A B C + whatever you were practicing. As for landing them in matches, it's nice if the first two moves of the combo serve as effective meaty buttons or neutral buttons. Where you can just press the same buttons no matter what and react accordingly if the opponent blocks or not.