Yes, and at the end you need to press to perform the grab.
I believe the "gauge" is called the Soul Meter.. and the "combo" you might be thinking of is the which is a "Brave Edge" grab.
Is that the one called Soul Surfer? If so I believe it is a different move. The move link does at 8min into the video it looks like it uses Brave edge but I am not sure what move that it. I also did not know you could use Brave edge or the soul meter, with her move where she flings you up in the air and if you keep pressing B you can keep whipping the person.