I’d definitely watch an actual guide. After you learn the basics of the character, you’ll be able to better follow good players. But be aware that the game is being rebalanced in 2 days, so some of the info will likely no longer be accurate and you’ll need to follow up on that to see what has changed.
Ok first you have to realize SFV is not any of the other games so if you try to play SFIV or 3S it simply does not work. In SFV Ryu’s crouching MKxxFireball isn’t as good as past games. With Ryu standing Medium punch us his most Important button for offense. If it hit you can go into combo of choice, if it misses you can do a block string that end in fireball very far away since a blocked fireball up close is unsafe. You HAVE to know your frame data in this game since much of the middle game revolves around all the +2/-2 moves in the game.