Yeah. Do this.
:d: :df: :f: :hk: (HK rufian) :mp:+:mk: :f: :f: (immediately for the Dash cancel) Hold :f: for a step or two, while still holding forward, press :hk: for the Crack kick, then :d: :db: 
:2p: immediately on landing for the EX CU
If you donāt have the meter to do ex cu, use lvl 3 zonk. So itās qcf+hk, fadc, zonk (level 3)
I think doing zonk after hk ruffian is rather not beginner friendly. for no meter best follow up would be mk ruffian. pretty easy to do for 4th best damage (after u1, lvl 3 zonk, lvl 2 zonk).
How close should I be standing when trying the HK Ruffian? Iām using Ryu as a dummy.
Also, is it better to try this out of the corner? Iāve been doing it in the corner, or trying it at least, and struggling. Though I worry that out of the corner Ryu will just go flying out of my grasp?
One more thing, will this combo still work if theyāre jumping at me and I start with the HK Ruffian?
Okay, I landed it outside of the corner. Well, without the EX CU. It seems like the timing is strict to get that extra Criminal Upper in there, but Iām practicing!
it doesnāt really matter where you hit with hk ruffian. in the corner you can actually hit the dummy so that you can followup with mk ruffian, hk ruffian, f.mp or ex cu without even FADC. BUT in the corner itās hard to hit f.hk after a FADC. so try it midscreen - tho, the rest remains the same.
and every combo works even when you hit them while jumping. again, if properly spaced you can followup even without a FADC. however, one down side to this is that you might be not able to land u1 due do itās crappy range. also you have to delay some attacks slightly.
Do you guys map focus attack to a single button, like L1 or L2? Iām using the SFIV Tournament stick and I rarely ever use L1 & L2, I just press all three punchs or kicks. Iām having trouble FADCing with MP+MK and found it much easier to do with L1 or L2. Do you think this will present any sort of conflict in the future?
Also, Iām guessing most people prefer U1 because of itās combo potential? Iāve mainly used U2 in the past because I found it easier (plus some people didnāt know to block after the sand lol). Does U2 not have any combo potential at all or can it be useful?
Thanks for all your help, guys. Iāll have a lot of questions on my quest to get better at this game and with Cody.
donāt get to the habit of using such functionality. it even forbidded in some tournaments. also you canāt play on a 6 button button config then, which is pretty common. so yeah, youāll prolly be troubled. pressing mk + mp together isnāt that hard tbh. just use ur thumb + index finger.
no, the opposite. most ppl use u2 because its viability. it has a 7 frame start up which can punish most moves, even those who drives them back. also you can counter fireballs on reaction. another purpose is its chip potencial. you can also combo it after lp cu, mp cu, f.hk, ex zonk everywhere on the screen. (only dust part, but great to finish a round). and counter hit c.hp xx ex rocks, u2 is a really rewarding, yet easy to do combo.
but itās also somewhat matchup dependent. tho, I only use u1 against 2 or 3 characters - and that also depends on the playstyle of my opponent.
I fadc with mp+ mk and only shortcut ch standing fp into ultra or far/ch towards strong into ultra. Itās best to not learn too many stick shortcuts cause sticks break or things get played on different systems.
In terms of ultra choice itās matchup dependent. U1 I use against Rufus and Cammy mainly. Probably twins in the future too. In general, use U2 if t reversals a blocked sweep or special particulary well. Like u2 reversals blocked ex machine gun punch for example.
What exactly are reversals and resets? I know a reset is some sort of cancel or something right?
Sorry for any questions irrelevant to Cody but you guys seem like a nice group of people. I made a thread on the introductory forum and I felt like I was on Capcom Unity with some of the responses and I got a much better response from you guys so please be patient and tolerate my questions! Thank you! 
reversal is when you hit your opponent in the recovery of their move. e.g: ryu does a srk on block and you hit him while he still cant block with your mk ruffian - youāve reversaled him. if you hit him in the start up of his move itās called a ācounter hitā. which adds more frame advantage to your move and it does 25% more damage and stun.
a reset is when you hit your opponent out of a juggle state without knocking him down. e.g: lvl 3 focus crumble, lp rock, f.mp. or hk ruffian FADC f.mp. anti air focus attack, any normal. lvl 2/3 focus attack, wait, c.lp etc etc etc
the result is that your opponent will land on his feet, rather then being knocked down, which can lead to some ambiguous mix ups.
Okay I understand Reversal. It seems that resets are a little out of my skill league at the time being.
Iām beginning to get down the initial FADC combo that SpookyDonkey provided. Can anyone recommend a combo on a similar difficulty level. It doesnāt have to have FADC in it. Iām learning to combo all together.
Also, what move do you guys use for cross-ups? I use MK. It seems to hit most of the time and is easier to land than HK.
Btw, thanks especially to you zUkUu, for being patient with me and explaining this stuff to me!
Crossing up with HK is really f*cking hard. Itās not reliable against skinnies like Juri (jeesus christ sheās a bitch to hit). Use MK as a cross-up.
For general purpose damage you can easily hit confirm, just use c.lp, c.lk xx mk rk/HP CU or c.lp, c.mp xx hp cu/mk rk. Simple, easy and do the point.
Off of cross-ups, I use either close strong, close fierce of c.lp. If they like to tech crouching, cl.mp or cl.hp usually get you coutner-hits here and there. If you are getting cl.lkād out of your normal, you either did it too late, hit the cross-up too high, or the character is really tall. If that happens, switch to c.lp if youāre going for hit confirms. If youāre getting thrown out of the normal after the jump-in, use c.lp cause theyāre mashing throw like a scrub probably.
Off of regular jump-ins like j.hk (this has A LOT of hit/block stun), i use cl.fp. If you hit the jump-in, you get a hit confirm. If your jump-in is blocked, cl.fp becomes a frame trap or throw mix-up opportunity. You do it right after you land the jump-in, you can mix in throws before or after. If you wait a tad, it counter-hits late crouch techers SUPER badly. Itās so obvious theyāve been counter-hit cause they reel a shitload and the counter-hit message comes up. When this happens, free ultra or follow-up c.mp/c.hp.
in fact, j.mk is his only ārealyā move that can crossup. j.hk can cross up aswell, but this is REALLY REALLY difficult to do. it has to be on their wakeup and has to be with a specific range and a specific timing etc.
Resets arenāt that hard to do. just do a Focus Attack, wait a second till they crumble and do a c.lp (just to see what it looks like).
well for starters you should learn his BnB combo:
c.lp, c.lp, c.mp xx hp cu and c.lp, c.lp, c.lk xx hp cu
the c.lp are only for āhit confirmā. c.mp xx hp cu does more damage then c.lk xx hp cu, but only when done close because hp cu wonāt connect āfullā if spaced, in that case c.lk does more damage because hp cu will ALWAYS connect full if canceld out of c.lk. c.mp also SLIGHTLY more difficult (tho, both arent that difficult).
for punishing purpose (your opponent whiffs a move and or he is stunned or after a focus crumble) just use c.hp xx hp cu or more advanced s.hp, c.mp xx hp cu. this is your aim to land constantly, and is also āmoreā advanced.
another great thing to study are those videos by sabr3 and ryan hunter + his blog:
[media=youtube]jr06BafBGeQ[/media]
[media=youtube]Th_m1IeP-MU[/media]
Option-Select.com - Strategy - Cody
also check out the stickies. these in particular :
all kinds of stuff. including above videos and many more.
http://shoryuken.com/f330/hey-lets-do-real-videos-concepts-discoveries-match-ups-248988/
and this for matches from codys from all skill ranges, often with helpful comments from our community on what they could improve:
http://shoryuken.com/f330/critique-my-cody-thread-you-can-do-better-than-248828/
also do some of his trials. ^^
After lvl 3 focus, I believe his best combo is ex rocks, c.hp xx hp cu if youāre lookin for a little bit of extra damage (unless you want to burn 2+ bars). If you backdash and still focus crumple, mp rocks into mk ruffian kickās your best best. If you want simple, just do c.hp xx cu all the time or lk ruffian kick if you backdash.
Since cody has no srk motion tho, I find his combos easy as shit to execute (cl.mp/cl.hp into c.mp all day). Once you add in that srk motion tho, Iām a scrub who canāt jab jab srk T_T
downside on that is that you canāt āmashā any of his special moves. also, qc motions do not have any shortcuts.
Just to correct you a little on your definition of a reversal.
A reversal is when you perform a special, super or ultra on the first frame you recover from either:
- being knocked down
- blockstun
- hitstun
Itās not hitting your opponent on the recovery of whatever move they did.
What exactly is hit confirm and tech crouching? I know teching a throw is to hit throw at the same exact time to cancel out the enemies. So would tech crouching be your opponent crouching and attacking or blocking after the cross-up? Also, what is the meaning of xx? I assume by c. you guys mean close and not crouching?
Teching a throw is pressing lk+lp at the same time or just after (thereās a small window) your op throws.
Crouch tech is the same thing while youāre crouching - itās a basic O/S (Option Select): if they try to throw you, you tech, if not, you stick out c.lk.
xx = cancel, i.e., c.lk xx mk.rk = c.lk, cancel into mk ruffian.
c = crouch, cl = close
hit confirm = a slightly longer combo string which gives you enough time to determine whether or not theyāre blocking so you can choose an appropriate finisher for the combo.
c. = crouching
cl. = close
ch = counter hit
s. = standing
j. = jumping
nj. = neutral jumping
f. = forward
b. = backwards
xx = cancel that move. e.g c.lk xx hp cu means you cancel the c.lk with hp cu (u know, the normal combo indication)
, = link / or chain
u might want to watch these videos for a glossary and overview of the basics of ssf4:
[media=youtube]RP-HBB4FSfM&feature=related[/media] (this one contains crouch tech)
[media=youtube]EK0rwY4wDSM&feature=related[/media] (chains, links, combos etc)
there are various more from vesper arcade, which u might also want to check out.
this is what a reset [in a useful way] looks like:
[media=youtube]V-Khc26rkXY&fmt=18[/media]
around 0:07 second. (sorry about the crap quality)