Sorry dude, but the best way to improve at the game is to lose to people who are vastly superior to you, and offline. You’ll quickly adapt to the beatdowns, learn what’s safe, what’s not, what to do in various situations, and as a result, become a much better player than if you had just stayed in your comfort zone.
Its painful, but worth it.
I found that losing a lot taught me everything I was doing wrong. That, coupled with using this wonderful resource that we have as this site, has made me light years better since I first began with SFIV.
The way I see it, the key to getting better at this game is practicing, listening to the advice of more skilled players, losing, and consequently learning from one’s mistakes.