I just started playing SSF IV a couple of days ago, and man do I suck. I know my character’s moves, I understand the idea behind links and cancels and can do a couple fairly well, and I’ve been poring over the tutorials on this very site, and I am getting my ass kicked by the medium computer. I’m starting to worry that my reaction time is just naturally too crappy for this. Am I losing heart too quickly, or was your first time playing better than mine?
i started out using only heavy and light attacks with the mind set of “i want to hit them fast or i want to hit them hard” also jumping all day, walking up in peoples faces and doing tatsus and dragon punches wondering why i wasnt hitting them the way i was hitting the computer, and also i was the world champion of getting thrown to death. so your early experiences are a little better than mine
I was Daigo tier when I first started.
That’s why I keep getting destroyed by Zangief and THawk, actually. I’m glad to hear someone who’s been here for two years started out that way, though.
You be the judge… video footage from about 2 weeks after starting. RIP old me T.T
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FWScywY0F4
It should also be noted that the computer has ungodly reaction times and is generally cheap as hell while still able to lose to the stupidest of strategies… not a great gauge for skill :3
not bad…
I was able to do supers and shit on snes pad. play that shitty version alpha2 with my brother for a while. learned to use sticks in like a week. in fact I was decent within like a month. and this was from playing at the arcade with very limited funds. chinatownfair was my “training mode” 
I was trash when I started. I kept getting pissed just getting bodied over and over again online. Keep grinding in the lab and you’ll get better.
Don’t get discouraged by that shit, bro. The computer is like having a fucking Uchiha watching your inputs.
And yes, I was shit. I got my ass beat by my friends in casuals regularly and my execution was worse than it is now. I got better after I found SRK and started learning shit like hit-confitming, the neutral game, combos, block-strings, etc.
I’m still pretty bad, though… ;]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55n1ZmFkty4
Pretty fucking bad. This was literally right when I started on my friends account. I didn’t even own the game at that point. The match itself was right after I learned you could HOLD FIREBALLS AS JURI. lol
Didn’t know about cancels, didn’t know how links worked, and throws were my best punish. If you keep at it you’ll learn quick enough. Dedication and practice. There’s a lot of media out there to help new players too. Check out First Attack by James Chen on Youtube for a good start.
Pretty bad, getting thrown to death (still do, I’m learning how to properly tech throw + option selects), wakeup dps, using ONLY my character’s specials and nothing else, jumping and last but not least, spamming sweeps whenever possible.
Bad enough to save the president.
Let’s go for a burger… Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
I’ll let ya know when I improve 
I used to be terrible as well when I started years ago. It’s all about finding a good groove with what you can learn. I considered myself decent until I started playing online more and getting worked. This site has a ton of useful information as well. Glad to be using it.
Just awful,I just mash buttons for the hell of it and hoped for the best.You eventually break this habit as you grow better and learn more.
"What in the hell is a quarter circle motion?"
I DON’T miss those days lol.
I went like this: Vega pokes for days>Learned how to do charge inputs>Learned how to quarter and half circle,so I switched to Abel>Found a character I truly enjoyed in Dudley when SSF4 came out>Cared enough about my main to level up my game, causing me to practice combos and learn to play
DON’T TAKE THE CPU SERIOUSLY. That is probably the biggest mistake people make when starting out. The CPU only allows you to hit it and reads your inputs, making mix-ups meaningless. If you have any options involving playing other human beings, they are 20x better for teaching you the game.
I just picked up the arcade stick again, and I found out that I have a tonne of bad habbits, like leaping in from the outset (a habbit I got from the original MK that I haven’t been able to break), and I’ve been playing with a friend of mine who’s really solid with a fair chunk of the roster and he’s been tearing me apart… He’s teaching me though, so it can only go up from here. 
wonder how many people actually got this…
Aware me?
It all makes sense now.
On topic, I was absolute poopoo when I started. I’m a big video game guy but I kept forgetting things as simple as which buttons do what during a fight. It gets better as you play more, especially if you have someone to play with. Offline is preferred but playing with a full lobby of online buddies is a good alternative.