Anyone who uses El Fuerte frequently got any tips for learning to play well as him?  I just really like his character and want to be able to play at least SLIGHTLY decently with him...

I'd say practice. He's a unique character, especially for the SF universe. The only thing I can compare him to is a KoF character because of his specials that require inputs after the initial input, but that's pushing it. Go through the trial mode, read some web strategies, and see what works for you.

Get into character by dressing up as a luchador when you play the game.

You just have to know when super dynamic cooking time is.

Training mode

"Get into character by dressing up as a luchador when you play the game."

Maybe this will help you. :)

http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2008/jul/08/el-fuerte-street-fighter-4-character-guide/

I've been trying to get into him cause he seems like an awesome character, but as far as I've noticed it's really about timing.
It's always about timing, but with El Fuerte you won't be able to win with some errant kicks and the occasional special move.
The distance between you and your opponent is pretty paramount with El Fuerte since he's amazing against projectiles.
I'm pretty far from being comfortable with him, but a few player matches with him online has helped me understand him better.
I originally thought he was an ill fit for SFIV, but he's grown on me.

"Maybe this will help you. :) http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2008/jul/08/el-fuerte-street-fighter-4-character-guide/"

Yeah but that's the rewarding part. ^^

All power to the divine cooks.

El Fuerte trick is to confuse the other player and to keep your opponent on the ground (IMPORTANT). If possible, try to dodge instead of blocking. El Fuerte takes a lot of damage when blocking so use his speed to escape certain moves. When attacking, try dashing into a body splash first. If you can't get in close, then a great move to resort to is the wall jump to HP then back dash to HP. The wall jump has great range and the back dash is great for avoiding that annoying low kick that most people pull off. Mix your move-set up to keep your opponent off balance. If the other player tries to jump out of your loop then hit him with the Guacamole Slew (Air Throw). One last tip is his Ultra move. Once you knock your opponent down, move back about a body's length. Forward dash to HP throw should move you back to the correct spot. Perform the ultra 1/4 to 1/2 of the way though your opponents recovery animation. This should result in El Fuerte landing on the opposing player's head as soon as he gets up. Use this with CAUTION, if El Fuerte isn't in the correct spot or if your timing is off he will hop over or right in front of the other player, leaving him open for some serious punishing damage.

His body splash has major priority, try to center your play around that.

Speed, his speed is his key hes a somewhat weak character in nearly every other way but his speed is amazing and it makes for a very hard time to time his moves your best bet is to learn to deal with his speed its hard to get his move timing down by sheer visual cues alone. Since his animations are so sparadic and fantic.

"Use this with CAUTION, if El Fuerte isn't in the correct spot or if your timing is off he will hop over or right in front of the other player, leaving him open for some serious punishing damage.His body splash has major priority, try to center your play around that."

"thabigred said:

"Use this with CAUTION, if El Fuerte isn't in the correct spot or if your timing is off he will hop over or right in front of the other player, leaving him open for some serious punishing damage.His body splash has major priority, try to center your play around that."

You can actually steer the Ultra close or further away from yourselve by holding left or right after you inputed the Ultra (Just hold the direction when the screen fades down).  You can be stood right next to your opponant and Still land the Ultra. ;)  "

The steering his Ultra tip really helped out, but sadly... I'm just not naturally gifted with El Fuerte.  I just can't seem to get the play style down.
I'll play as him sporadically, but I doubt I'll ever be able to consistently play well as him.

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