Quick question. Is 'Geif a good choice for a kind of newish but still suckish player? 
 
I mean, this isn't my first time at the Street Fighter rodeo but I'm not exactly what you would call "good" or "decent" or "even the tiniest bit respectable." I've played a lot of fighting games, including Vanilla SFIV, but I've never really sat down and gotten good at one. I just figured out how to do standing command throws and I'm feeling really good about Zangief, but I'm wondering if he is the best place to start. 
 
I've been trying to get out of the fireball legaue for awhile (No offense to people who like those characters, that just isn't my style) and finally being able to take the reigns of a character outside of that area is kind of fucking liberating. 
 
So yeah. That question. 
 
Fun Fact: This is only a blog because I can't get a normal post to attach to a forum :D

   
Quick question. Is 'Geif a good choice for a kind of newish but still suckish player? 
 
I mean, this isn't my first time at the Street Fighter rodeo but I'm not exactly what you would call "good" or "decent" or "even the tiniest bit respectable." I've played a lot of fighting games, including Vanilla SFIV, but I've never really sat down and gotten good at one. I just figured out how to do standing command throws and I'm feeling really good about Zangief, but I'm wondering if he is the best place to start. 
 
I've been trying to get out of the fireball legaue for awhile (No offense to people who like those characters, that just isn't my style) and finally being able to take the reigns of a character outside of that area is kind of fucking liberating. 
 
So yeah. That question. 
 
Fun Fact: This is only a blog because I can't get a normal post to attach to a forum :D

Most people start with a character that can spam projectiles who also has a lot of range in their jump attack. So they can just shoot shit at dude then jump around like headly rabbits trying to land a kick. So that's how bitches play. If you start with Zang you can't really do that so it might be a good start. Also he has the best alt costumes.

no, ryu or ken are the starter people 
I'd say zangief is one of the harder people to master

I'd go with T Hawk, he is Zangief with a shit ton more options.

The Geif is a character with a lot of HP so there is that but you said this isn't your first SF games so why not just choose a character and have at it.  Geif is good practice for chasing because NO ONE wants to stand toe to toe with you, lol.  You wanna figure out how to chase people down and know there terrified when you finally do then Geif is a good starting point.  I have tried T. Hawk yet, never like him in Turbo.

"I'd go with T Hawk, he is Zangief with a shit ton more options. "

Pick T.Hawk instead, has more options to get in and better combos.
 
Patience is key for both of these characters, do light punch > 360 grab tick throws and it will be good if you learn to be patient with your jumps when trying to get in close.

Play different guys until you find someone you like, then practice with that character.

When I use Zangief, I find it quite difficult to get near at opponents who throw projectiles especially characters who have good quick overhead counter attacks (like shoto characters).  I'm not really sure, but I think Zangief is not really a beginner's character because even if he's very powerful with his attacks, it takes skill to actually make him get near an opponent who is keeping his/her range from you. 
 
Yeah, T.Hawk is pretty much similar to Zangief with more attack options.  Have you tried using Cody?  I think he's an easy one to use among the 10 characters added for SSF4, IMHO, and he's not a shoto character.

No, I think grapplers are generally not a good choice for beginners. They have to force their way in, and know when to get their big damage. People underestimate how hard it is to manage those things. Watch high level play with a Zangief in it, and you may see what I mean. It's a lot of freakin' work getting in there.

Zangeif is at an automatic disadvantage against anyone with a half-decent projectile. T. Hawk and Hakan are similar, even if Hakan has the slide to rapidly gain ground. Sure, they are probably some of the most straightforward characters in terms of causing hurt, but it is in spite of that reason that they are only a few levels below super newbie unfriendly characters like Seth.

Use Sub-Zero.

Zangief is an awesome character, but not at all newbie friendly. Trust me, if you choose him, you're gonna be hurting when you try to pull off his moves and can't quite get the 360* movement on the d-pad/stick just right. Also, he's very much open to long-range attacks.  
 
If you must go with a grappler, go with either T. Hawk (who I never liked as a character) or Hakan (who's badass, but you gotta keep him oiled).  
 
Personally, I'd just go with a Sakura or Juri for starters, then move on to charge characters (Balrog, E. Honda), then grapplers.

" I'd go with T Hawk, he is Zangief with a shit ton more options. "

Zangief is great if you want to earn easy Achievement Points versus the CPU but for Xbox Live play, you should pick Ken, Ryu, Akuma or Sagat to start. The familiar crew. Just practice with everybody until you find that one or three characters that you can control comfortably.

I would say not really to be honest. However, if the other characters don't suit your style and 'Gief does, then go with it and stick with him. But as several people have pointed out it's a really difficult game finding a way into throw range even against newby fireball spammers it can be a challenge. 
 
I'd reccomend staying with a projectile character for a while (specifically a projectile character, doesn't matter which one) because once you know their game better, it will help you in your ultimate goal to play Zangief, because you need to be able to know when it is and is not safe to do certain things against projectile characters and what better way to figure this out than by playing as them? Of course you'll only get a general overview unless you play -all- of them, but that's all you need to start playing as 'Gief. 
 
Bottom line though imo, if you want to play as him. Do it. But if you want to make that long and difficult road slightly easier, play as some of the projectile characters for a while first to get to know them and how they work, and how you can get in on them. Better yet, play -against- a good 'Gief before you try to play as him. 
 
Fuck T.Hawk :P for no other reason than I hate him (Totally not a legit reason :D)

No. Zangief is beginner friendly only in the sense that you can destroy other beginners. He's very difficult to play if your opponent knows the matchup.
 
I would recommend Balrog if you're looking for someone easy to learn who isn't a fireball character.