Man that's a long blog title. Anyways, lately I have been playing a lot of SSF4 with people from the GB community using the great matchmaking thread that is on the SSF4 forums. I'm playing on the PS3 and it's really fun playing with people like Pessh, Thegoldencat, J_Las_Vegas, GetEveryone, etc. (Sorry if I didn't mention you) I've noticed a lot of things about my play, and just Street Fighter in general. I'm picking up a lot of tricks and I am learning a lot faster than I would be just getting frustrated at every person in ranked mode who sets it to lowest time and one round. 
 
The guys say I should main Akuma since I know some fancy combos with him but I prefer Abel mainly because when I get hit with a combo I don't lose half my health like with Akuma.
 
In list form, things I've learned. 

• Random Ultra 2 (Breathless) with Abel is a pretty viable option. It has super armour, it's a grab so it's unblockable, and it's cancellable. Though I really should stop doing random ultra.... Not good for my game at all.
  
  
• Remembering to roll into Falling Sky after a C.HP is a pain. I need to practise WAY more to make this a regular part of my game.
  
  
• COMBOS!!! As with the point above, I need more combos other than J.MK, C.MP, Full Change of Direction. That is good and all but as soon as I can make J.MK, C.MP, first change of direction, FADC, C.HP, Roll, Falling Sky a combo I actually remember to do.... watch out, crazy stun on that combo.
  
  
• Stop rolling! I still have this tendency to roll EVERYWHERE! *Guy is across screen* Roll my way over, crap I got grabbed out of it. While the roll is good for getting through fireball spammers I shouldn't be abusing it because it is easy to punish.
  
  
• Mashing is NEVER an option. Unless you're planning on just being Ken and never getting better, never mash. Mashing just leads to poor execution and then becoming like DSP and blaming internet lag for all your scrubbiness. If you're finding it hard to not mash, learning to "double tap" moves might be worth looking into.
  
  
• Match videos and community sites are a great source of knowledge. Now with the new replay system you can go in and watch your replays to find where you went wrong against a character. Also sites like Iplaywinner and Shoryuken are great if you want to know more about your character or just the community in general.
  
  
• Bisons Ultra 2 is a bitch. Seriously.... eff you Goldencat!
  
  
• Don't expect to win all the time. I had this problem in regular SF4 where I would practice a combo over and over until I had it down then think I am unstoppable. Only to be beaten by fireball Sagat’s or mashing Kens. Learning how to space and choosing when to attack are just as, if not more importable then having fancy combos. If you can't get in on your opponent to use them, what’s the point?
  
  
• People from the UK LOVE their tea. I can't tell you how many times I've seen "I split my tea" or "I ran out of biscuits" in the chat room.

 
I'm sure there are many more lessons learned but this blog is getting very long and I doubt people will read what is here anyways. I've had lots of fun playing with the community here (On the PS3) and I hope I continue to learn more tricks. Now it's back to being super Canadian and finishing this Kraft Dinner and finish watching the Keystone 2 scambats that are going on at Iplaywinner before sleeping.