So, I've had SSFIV for about a month, and have been total garbage until this last few days.
 
The difference? I changed to Bison.
 
Originally, I played Akuma in various Capcom fighters, rather casual. I knew he was powerful, and felt somewhat comfortable with him, so I decided to "main" him in Super 4. Turns out, that was a bad decision. Despite the help of the tutorials by our own delightful LordOfUltima, I kept losing match after match. So, I said "Self, eff Akuma. You can't win with him!" and played with some other characters. After trying Bison, I found his hit-and-run tactics to be quite to my liking, and quickly was beating the internet senseless. Well, when I hit "Same Skill" at least....
 
I think the key thing helping me with Bison is the fact he is a charge character. Down + Back is used for many charge moves, and is also the same position to block. The problem I had with Akuma is that I had played so much Arcade, on relatively easy difficulties, that I had grown so used to constantly moving in. Bison is teaching me how to play defensively. 
 
Try it at home!