What practice habits do you guys have when it comes to learning a character?
I watch match footage of the char I'm trying to learn to get a feel of what is possible and how neutral is played.
I go into training mode and learn to execute combos for situations like: midscreen hitconfirm, corner hitconfirm, air and ground counter hit, shield hitconfirm.
Most chars have combos that sacrifice damage for oki. I learn those combos and what the oki/mix-up options are midscreen and in the corner.
I learn blockstrings by going into training mode and setting the dummy to 'all guard' and 'recovery A'. I learn what is air tight, how long I can delay cancel normals to make frame traps, what is plus for resets, and if anything is jump cancelable on block. I'd learn an air tight blockstring that safely resets to neutral.
If I were brand new, I'd learn movement like: IAD, options after jump, superjumps, abusing dash momentum with IAD/air dodge. I'd learn the differences in the moon mechanics.
Is it more advisable to try and counter with a combo rather than a fairly safe special or normals?
In most situations where you can punish, it will be with a combo, or gimped combo into hard knockdown.
Movement is very good in this game in the air, so I'd say most of the time you can punish with a normal. But this is difficult to answer. Anti airs are almost always ground normals.
How do you establish a solid defense in this game?
I'm not sure how to answer this. I can talk about the neutral game, as I think this is what you are asking about.
Watch the opponent and try and keep track of their air movement options. Punish them for using all of their air movement. Bait them into favorable spaces by not using all of your air movement. Know how your air normals are meant to be used. Know this for your opponent as well so you can choose ideal moves in ideal situations. If you have zoning tools, know how to use them.
If you want to play a lame char, you might like Warc in any moon style. C-Moon has easy pressure, F-Moon has good damage and bad pressure, and H-Moon has more zoning tools.
Outside of playing matches, what is the best way to learn the game?
There is really no substitute for playing matches. I'd watch match videos, grind training mode, and look at frame display in the absents of playing matches, or in addition to matches. I learned this game by playing someone way better than me, and having them beat most of the bad habits out of me.
Hope this helps. I know it's kinda general. Good luck!
-TexasTim-