FIX #1: Know Dee Jay's Optimal Ranges for Attacking Success (Because You're Probably Not Using Them)

Dee Jay's optimal range is actually just inside of his opponent's sweep range. From there, you can:

• pester with the Short Dread Kick (sailing over most low attacks, for example) 
• let fly hard-to-react-to Max Outs
• stuff jump ins with either normals or a charged Jack Knife
• whiff punish or counter hit many moves 
• jump poorly timed projectiles
• set up for future cross-up opportunities
• jump with the Short Knee Shot for a potential combo or to further press the attack (but not all the time!). 

From slightly farther out, almost all of Dee Jay's tools lose their potency (no surprise, this is the range that good players will often try to keep you at, and one which you must make a concentrated effort to stay out of). 

In addition, up close fighting is a general no-no because your offense/defense potential here without charge is poor and it inevitably sets you up for a "maul" situation from the opponent if you stay in that range for too long (see my later post here regarding the "maul" for more on this to-be-avoided situation). 

Finally, from full screen out, Dee Jay can't do anything except build meter through Focus Absorbs or projectile play (which, as it turns out, is also a useful strategy).

NOTE: Most Dee Jay players make the mistake of pushing themselves in too close to the opponent when pressuring them (it frequently comes back to haunt them). Myself, I had the horrible problem of throwing projectiles at ranges where the opponent would jump them and I would have no tools to defend myself once they did (again, giving them a free maul opportunity for no reason other than that I was too stupid to know the bad range for throwing Dee Jay's projectile). This is because my first inclination was to play Dee Jay like a fireball character such as Ryu . . . which doesn't work because you need to rely on normals and ranges to take out opponents who jump your Max Out (while Ryu has 24-hour access to an ass-stomping dragon punch that eliminates this problem). One of the later lessons I have learned with Dee Jay is that his Max Out/Air Slasher is really powerful . . . but not at all in the way that most people ever used it. See my later post on Dee Jay's projectile here for more on this.

TLDR: In short, near inside sweep range is good, from far out is somewhat decent, and anywhere else, mostly bad or not optimal.

PDF Version of Post

For the most part, this is actually one of Dee Jay's shittiest ranges. Stay out of it.