These guys all have the right idea.
One of the hardest and most important things to do is speed. Keeping speed will give you more power in your moves and more chances to dm.
And I know, some people may have told you that grabbing is bad, but sometimes it is necessary to get a dm. Just try to hide it and they'll never know you did a grab in the first place.
And another small tip; never use hold all all the time. You can start out the first 10 frames or so like that, but relaxing is always better because it gives momentum more of a chance, so you get more power, and yada yada, you know the rest.
Hope this helps!