Not really. Using a for loop in C requires no more understanding than using a for loop in Python. As for character strings, what you need to know in C is the "gotchas" related to running off the end, in most cases the machine would be just as happy with a Pascal-style string[1]

And for pointers, I'll leave you with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hoare#Quotations

[1] Tho' processors since the Z80 have instructions to help you deal with null-terminated strings...