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Tatsumaki Senpukyaku (竜巻旋風脚, literally "Tornado Whirlwind Foot", also known as the "Hurricane Kick") is Ryu and Ken's Side Special Move. Ryu and Ken spin straight forward with one of their legs outstretched, it can be used in midair to help with their horizontal recovery.

Overview[]

Holding B will make it go longer. Doing the original input from Street Fighter (quarter-circle backwards) before pressing B will make it stronger. This command will not work properly in mid-air, as Ryu will just use the attack in the opposite direction. Another difference is, if the normal input is used, Ryu and Ken will just yell, yet if using the Street Fighter input, they will yell the name of the move or just "Tatsumaki".

This move has a fairly long forward range, but will stop moving at edges when done on the ground. In midair, Ryu and Ken continue to descend, and will go off edges. Ryu's Tatsumaki does one meaty hit that is good for sending opponents flying when damaged enough while Ken's does multiple hits to rack up damage but lacks the harder hitting ability of Ryu's.

This move allows for some decent horizontal recovery as it halts Ryu/Ken's descent and doesn't make him helpless afterwards, so Shoryuken can be used afterwards to complete the recovery if there is the need to move vertically.

Origin[]

"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku" is one of Ryu and Ken's most signature moves as well as other Ansatsuken practitioners. Typically it is performed via a "quarter circle backward" motion meaning "Down, Down-backward, Backward, Kick".

Originally in Street Fighter and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Ryu and Ken played almost exactly the same right down to this move. Originally, the Tatsumaki did multiple hits and had a high chance of dizzying the opponent. From Champion Edition onward, many changes were made to the two so as to make them different from one another. Notably, this move was altered for both. Ryu's version typically only does one hit but knocks the opponent down, whilst Ken's functions the opposite way. From Hyper Fighting onward, Ryu and Ken could also perform this move in midair.

Ryu also possesses a Super Combo variant of this move called "Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku"(Vacuum Tornado Whirlwind Foot), a stronger variant that does more hits and more damage. In Street Fighter III and Street Fighter IV, this becomes the EX version of his standard "Tatsumaki" move.

Other characters use alternate versions of this move. By Street Fighter V, Ken's has more of an arc to it. Akuma's version is "Tatsumaki Zankukyaku" which is stronger and more lethal and can be comboed into his "Gou Shoryuken." Gouken's version is "Tatsumaki Gou Rasen", which opens with a roundhouse kick that launches the opponent before Gouken attacks them with a vertically-rising Tatsumaki. Sakura Kasugano uses the "Shunpukyaku" which does not hover as well as Ryu's does, instead jumping in an arc.

Ryu's Special Moves
3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Hadoken
Side Special Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Up Special Shoryuken
Down Special Focus Attack
Final Smash Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken

Ken's Special Moves
Ultimate
Standard Special Hadoken
Side Special Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Up Special Heavy Shoryuken
Down Special Focus Attack
Final Smash Shinryuken/Shippu Jinraikyaku

External Links[]

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