- "Up and over!
(ほらよ！ Hora yo!?, Here we go!)" - —Ken (Street Fighter 6)
The Hell Wheel (地獄車 Jigoku Guruma?) is one of Ken's throws dating back to Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991), which at the time was the first and only move to ever show Ken's difference from Ryu's animations.
Origin[]
As shown in Jūdō Icchokusen.
The Hell Wheel was inspired by Ikki Kajiwara's manga 柔道一直線 Jūdō Icchokusen (lit. “Jūdō’s straight line”). In the original 1970 manga, the user would actually roll forward with the opponent and continue to roll until the opponent collapse. It was one of the protagonist’s special moves, although the original didn’t end in a tomoe nage and was more a repeated rolling bump on the head.[1][2]
Description[]
Ken using Hell Wheel against Cammy.
- "Grab your opponent and roll backwards with your foot placed on their torso. Throws your opponent while switching places with them."
- —Street Fighter 6
Executed by pressing Light Punch and Light Kick, (the throw command) and pushing backwards near an opponent. Ken grabs his opponent, and falls backwards as in a backwards roll. Unlike Ryu's throw, Ken will roll over his opponent twice. Once he completes the second roll and when the opponent is off balance forward, Ken plants a foot low on the opponent at waist level and applies strong pressure, rolling onto his own back with the opponent above him. This causes the opponent to flip and land on their back.
Tactics[]
This throw is a great way to get the opponent back in the corner. It also does more damage, compared to his Knee Bash. Additionally, Ken's back throw puts the opponent at a distance. This resets the neutral game. Despite this, the Hell Wheel isn't really used for Ken's tick throw game, since he excels in close-range.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Gif Animations[]
Sprites[]
Trivia[]
- The very first martial arts actor to execute a Hell Wheel-esque throw on-screen was Chuck Norris in the wuxia action-thriller Way of the Dragon (1972).
- SNK's Bandeiras Hattori has a similar throw called the Jigoku Wheel.
- Unlike the Japanese given name for Ken's Hell Wheel, Bandeiras' Jigoku Wheel is solely written in Katakana.
References[]
- ↑ That’s because Ken’s Jigoku guruma (“Hell wheel”) was a direct reference to Ikki Kajiwara’s manga 柔道一直線 Jūdō Icchokusen (“Jūdō’s straight line”), whose protagonist Naoya wanted to become the best judoka in the world to restore his father’s honour (his father represented Japan at the Olympics, where he was defeated and killed himself in shame). The first move he learned from his sensei was the feared Jigoku guruma, which in the original manga involved actually rolling forward with your opponent… and continuing to roll until he literally collapsed. The manga is unknown in the West (not even Italy imported it, and that’s saying something), but was a huge hit in Japan in 1967. In 1969, they adapted the manga into a live action TV series that retained ALL the absurd moves seen in the original work… And that much later were referenced in video games, as often happens with Kajiwara’s works. See for yourself a compilation found on Youtube
Midgardsorm's post from Shoryuken Forums archived from the original. - ↑ 地獄車 Jigoku guruma, “Hell wheel”. Reference to Ikki Kajiwara’s manga Jūdō icchokusen, where it was one of the protagonist’s special moves, although the original didn’t end in a tomoe nage and was more a repeated rolling bump on the head. Gouki’s Hyakki Gotsui replicated the move better.
Midgardsorm's post from Shoryuken Forums archived from the original.