I think that whoever has the best Ken is really a question of who comes to play that day. It doesn’t matter in terms of skill really…IMO. I think that all the top Kens are just about equal, it just all comes down to desire and who comes out to play. Factor in a good smidge of luck and that is who will be the best Ken or any other top tier player. That’s the thing with competititions like these. You can have someone dominate the circuit for a long time and then get beaten by someone who is relatively new. Because they came out to play that day. They just played better than you and got luckier than you. Technically, anyone can beat anyone on any given day. I think Daigo is beatable by anyone if you bring the right stuff to the table and have the right amount of faith in yourself.
hirai is the only ken i have seen who can cross up chun li with ex tatsu dash shoryu kara shoryu so for that he is the best. does daigo even kara? i havent seen him hit a double mid screen shoryu before.
Pure technicalities and executions weren’t Daigo’s strongest points. What made him good was his insanely high reaction speed and unorthodox mind games. He always felt different from other Ken players whenever I watched him.
Daigo only plays for fun these days I think. His attitude at the last SBO was totally different than what I’ve seen before. He was way more relaxed and upbeat, and he was laughing all the time.
Didn’t seem to give a shit whether he lost or not.
the way i look at it is like this: Daigo in his prime could beat anyone on the planet not because he had more talent but because he could out wit them. Deshi is flawless in his execution he hits all his hit confirms and karas with ease but he lacks that mental edge that made daigo so great. Hirai is my favorite becasue of his raw skill. He can hit any of kens shippu combos with ease. (jab jab short shippu) (short jab short shippu) and he karas better then anyone i have ever seen. Kashi is one of the best kens in japan as well he has a hell of a set with genki on youtube. Spellmaster J is a nice mix of them all and def top 3.
Yeah! He kept his set-ups nice and accurate. That Tatsu wake-up cross-up was pretty nice,too!
As for Hirai and Shie, yeah, it’s cool they can pull off such a crazy combo. However, I’m yet to find a Ken player who makes matches so mentally taxing as Daigo in his prime. I never found myself thinking so much about what happens during a match as when I watched him.
This is the best ken match video i have seen thank you so much for showing me Shie he really is amazing he can do it all. His style is the best. Maybe the players he is playing are not top tier Japanese players but is skills can not be denied. (also watch the video on Sargoths post two up) Thanks again for showing me him. Still Hirai is nuts.
I think alex valle is good but daigo umehara is my choice hes a really good player but not the best hes my favorite in 3s and st. i think its his style of fighting and the way he reads minds
