Ken Masters
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Ken Masters(ケン・マスターズ or 拳, his first name, in Japanese, means Fist) is a video game character created by Capcom. He is from the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and is seen wearing a red gi. He is 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 American. He has dark hair, which he dyes blonde, and flared black eyebrows.
Originally, save for a few animations, he was the same as Ryu: the only way to effectively have two identical characters fight each other in Street Fighter II - The World Warrior was to have one player play as Ryu and the other play as Ken. However, as Street Fighter II' - Champion Edition allowed mirror matches, Ken began deviating somewhat from Ryu - being given a flaming Shoryuken (as well as super combos that are based on the Shoryuken) and as well as various kick moves. By Street Fighter III, Ken has two Shoryuken Super Arts (Shouryuu Reppa and Shinryuken) and the Shippu Jinrai Kyaku Super Art.
According to his official biography, Ken was born in America on February 14, 1965. He stands 175 cm (just under 5' 9") and weighs 72 kg. His blood type is B. He enjoys driving and is good at cooking pastas, but dislikes soap operas.
Ken did not participate in the first World Warrior tournament (the events of the original Street Fighter); instead, he fought in (and won) a US Martial Arts tournament that had been previously won by Charlie. Upon returning to his training ground, he witnessed his master's death at the hands of Akuma, and tried to fight him, but lost. After the events of Street Fighter II, Ken married his girlfriend Eliza (and became Guile's brother-in-law; Eliza is Jane's sister), and they have a son, Mel, by the time of Street Fighter III.
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Animation frames from Ken's Shippu Jinrai Kyaku move.
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Ken Masters and the Shoryu Principle
While Ryu and Ken have the same martial arts discipline, as the Street Fighter franchise evolved, differences between the two characters had to be portrayed by their special moves alone. Unlike Ryu, Ken's Hadoken is weaker and cannot scorch anyone. Ken's Shoryuken has a longer range, with the strongest level doing three hits and scorch damage. His Tatsumakisenpukyaku is faster than Ryu's and does at least four hits, though does less damage overall. Ken's super moves consist of the Shoryu Reppa (Rising Dragon Whirlwind), in which Ken does 2 or 3 Shoryukens; the Shinryuken (Dragon God Fist), a spinning Shoryuken that lacks range, but does greater damage, especially if the kick buttons are mashed; and the most recent addition to his movelist since Street Fighter III — the Shippu Jinrai Kyaku, which Ken does a fury of kicks before closing it out with a Tatsumakisenpukyaku. Ken mainly focuses on the Shoryu principle of Ansatsuken.
Barbie and Street Fighter
Before the popularity of Street Fighter II - The World Warrior, Ken Masters was simply known as Ken, without a surname. However, because of the popularity of Street Fighter and Barbie in the United States (Street Fighter being more popular to boys and Barbie to girls), people often mistook Ken for Barbie's boyfriend Ken Carson - to the point that Mattel sued Capcom over the name. As a result, the last name "Masters" was given. This last name was used in the 1994 Street Fighter movie. Many fans believe that this last name has a hidden meaning (although unrelated to Barbie): Ken Masters is a master of a nonviolent variation of Ansatsuken that is often erroneously referred to as Shotokan Karate.