There are certainly a number of similarities between the most iconic attacks of the Street Fighter and Dragon Ball series, the respective Hadoken and Kamehameha Wave techniques. While they are quite similar, they’re also pretty different even down to the posture required to perform them.
Ushijima0721, a fan of the Street Fighter and Dragon Ball series, recently highlighted the differences between the poses of the two techniques. Though the two may appear to be identical, a major difference must be observed when imitating these attacks.
Since Ushijima0721 speaks in Japanese, translations have been handled by our very own Nicholas “MajinTenshinhan” Taylor.
“Something most people might not know about the Hadoken and the Kamehameha,” said Ushijima0721 on Twitter. “Both of them use the energy from within the body and emit it towards their opponent, but for the Hadoken the opposite arm of the leg you’re stepping forward with goes below, whereas for the Kamehameha the opposite arm of the leg you’re stepping forward with goes above. This is the difference.”
In other words, assuming that you’re taking a step forward with your left leg, then your right arm must be on top to perform the Kamehameha Wave. If your left arm is on top in this situation, then it means that you’re performing Street Fighter’s Hadoken technique instead.
Of course, you could instead step forward with your right leg. This would mean that the left arm is on top to pull off the Kamehameha Wave and the right arm is on top when throwing a Hadoken.
One could argue that the Kamehameha Wave and the Hadoken are easily distinguishable by the fact that one is a projectile while the other is an energy beam. However, we’ve seen Ryu throw energy beams in the Hadoken stance in crossover fighting games before, most notably the Marvel vs. Capcom series.
Regardless, Ushijima0721 uses this as an opportunity to remind us all of the importance of adopting the proper stances when imitating these iconic actions. There are distinct differences that must be respected if one is to pay proper homage to the correct source material.
“Let’s make sure we don’t do it wrong in the future when we practice our Hadokens and Kamehamehas,” continued Ushijima0721.
However, Ushijima0721 points out that there are situations in which Ryu will position the arm that’s on the same side as the forward stepping kick on the bottom, like a Kamehameha Wave, when performing another technique from Street Fighter 6 — the Hashogeki.
“However, the Hashogeki is the same as the Kamehameha,” concluded Ushijima0721.
意外とみんな知らない波動拳とかめはめ波
両方とも体内の気を相手にぶつける技なのですが
波動拳は踏み込み足と逆の腕が下に
かめはめ波は踏み込み足と逆の腕が上に
この違いがありますこれから波動拳とかめはめ波を練習する際は間違えないようにしましょう
なお破掌撃はかめはめ波と同じ構図です pic.twitter.com/L1y9AsSzbj
— うしじま (@ushijima0721) March 11, 2024
