Unnamed Leg Takedown

This unnamed throw is executed when Ryo has his back to his opponent, ducks, and executes a throw with his legs.

At first glance, this appears similar to kani basami, or scissors takedown. This move has been banned in judo due to high injury potential, but is still legal in MMA and other grappling arts.

The infamous match between Yasuhiro Yamashita and Sumio Endo that led to the banning of kani basami. Endo tries to go for kani basami against Yamashita and ends up breaking Yamashita's knee. The move was banned shortly after this match.

However, the opponent is taken backwards using kani basami whereas Ryo is throwing his opponent forward. The rolling o-guruma throw used in sambo takes the opponent forward with a somewhat similar scissors motion, but it's not quite the same either.

Rolling o-guruma demonstrated by International Class Master of Sport in Sambo, IVAN VASYLCHUK

 
I hadn't seen any perfect analogues for this move in competition until the 2022 Paris Grand Slam. Muzaffarbek Turoboyev executes a sort of kani basami-soto makikomi hybrid where he scissors his legs and takes his opponent forward, just like Ryo does.

Muzaffarbek Turoboyev vs Nikoloz Sherazadishvili

Thunder Kick

 This kick begins as a high outside spin kick, but ends as a heel drop.

For an outside spin kick, the path of the kick is compact, and rather than obtaining power from the spin kick itself, the importance of this move lies in sweeping away the opponent's guard against hte main attack from the heel.

The name Thunder Kick is said to come from the High Thunder Sword stance of the Yagyu Shinkage Style of Kendo Swordsmanship. It is known from written records passed through time that at the end of the Warring States Era, the Hazuki Style and Yagyu Shinkage Style enjoyed close relations.

The Yagyu Hyogonosuke of the Yagyu Shinkage Style is known for devising the High Thunder Sword (also called Upright Body), which involves raising the sword high above the head and maintaining a straight posture, impossible when wearing armor. It was developed form the so-called Kaija Art of Swordsmanship whose practitioners wore the armor of the Warring States Era and maintained a low waist position. As a result of the change, the length of the stroke and its power increased dramatically.

It is probably a fact that, despite the differences between a sword stroke and a kick, because the concepts were similar, the Hazuki Style devised the Thunder Kick by making reference to the High Thunder Sword of the Yagyu Style.

When mastery is attained, it it possible to follow other kicking moves with the Thunder Kick.

Move description courtesy of Suka Pass

The Thunder Kick is more commonly known as an axe kick, or Kakato Otoshi Geri. This technique is common in martial arts such as Karate (particularly Kyokushin Karate) and Tae Kwon Do.

Kyokushin karateka Francisco Filho knocking down his opponent with an axe kick in competition.

This technique, though relatively common in Kyokushin and TKD competitions, is rarely seen in kickboxing and MMA. Axe kicks require an extraordinary level of flexibility and strength to land with any meaningful power and have a relatively short effective distance. If the axe kick falls short or is interrupted in its path, the user is open to a counter or takedown.

Former LHW UFC champion/division GOAT Jon Jones attempts an axe kick against former LHW UFC champion Glover Teixeira. Glover avoids the kick and catches Jones' leg on his shoulder, nearly leading to a takedown before the bell rang.

In spite of this, there are fighters who have been able to use axe kicks successfully at the highest levels of kickboxing and MMA. The most famous fighter to utilize the axe kick is the late Andy Hug. Coming from a Kyokushin background, Hug's unorthodox kicking style saw him winning a K1 World Grand Prix and 2 runner-up finishes. Though he never KO'd any of his opponents with the axe kick, the mere threat of his axe kick was enough to make his opponents respect it. To avoid Hug's axe kick, the opponent had to either create distance or move their hands out of their guard to defend against the kick. Hug capitalized on this reaction by feinting his axe kick setup. As his opponents raised their hands to block the axe kick, Hug flurried with punches at their now-unprotected face.

Andy Hug landing axe kicks on kickboxing greats Ernesto Hoost and Mirko Cro Cop.

The description for the move mentions that a master of the thunder kick can use it as a follow-up after other kicking techniques. In-game this is represented by Ryo throwing a roundhouse kick to the midsection, followed by the thunder kick. Strikeforce MW champion and Sanda World Champion Cung Le shows this exact setup in his book. Le throws a roundhouse kick to draw a leg check from his opponent. Le then throws the axe kick. As the axe kick's setup looks similar to the roundhouse kick, the opponent raises their leg to check, only for the axe kick to go around and crash down on their head.

A real-life example of this setup occurred in the rematch between Mark Hunt and Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop, infamous for his lethal roundhouse kicks to the head and midsection, had landed several hard body kicks against Hunt. Cro Cop then throws an axe kick instead of his trademark roundhouse. Hunt raises his leg to check the expected body kick, only to eat an axe kick instead.

Top: Cung Le detailing the setup for the axe kick. Bottom: Cro Cop lands the axe kick against the side of Mark Hunt's head.

While no fighter in MMA has used axe kicks to any great effect like Hug has in kickboxing, there have been some interestin g applications of the move. Kicks to a downed opponent are illegal in most MMA rulesets, but kicks to the body are still legal. MMA GOAT Georges St. Pierre utilized an axe kick to hurt a grounded Jason Miller. The idea clearly resonated with GSP as you can see him teaching Raymond Daniels the same move in order to exploit the "pit" used in the Karate Combat promotion.

GSP axe kicking Jason Miller, who was attempting to lure GSP to the mat so Miller could use his jiujitsu skills.


Yagyu Shinkage Style
The Yagyu Shinkage Style mentioned in the description is a real style of Japanese swordsmanship. I can't comment on how accurate the description of the tactics used in the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu are having never trained in it, but at a layman's glance, there seems to be some truth in it. Videos of the Yagyu Shinkage style seem to show its practitioners using a jodan (sword held upwards and used to strike high targets) stance. One of the reasons why axe kicks are effective and difficult to block is that they exploit the vertical ceiling-to-floor line. While strikes in the vertical axis are quite common in swordsmanship, they are rare in unarmed fighting as few attacks use this line.

A Yagyu Shinkage-ryu demonstration

Sweep Throw

 

 

Abridged move description courtesy of Suka Pass:

This throwing move involves quickly turning and pulling the opponent's neck, then using the leg to sweep up the opponent's inner thigh and throw him.

In Judo, this move is called the Inner Thigh or the Sweep Throw depending on the area of the opponent's body that is targeted, but in the Hazuki Style, the move carries the single name, the Sweep Throw. It can be said that of all the throwing moves of the Hazuki style, which has carefully preserved the nature of the fighting moves of the Warring States Era, that the primary aim is to flip over and drop the enemy rather than throw him a great distance. This is certainly true of the Sweep Throw.

The effectiveness of Jujitsu throws is best demonstrated when the opponent is thrown onto hard ground or a floor rather than on straw mats, at which time, more damage can be imparted to the opponent's entire body than with a simple thrust or kick.

The Sweep Throw does exist in judo and is known as uchi mata (内股) which translates to "inner thigh". The Sweep Throw mentioned in description most likely refers to harai goshi (払腰) which translates to "sweeping hip". Uchi mata is nicknamed "the king of throws" and is one of the moves with the highest percentage of successful use in competition.

While uchi mata/sweep throw is nowhere near as common in MMA as it is in judo, it has been used before at the highest levels of the sport. It is typically used as a counter in MMA, as the opponent driving forward provides part of the setup of the move. This could be used in response to an outside trip attempt:

Former Bellator champion/Olympian Ben Askren gets tossed by Luis Santos as he attempts an outside trip after a failed bodylock takedown.

Islam Makhachev throws Nik Lentz while up against the fence after Lentz tries to use an outside trip

It can also be used to counter forward pressure from an over-under clinch or single leg attempt:

Ricardo Lamas throws Charles Oliveira as Oliveira pressures Lamas into the fence from the clinch

Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey demonstrates both setups in her second match against Miesha Tate.

While the tidbit in the description regarding hard surfaces being worse than soft ones to land on is sort of a "no-duh" moment, there is some historical precedent. In the famous match between Brazilian jiujitsu founder Hélio Gracie and top judoka Masahiko Kimura, Kimura threw Gracie multiple times but was unable to stop Gracie with throws alone due to the soft mats used in the arena.

Kimura pinning Gracie in a kesa gatame (scarf hold) during the legendary match.

Twin Hand Waves

Abridged move description courtesy of Suka Pass:

This move involves advancing a step forward and striking the opponent's chest and jaw with the palm and entire forearm while deflecting the opponent's attack downward with the other hand. This doesn't merely involve hurling the opponent's body backward as with a sumo arm thrust. The impact creates a shockwave that affects the opponent's internal organs.

Originally, it was a move devised in the Warring States Era to strike down samurai wearing armor. Not only was it ineffective to strike the hard torso of an opponent's armor with the hardened edge of the fist or elbow, it also injured the practitioner. For that reason, the softer, fleshier palm of the hand and the entire forearm was used to attack.

I was unable to find an exact 1:1 copy of the move, though there are a fair amount of similar looking moves in traditional martial arts (comment below if you know any real life moves that resemble the in-game Twin Hand Waves).

Top: Xing Yi Quan style splitting technique

Bottom: A forearm strike done during a Tai Chi push hands drill

The idea that the palm and forearm were used to avoid injury to the practitioner does hold some merit. While the description mentions the move being used against a person in armor, hitting even an unarmored person can cause injury to the user's hands if struck wrong. Many boxers in the bare knuckle boxing bouts the 18th and 19th centuries were common working men and could not take matches often as their hands would be too injured for them to use at work the next day. In modern revivals of bare knuckle boxing such as BKFC, broken and/or extremely swollen hands are common injuries. The palm and forearm are comparatively less fragile.

Palm strikes are effective strikes and Ryo has quite a few in his repertoire, so we'll be saving those for a future installment and instead focus on the forearm component of Twin Hand Waves. 

Forearm strikes are rare in modern striking competitions. In boxing, intentional forearm strikes are illegal and forearms are mainly used for defensive purposes to help shield against incoming punches. Though striking with the forearm is illegal, they can still be used to create opportunities to continue punching.

Though it doesn't count as a strike if you hold your forearm out and they run into it, as Conor McGregor discovered.

Floyd Mayweather Jr is a master at using his forearms to control his opponents. He creates a frame with his forearms that he can use to place on and push against the opponent's head. This framing gives Floyd control of the opponent's head and makes it very difficult for them to move effectively (as in the old grappling adage "control the head, control the body"). Floyd can use this to deny an opponent from countering him after he has thrown his combos, prevent or be used to break free from a clinch, and can smother an opponent's hands for a free shot at their unguarded head.

In this sequence, Conor attempts to enter a clinch after avoiding a flurry from Floyd. Floyd uses his left forearm to frame on Conor's head, preventing him from coming forward. Simultaneously, Floyd's right hand covers Conor's left, preventing Conor from throwing his vaunted left hand or link his hands together for the clinch. With Conor's left hand covered, Floyd throws a right hand at Conor's now-unguarded head without fear of reprisal.

Even in striking arts where forearm strikes are legal to use, they are still pretty uncommon.The use of forearms in sports such as Muay Thai or MMA trends more towards defensive uses such as blocking or framing as it does in boxing. At the range that forearm strikes are used, elbows tend to be more effective due to being able to generate more power or potential cuts (as well as being legal in nearly all the competitions that forearm strikes would also be legal in). The forearm strikes I've seen in MMA and Muay Thai seem to occur off of missed elbows or punches rather than intentional use, though committed attempts at forearm strikes do happen on occasion.

Former Rizin/Bellator BW champion Kyoji Horiguchi uses a lead forearm strike to stun Ali Bagautinov

Despite the description for the move explicitly mentioning it being different from sumo arm thrusts (called "tsuki-dashi" in sumo), the person closest to using Twin Hand Waves in real life is ironically a sumo wrestler. Hakuhō is arguably the greatest sumo wrestler of all time, having reached Yokozuna the highest rank possible as well as holding multiple all-time wins and championship records. One of Hakuhō's effective opening move combinations is the harite (open hand strike or slap) and kachiage (forearm strike).

Hakukō parries the initial charge and drives a forearm into his opponent's chest, forcing their posture upward and leaving them more susceptible to follow-up attacks

While technically legal, it's frowned up in sumo, especially by a wrestler of Hakuhō's caliber. However, it's practically as close to the in-game description as you can get and damn does it work.

Another example of Hakuhō slapping the head of his opponent to deflect the momentum of their charge and driving in his forearm. This time, his forearm connects with his opponent's chin, leading to a knockdown.

Tiger Knuckle

 

 Abridged move description via Suka Pass:

The Tiger Knuckle is a punch aimed at the jinchu, a pressure point located between the nose and the mouth.

The Hazuki Style is a martial art style that dates back to the time of the Warring States Era which focused its moves for hand-to-hand combat against warriors that wore body armor.

Because warriors who engaged in Kendo (the art of Japanese swordsmanship) wore helmets, these ancient moves did not focus on a general area, but instead, focused on parts of the body unprotected by armor. The jinchu is one of these unprotected area, and originally, a fatal twisting blow was delivered using a Caltrop Fist, formed by extending the index finger at the second joint.

 However, as is the case with ancient martial arts in general, the Hazuki Style evolved, changing from its historical background as a martial art for fighting in body armor against those who wore body armor to one that was practice in everyday clothes, a so-called 'naked martial art.' Through the inventive ideas of the practitioners who handed down the moves from generation to generation, moves from other martial arts were incorporated and the Hazuki Style was transformed from the lethal martial practiced during the Warring States Era to one with strong characteristics of self-defense.

Currently it is the self-defensive moves that are known to the public, but through traditional style oral instruction, these moves can easily be turned to their lethal counterpart martial arts of old.

 

The Tiger Knuckle is a jab (kizami zuki in Japanese karate), a basic lead arm punch that is ubiquitous in virtually every striking martial art with punches ever. As there are many articles and videos out there extolling the virtues of the jab in modern combat sports, I'll instead focus on the more unique aspects of the Tiger Knuckle and touch upon the elements of Japanese martial arts that are mentioned in the description.

One of the aspects that separates the Tiger Knuckle from the common jab is the targeted area of the jinchu pressure point. Strikes that target pressure points are very common in traditional martial arts, so that parts not that unusual in and of itself. The part that is surprising is that the jinchu is actually a real pressure point that goes by the same name and is located between the nose and the mouth.

A mannequin pointing out the location of the jinchu (under the acupuncture/acupressure designation GV26)

Another aspect that separates the Tiger Knuckle for the jab is how it was originally delivered by striking with the second joint of index finger. While I haven't seen the name "Caltrop Fist" appearing anywhere outside of Shenmue, the concept of striking with a raised index finger knuckle does appear in multiple martial arts. The phoenix eye fist used in Chinese kung fu styles such as Praying Mantis and Wing Chun and the shōken used in Okinawan karate styles such as Uechi Ryu both involve curling the forefinger to the second joint and locking it in place with the thumb. It is then used to jam into soft targets such as pressure points, eyes, throat, solar plexus, etc.

Kanei Uechi demonstrating the shōken

The use of the word kendo in the description to describe Japanese swordsmanship seems like a translation mistake. Kendo typically refers to the modern Japanese martial art/sport that's practiced with bamboo swords. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for Japanese swordsmanship and is normally used to refer to the older sword styles pre-Meiji era, which the Hazuki style from the Warring States/Sengoku period would qualify for. However, the traditional martial arts of the time period did indeed encourage targeting the gaps and unarmored/less armored spots of an armored opponent (and that principle of "going around the armor" is present in other martial traditions where armor was used both in Asia and Europe). A typical samurai of the Sengoku era would be wearing a helmet and many would also wear varying degrees of facial armor such as the somen (full face mask) or menpo (half face mask). Even the somen leaves the jinchu area exposed to make breathing easier, leaving it open to a Tiger Knuckle. The purported effectiveness of striking there is dubious though and it would make more sense to aim for the eyes which are equally exposed.

An antique Moyomama period menpo

The description is broadly accurate with regards to the transition from battlefield martial arts to self defense arts, though there are many factors involved that are outside the scope of this article (weapon restrictions and laws, Neo-Confucianism, etc.). The line about the self-defense moves being what is known to the public also holds water. Many Japanese martial arts schools displayed certain techniques out in public and reserved a set of hidden techniques that was only taught to those initiated into the school. Like a Dragon Ball character hiding their power level, schools would avoid showing all their techniques so they could surprise or mislead an opponent in a duel or challenge match. I can't vouch for the term 'naked martial art' being legit though as I couldn't find any non-porn results to look at.

The Tiger Knuckle is the first of many of Ryo's moves that delve into Japanese martial traditions. Like the Google Support guy who has to remove naked martial art links that show up when SafeSearch is on, you can expect more content in the future.

Elbow Assault

Abridged move description that I paraphrased from the Passport (via Suka Pass):

The Elbow Assault targets the center of the opponent's body with a full-body rush. This area is targeted because this inner area contains many pressure points. The central cord, which runs straight through the center of the body, is especially vulnerable, containing numerous pressure points that are vulnerable to fatal blows*.

However, because this move involves breaking through an opponent's stance and getting inside of his defense, compared to moves used to attack an opponent from the outside, it involves extra risk to the practitioner in that it creates an opening for the opponent to attack. To avoid this risk, the Elbow Assault is executed by raising the hand of the attacking opponent, aiming at the exposed torso and delivering a sharp elbow thrust while stepping inside the opponent's defense. At that time, although the practitioner's body is turned sideways, he must turn his face in the direction of the opponent and observe him carefully.

It seems that Ryo's father Iwao adopted this move from another martial art, but the details of this are unclear.

The "other" martial art that Iwao adopted this move from is Bajiquan, where it is referred to as Liang Yi Zhuang (两仪桩 Yin and Yang/Heaven and Earth Standing) or alternatively Liang Yi Ding (两仪顶 Yin and Yang/Heaven and Earth Elbow). During a trip to China to conduct research for Virtua Fighter, Yu Suzuki visited Bajiquan master Wu Lian-Zhi who showed Yu some moves. You can read more about Yu's research trip through PhantomRiverStone and/or watch a short interview with Yu Suzuki and Wu Lian-Zhi here.

Wu Lian-Zhi demonstrating the Liang Yi Zhuang

You might also recognize it as one of the signature moves of Akira Yuki from the Virtua Fighter series (who practices Hakkyoku-ken--the Japanese name for Bajiquan). As Shenmue was originally developed as a Virtua Fighter RPG starring Akira, this was likely included as part of Ryo's moveset as a holdover. They even have the same input commands in both games. -> -> P

While the Elbow Assault uses a classical form that is a bit too exaggerated to pull off in real life, there have been some applications of it in modern combat sports. It's common for boxers to project their elbows out as a guard and rush through punches in order to get into a close range punching distance or a clinch.

In Muay Boran, the traditional predecessor to Muay Thai, there is a technique called "Inao Tang Grit" involving a parry of an incoming punch into a vertical elbow to the ribs or midsection. In Muay Thai, the vertical elbow can be used in a similar fashion as well as a blatant strike as elbows are legal (Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu has a good video on it). 

  

Former HW/LHW UFC Champion Randy Couture had plenty of success in his fights with raising his elbows and rushing through punches to get to the inside position where he excelled.

Randy demonstrates an elbow counter as an entry into the clinch in his excellent book Wrestling for Fighting.

There are also some examples of committed offensive uses that are more in the spirit of the Elbow Assault. Here is an application of the classical Liang Yi Ding demonstrated by Japanese Bajiquan master Tamotsu Miyahira.

 Clip taken from Tatsuya Naka's Great Journey of Karate 2

Now compare it with this clip of Paul Felder vs Alessandro Ricci. As Ricci throws out the jab, Felder simultaneously avoids the punch and closes the distance while throwing the vertical elbow. Felder's elbow collides with Ricci's face, which stuns Ricci enough for Felder to followup and finish the fight with a flurry of strikes.
 

The Elbow Assault isn't the only move in Ryo's repertoire that's based on moves from Bajiquan and we'll visit the others in a future installment.

*I didn't touch upon the pressure point stuff and don't intend to. Many traditional martial arts incorporate pressure points into their training. As the Hazuki style is a traditional style in-universe with many classical influences, many of Ryo's moves mention pressure points in their descriptions. It'd get too repetitive addressing them each time they're brought up, so I'll only mention pressure points if the description does something different with them other than "hit this and they could die."

Dark Moon

Abridged move description:

This is a so-called bombardment kick move, with the kick delivered while flipping forward in mid-air. This is one of the more unusual moves in the Hazuki style, considered heretical in ancient Jujitsu... The reason this type of move was developed is found in the training system of the Hazuki Style. Among the throwing moves to be mentioned later is one called the Darkside Hazuki which involves spinning the opponent 180 degrees and dropping him head first. ...the person on whom the move is being practiced adopts a defense of spinning in mid-air before landing. That move, with a kick added, is the Dark Moon.

Because the practitioner himself falls after executing the move it is easy to leave an opening for the opponent, but those who have mastered the move can quickly mount a defense to solve this problem.

This move does exist in real life and is known Do Mawashi Kaiten Geri in Japanese or
as the rolling thunder or Kyokushin wheel kick. This move is typically seen in Kyokushin Karate and kickboxing competitions (typically thrown by kickboxers with a Kyokushin background). It is a very powerful kick as the user is throwing their entire body into the move and usually stuns or knocks out the opponent even it connects.

Peter Graham knocking out Badr Hari with the rolling thunder in the last minute of a fight he was clearly losing.

In Kyokushin Karate and kickboxing competitions, there is little risk as strikes to a grounded opponent are illegal. This can even be gamed for an advantage. Young kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa rarely lands the rolling thunder in his professional kickboxing matches (most of his knockdowns with them have been against outclassed MMA fighters). However, as the referee halts the action to let Tenshin get back up after flopping on the ground from a missed kick, he can run out the clock and buy a few seconds as a breather before he stands back up

Tenshin knocking down the overmatched Yusaku Nakamura during a Rizin match

In MMA, missed or botched connections are much riskier as you are grounded while your opponent can easily score a free strike or can engage in grappling and secure top position. There are also few Kyokushin strikers who transition to MMA in comparison to the amount that end up competing in kickboxing, which may also explain the move's rareness in MMA competition.

Though it does still happen on occasion in MMA as former UFC veteran Ross Pearson found out the hard way

The description mentions the move being considered heretical in jiujitsu. Traditional Japanese jiujitsu is designed with the use of weapons and armored opponents in mind. In modern grappling competitions, not all positions on your back are considered bad--many submission grapplers even prefer to engage from their back rather than top position. However, in traditional Japanese Jiujitsu, being on the ground on your back is terrible as you're one step away from getting a knife shoved through your eye. It's logical that the move would be considered heretical in that context as you're purposely tossing yourself to the ground for little reward as the other guy is probably wearing armor, making most unarmed strikes ineffectual.

This picture courtesy of historical German fencing master Talhoffer depicts the concept of why being on the bottom = bad when weapons are involved.

I'm skeptical of the in-game logic of the Dark Moon originating as a by-product of safe practicing of the Darkside Hazuki move. If the kick was developed from the motion of the uke when thrown, then the Dark Moon should resemble the forward roll version of the rolling thunder rather the side roll version that Ryo uses (going off the in-game depiction of the Darkside Hazuki). Of course this could just be a simple continuity error between the description and the animation and not a lore problem or whatever. The connection between "roll-through to not get spiked on the head" to "hey what if I kick somebody really hard with this" is a bit dubious as well, but hey it wouldn't be the first move to be discovered via accident or messing around.

Darkside Hazuki, footage by Damp Macaroni

Forward roll variation of the rolling thunder demonstrated by Harold Howard during an early UFC match.

Big thanks to Suka Pass for allowing me to make a video of the move and get the description without having to download an emulator or buy a screen recorder.