The Shoryuken (昇龍拳, Shouryuuken, lit. "Rising Dragon Fist") is a physical special attack in the Street Fighter series used by Ryu, Ken, and other Street Fighter characters trained under the same style. The move is a jumping uppercut in which the user spirals in a single turn and rockets upwards with some horizontal movement as well, knocking the opponent to the ground with much damage. It is often hinted usage of ki is to propel the user into the air and reinforce their fist for the attack. This move is an excellent anti-air move, as it usually hits nearly all aerial assaults, and in the hands of good players, this move is extremely deadly, as deadly as it is in-universe via the legends of the original Shouryuuken's "killing touch".
The Shoryuken is considered the series' most famous attack alongside the Hadoken, and has received a large amount of parodies and references in media. The move has also been the subject of a very famous rumor and hoax revolving around Ryu's mistranslated quote, "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance". Sheng Long would later become one of the most well-known legends in video game history. Sheng Long would ironically also be the basis for Ryu and Ken's Master and Akuma's brother, Gouken, especially since Gouken himself is a full-on master of the Shouryuuken's strongest forms.
Trivia
- Deadpool does a Shoryuken imitation as a launcher for starting air combos in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.