The Mysterious Technique that Made Daigo a Street Fighter Legend | Analytics of the Umeshoryu

► Dive into more Fightalytics with Daigo's SFV evolution: win.gs/DaigosGuile
Daigo "The Beast" Umehara is unquestionably one of the greatest fighting game players of all time, and perhaps the greatest Street Fighter competitor in history. A 6-time EVO champion who has competed at the highest levels in numerous 2D fighter titles - from his origins dominating in Vampire Hunter, to competing with the world’s best in Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike (including the iconic EVO Moment 37), to winning titles in Guilty Gear and Street Fighter IV, and rounding out his remarkable CV with tournament wins in Street Fighter V.
And it’s not just Daigo’s wins that make him special, it’s how he does it - he’s an aggressive, gutsy player, taking chances and making reads that make you think he can read his opponent’s mind. It’s clear that, no matter the game, tournament or opponent, Daigo has an almost supernatural ability to dominate matches with his fearless approach. But how exactly does he do? What is his secret weapon?
One key to this mystery lies in the Umeshoryu. The Umeshoryu is a combination of Daigo’s last name, Umehara, and Street Fighter’s famous Shoryuken - the uppercut. It’s been one of the most powerful moves in nearly every edition of Street Fighter, but it comes with a cost, leaving the user exposed and open to massive damage if their Shoryuken is blocked or simply misses. That, of course, doesn’t hold Daigo back.
That’s where the Umeshoryu comes in - Daigo wields the Shoryuken seemingly at random, keeping his opponent under pressure with frequent use of the powerful move, despite the risk it holds. But when you dig into the statistics behind it, something remarkable emerges. Even with this “random” technique, Daigo is no button masher - he lands the Umeshoryu at a remarkably high rate, adding up to a success right that just might leave you thinking he really does have supernatural abilities.
Dive into the data in the debut of Fightalytics, narrated by James Chen, to see the remarkable success rate and impact of Daigo’s psychic dragon punch during his title run at Dreamhack Winter 2013, featuring matches against GamerBee, Luffy and Ryan Hart, and learn how the Umeshoryu made Daigo the fearsome competitor and all-time GOAT of Street Fighter that he’s known as today.
#Fightalytics #Daigo #StreetFighter
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[@redbullgaming]

Dive into the craziest Capcom Cup ever in our latest episode 👉 win.gs/Fightalytics4

[@ethanparr]

Dear Redbull, thanks for not giving up on the FGC.

[@JasonMeads]

Couldn't agree more!

[@jo-fhreycorpuz]

Tnx red bull

[@bradjeffords4451]

Please dont give up on us.

[@presidentoftheclub203]

Tekken 😎

[@leonblum816]

Amen

[@JPVersus_]

Something worth putting out there is that he took a hiatus after 2004 to work as a nurse for elder care, something he continued doing many years into his SF4 life.

[@faiznordin9343]

Isn't that qudan?

[@joncliffmckinley5868]

@@faiznordin9343 maybe Qudan as well, but definitely true of Daigo

[@joncliffmckinley5868]

@Florida Man it speaks to his character

[@joncliffmckinley5868]

@eskaycee did I make a joke?

[@lanceocana9059]

Bruh imagine being taken care of by daigo umehara, the beast himself

[@Progeusz]

He didn't say he does them at random. He said he can fire off shouryuuken at any random moment (that's a huge difference) and opponents can never feel safe and can be left in state of constant second guessing whether they will have to deal with one or not, no matter the stage of the round.

[@Divineniijigamer]

Exactly

[@randez626]

I respect your attention to detail

[@beezum]

Ohh, he doesn't do them at random...he can do them at any random moment......and the difference is?

[@NeonDart]

@@beezum He CAN do them at any random moment, that doesn't mean they are fired off at random. It means he isn't just doing it at random, for him it isn't random and it is very deliberate when he decides to pull it out. But for his opponent it can feel like at any random moment it could appear.

[@SiniBANG]

@beezum he doesn't just throw the shoryu that would not net him advantage in the long run, but he will slip in one from time to time to disrupt the opponent at random intervals. That conditions the opponent to be wary of shoryukens from out of nowhere.

[@MashinBug]

James Chen was a good choice for this.

[@wanpokke]

@@Necropantz because he's reading a script rather than his usual moment-to-moment commentary

[@remyd8767]

He sounds overly dramatic

[@Dragonx21]

@@remyd8767 similar to a joe Rogan ufc promo.

[@caelan5301]

I was really hoping they'd go into the specifics of his match against gamerbee where he did 4 meaty shoryus in a row, but they didn't so I'll enlighten anyone who doesn't know much about SF4. A significant part of SF4s meta was doing a wakeup OS crouch tech. You press down, light punch, and light kick. If the opponent walks out and attempts to punish a whiff throw, they eat a crouching light kick, a low attack that will catch someone walking back. If they go for a throw, you tech the throw. The way you beat this is to go for a meaty, and if they crouch tech, you'll counterhit them. What people started doing was varying the timing of their crouch tech to beat people doing meatys on them, and thats kinda how the general meta of SF4 worked. What Daigo does here, as you've all seen is a meaty shoryu. This BLOWS THROUGH any crouch tech or button you throw out. It sends a message to gamerbee saying "hey, I'm enough of a lunatic to meaty shoryu, you need to start blocking". This allows him to start throwing him without the worry of a crouch tech every time. Daigo's in winners side, he has quite a few games he can lose, potentially eating a 50% damage punish on one of these makes sense if it allows you to set up this sort of mind game.

[@CherryDKaya]

I’d like to mention that this would usually work in online too, not cause of whatever wake up tech is meta right now. Fighting game players just have a phobia of pressing back

[@JagerXIII]

@@CherryDKaya to quote that one commentator who commentated on one of marlinpie's umvc3 matches, "he blocked that with his face"

[@felipebrasil5]

sry but the truth aboult this 4 dps 0:36 is that he sees gamerbees stand up and crouching, even i can see that, knowing GB would press a button he daigo already with a DP pre buffered just pressed a button to dp and gets GBee. For the kids was just a random but for a hawk eye like daigo it was just an easy opportunity. That's exactly how snake eyes did his huge fights with the lame zangief. Bassically fighting games are for very calm ppl that literally can see any frame before, besides Japaneses are very fair square to mechanics they really don't risk nothing, i mean nothing ! That's why tekken players were hustled by ashlan tekken (ash), tekken is a total agressive game, even though asians prefrer to thrust math instead of rush downs or random power finish down moves. btw i love tekken coz it's kind of real life... you can be a mma master but there is NO DEFENSE, um punch your dead ! In street fight you just crouch back sitting there forever safe basically.

[@noobtuber906]

thanks dude, was trying to understand why he kept eating those shoryus

[@ferventfoureyes]

I'm a Tekken player, don't play a lick of SF but i could cleary see the standing and ducking on wake-up. I was wondering how in the world he reacted to the duck so quickly, so consistently with a dp input. The buffering makes perfect sense but to even squeeze a button into such a small window of opportunity like that...🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 that's a certified read right there! Is this a common thing, or is it as elite as it looks? Between stuff like this and combo trials that I've seen, SF is much more technical game than i thought!

[@redbullgaming]

For more Street Fighter action, make sure you tune in for Red Bull Kumite in Las Vegas, streaming right here Nov. 13-14 👊

[@kevinm4193]

Kumiteeeeee

[@milomirjovanovic321]

@@kevinm4193 ه)۱. چچچچکمو.صن۱د۱دددتپپخ۹۹

[@dorjedriftwood2731]

He already explained he taps forward repeatedly when playing ryu instead of simply holding forward. He will shimmy back and forth then he just presses down to down forward. Meaning he is shortcuting the input. You can see in his inputs during practice mode. Also sometimes even Daigo mispresses so if he whiffs it’s not because he his trying to read someone necessarily. Sort of annoying you didn’t mention this as he completely explains how he manages to get it out so fast.

[@h.m.5724]

Can't stand people who say Riyu to mean Ryu

[@largemargeog1023]

I drink red bull cause you make progamers a real thing.

[@void6091]

When daigo does it, it’s a read. But when I do it, I’m random and a scrub.

[@redvelvetcake734]

Lmao I feel your pain

[@mvggy8489]

lol the double standard

[@Mannymoe3]

let them know buddy, this kind of double standard happens in a lot of fighting games.

[@Cosmoman78]

Daigo did those CONSTANTLY dude. Check the data again. He was literally and boldly spamming Shoryus, despite the risk being so high if it missed. If that's not a read, then he's a real psychic.

[@jordanreyna8744]

Just win evo.

[@mr.international2778]

Daigo isnt actually psychic. When he wants to land a shoryuken, the universe simply makes it so

[@jonaldbalingit884]

The universe: *insta-drops the cup of coffee` oh shit he wants an umeshoryu

[@taylorbee4010]

Crazy thing is besides his habit for playing games the umihara family and general usually has a hobby that they obsess over. His father was a master of karate and shogi. So basically as a kid he was more than likely getting classes on reading people just by playing against his dad or practicing with his dad.

[@AznPhatty]

He's like Kobe. Might miss a lot of shots in one game but not afraid to take the last shot to win the game. Daigo, might miss a shoryuken but not afraid to keep hitting that Umeshoryu

[@AznPhatty]

@@You_Rage_Quit Yes, Kobe was. Good observation.

[@arminzahirovic2964]

Amazing, thank you Red bull & James Chen for this amazing content!

[@redbullgaming]

Yes, thank you to James for the amazing voiceover work on this piece!

[@Emezie]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@redbullgaming]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@randez626]

With such respect, attention detail, and someone who understands to narrate... you have my full attention

[@geraldthepuppy9693]

I like to imagine Daigo is just having a good time and everyone else is in his way.

[@RetroKid]

I feel like I'm watching a breakdown basketball video from Secret Base, or an analytic video from Andyhoops. Great breakdown!

[@vangoghsseveredear]

Daigo: "my shoryu landed? Better do another one!" Also Daigo: "my shoryu whiffed? Better do another one!"

[@MozeXI]

Ken flowchart

[@snorrelarsen7500]

In Ae2012 you could do a uppercut cancel forward and be safe, the risk and reward was good for random uppercuts. In usfiv when they added -5 nerf to uppercut fadc forward, you barely see him used this again. That is in my opinion one of Daigo’s strengths; adaptation and that’s why this man has been on the highest level of street fighter for soon 25 years. Also one more thing, if you play vs an opponent and you let him press buttons in some situations, you can train the opponent to think he is safe in this situation, but cash in the big damage when you need it. Daigo did this a lot and that is why he was so successful with the omeshoryu.

[@johnny-mnemonic13]

I'm a simple guy. Anything displaying Daigo's talents, I click and like before watching the video.

[@Viralfan443]

I think the random Shoryus and a testament to legacy play. SFII and especially in turbo by raising the difficulty to maximum, if you ever played ken or Ryu, the technique isn’t very much different. After getting them so many times and seeing it work for the AI, it’s no wonder it’s a staple in his arsenal.

[@returningwhisper]

Players like Daigo make fighting games so much better.

[@ghulamalikatto1577]

Daigo is a genius and james chen described it so damn well ! 👍🏼

[@The_TylrG]

I really like this video, but it seems odd that the narration will reference specific events or specific moments, and the video at the time will not show what he's talking about.

[@randez626]

But NOW in SFV, we have the Ume-Flash! Sonic BOOM Baby!

[@HeirofDacia]

@Jimmy Changas Daigo was also a Guile player back in the sf2 days, even though he's most well known for his Ryu.

[@Yukari_MAiG]

The lord, Daigo Umehara! Also thank you Red Bull for having James narrates on this. Making this even better! I just have to rewatch this every day, love it.

[@vodkagobalsky]

True Umeshoryus are the ones before SFIV where you had no way to make them safe. It is a pure read. Nothing beats Umeshoryuing a limb in SF2 where the guy gets hit from 1/3 of the screen away.

[@handledis]

Well they forgot to mention this

[@EmoDKTsuchiya]

And let's not forget that ume-crouch fierce into full screen shinku hadouken he did to Sabin

[@danflak6363]

Later on in SF4 they made Ryus h.dp unable to FADC, so it was a complete unsafe gamble.

[@AceBadguy]

Thank you Red Bull for all the FGC stuff.

[@SgtHeartmann.]

Big love for Daigo,and for James too.

[@kumaSOevl]

I remember this. This was so hype.

[@TheodoreManthovani]

Everyone know when Daigo's HP hits the critical point, the beast awakens and he WILL shoryu his tru pawaa.

[@philithegamer8265]

So Daigo gets a zenkai boost when he's losing?

[@blueicydasani4543]

@@philithegamer8265 yes

[@515JUKE]

Love content like this

[@wudly9195]

Loved this!! Thank you for doing FGC content

[@markpalo7772]

Great video!

[@MixWeapon]

Thank you, Redbull!!

[@RationalMinded]

I think it's a mix of: Experience. Confidence in your own ability. Confidence in your download of your opponent.

[@HumbleHurricane]

Yo commentary by the legendary James Chen?.....🙌🏿🔥🔥💯🔥🔥🙌🏿

[@3r3cut]

I can't believe this is almost 10 years old. I was in my early 20 when I watched this live on twitch.

[@crisg180]

Watching this as a tekken player makes me feel like Daigo's dp is similar to the threat of being hellsweeped in tekken. The best tekken players strategically tease hellsweep to instill fear into the opponent and to start mind games. Not just randomly using it or spamming, but using it here and there or not using it all to create crazy pressure

[@SPACECOWBOY705]

REDBULL YOU GUYS ARE CHAMPIONS THE FGC IS SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE YOU

[@jamesaditya5254]

Months late for this, but thank you so SO MUCH for getting James Chen to narrate this. Especially because some other guy would butcher Ryu's name pronunciation. Freaking Raiooh

[@katsutama]

Great video! Red Bull as always with TOP content. Glad to see that this great organization supports FGC.

[@ClarkPotter]

Great vid. Love your sophisticated command of English as well.

[@konstantinkoverchenko9587]

Street Fighter is such a wonder franchise. It’s refreshing to see a player’s talents go beyond the mere physical level.

[@mrgabest]

I could listen to James talk about SFIV all day.

[@victormartinezjr6408]

LEGEND JAMES CHAN AS WELL LEGENDARY COMMENTATOR AND VOICE OF THE FGC!

[@thiagof9481]

Fantastic video, GG Red Bull

[@springroll703]

great video

[@tomcruise7481]

Amazing video

[@blueplasma]

THANK YOU CHEN!

[@NovaSenko]

I love that after eating that shoryu super, Gamerbee seems damn near excited to shake Daigo's hand at the end

[@zakman6471]

Sick video

[@JohnPedder]

Poongko and Kazunoko’s psychic DP’s are also next level too.

[@benjamincaddle2018]

Thanks Red Bull great content, thanks James Chen your my hype man.

[@tsaijoseph499]

Eita learn exactly how to press “UmeShoryu” in SFV with Ken

[@MikeP]

What a great video!

[@jamman7344]

He didn't admit That It's Random, he admitted that he doesn't hit every opponent with it because it would be boring for them if they didn't get any hits in. That is mastery.

[@tigsobango]

Thank you James Chen. For everything you do.

[@LtheOriginal]

Ngl, I first picked up 3rd Strike a good...15 years or so ago? After I saw Evo Moment 37 on the internet. (So yes, it was already a couple of years ago by that point) I would never come close to being a good 3rd Strike player. But God damn, that clip inspired me.

[@247videogame]

Nice video 🔥

[@jakemuller8626]

Daigo the Beast, the living legend 🙌 Thanks James, I saw this before but forgot to like it.

[@mezomoza7]

I haven't played both SF 4 & 5, but after watching many matches, I feel SF4 looks and feels much better than the latest installment!

[@jamesyue1348]

I'm really amazed and awed by James's chen vocabulary and enthusiasm in commentary. His words makes me think i'm watching a good movie.

[@SuperKinahead]

*One* of the things that made him a legend

[@PaulVRo]

“The ultimate strength, however, is strong in a way they can't even fathom. It can't be put into words, and no one can analyze it. Only those who have attained that level of strength know its secret. Therein lies the godlike strength that inspires the masses and makes the crowd go wild.” DAIGO UMEHARA

[@latle111]

What makes Daigo the greatest is not about how good he is, but his ability to glue the audience to their seats, or for some people, on the edge of their seats.

[@mimisaiko]

For people new to fighting game: as it might seems like taking risks, fighting game veteran are actually like chess player, they optimize their strategy so they could get an advantage on most situation. While it might looks like they are only good at reflection, they also spent lots of time learning all possible solutions, ultimately leading their way to victory. And when you are in high advantage, you are able to manipulate your opponent's mind.

[@taylorbee4010]

When you play Ryu long enough you just get a sense for when you can whip that thing out. Versus gamer be though he was maintaining a spacing where he could effectively counter or prevent a dog from throwing The roundhouse and he established a throw game the game prior. So basically he had the opponent guessing between taking a Ume srk or throw. It's one of the oldest Mix-Ups and it worked.

[@MrGabrielJude]

As an old school super street fighter II turbo long time player on the Super Nintendo, that Daigo comment is true, my goto was/is Ken. After tons and tons of playing to beat the game at its hardest level, the secret to beating virtually anyone with Ken was being able to launch the dragon punch, like you’re pushing a single button anytime you want at any intensity you want. It’s not “psychic,” it’s psychological. You let the opponent know you can launch one easily and at will, the intimidation of that alone causes them to make mistakes. That’s fundamental Ken/Ryu playing.

[@muteussouza]

Corporations focus always will be profit, but that said what Red Bull does for the alternative scenes, FGC and Radical Sports mainly, is applaudable. Thanks for believing in fighting games RB, different from many companies you guys understand that we are a niche that can be profitable and worthy investing in, and I'm gratuity for your support to the scene.

[@ShawneeUnion]

Wonder if Daigo caught that Ghandi set at DH13. All that Ryu lore in one tournament.

[@Killy5445]

One week later Daigo Umeflashkicked his way into capcom cup 2021.

[@skaiiwakka563]

I need to learn that. Anytime want to play some matches on SFV

[@tonio.t]

damn, red bull. subbed

[@rayquazaqq]

I wonder who did the first walk forward uppercut in history. Its a mind blowing gutsy tactic.

[@Ming1975]

Yup, thanks for reminding us why Daigo is the G.O.A.T. But as I remember in SF4 Daigo usually give players the first set to download them. Now in SFV it's actually far too risky to try that.

[@TheHerrMan]

True, he plays with his food in a lot of matches if you look around😂😂

[@hanshead]

Remember seeing 0:00 live. Iconic.

[@TheTickyTickyTicky]

It's like having an automatic turret programmed to fire at any opportune moments. The man is actually botting, but in his mind.

[@shahryarrizvi1]

Damn this video came out before he won at Capcom cup too

[@redbullgaming]

The GOAT's still got it! 🔥

[@drakedraven6961]

Thanks to RedBull gaming on going event whether it's online or offline for their huge support for the fighting game community. Glad how well they're doing after all these rough times despite the fact Covid19 has hit the FGC hard for nearly two years now. Be safe everyone, hoping more future events will continue onward as a long time RB supporter as myself. 🎮🕹

[@handledis]

No offense, but RB is like cigarettes and I feel like the ad restrictions are coming in the next 10yrs when people realize that sugar is also kinda damaging to the body in a big way. Anyways let's suck them dry of anything they give us until it's too late and they won't be allowed to make ads anymore. And hopefully by that point big tech is involved in a major way

[@thepaper888]

This video made me subscribe

[@enjoir]

The graphic shown 2:42 is abit off but great video nonetheless, especially with james narrating ^_^

[@ShigityShank06]

James Chen with the knowledge

[@pongking]

Daigo is the GOAT

[@zodiacfml]

15:31 he knew the opponent can't stop pushing buttons and can cancel the uppercut if ever it is blocked.

[@ymb9shinzou743]

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

[@SoShiBias]

Oh cool it's James Chen! Umeshoryu? More like Umaishoryu because every time it happens, it is DELICIOUS !

[@koray3774]

Umee can actually be slang for umai as well

[@SoShiBias]

@@koray3774 You're right! Perfect

[@MegumiHayashida]

We still haven't witnessed another EVO 3rd Strike moment. I hope SF6 will deliver

[@333revolver]

I need the old beast back hes tamed a little bit nowadays

[@aragondraws5147]

It’s committing to a true Rock Paper Scissors game 🤷‍♂️ on a much more calculated level. If you notice patterns quickly and know your opponent is going to do something, then it’s not really random 🤷‍♂️ for example, a big thing in street fighter 4 was the crouch tech option to avoid throws through blockstrings, dropping your block string and “randomly” throwing out a shoryuken to fadc into ultra or just a heavy punch shoryuken to get damage, might sound completely random but that decision was made based of reading your opponent’s pattern and guessing what they’re going to do.

[@jdshl8423]

His dragon punches are not random. He can do it at random, and that is a totally different thing from doing it randomly. So, his high hit rate is all due to great fighting instinct, which let's him release a dragon punch on reflex whenever his gut tells him "it's time" at that specific moment. What sums this up is a quote from Bruce Lee. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." Mastery.

[@EmberGyaru]

I love James Chen ^_^ Loved his commentary since the early 2010s. He's always killing it for the FGC!

[@garretwoeller7669]

The DP loop makes sense that dude was mashing on wake up every single time

[@OberynTheRedViper]

He was categorically NOT mashing… He was delayed throw teching.

[@garretwoeller7669]

@@OberynTheRedViper but he was doing it the entire time

[@thyruos6499]

He mastered the Ken flowchart from his time in SF3.

[@TristanDumantay]

The thing is that daigo isn’t scared to take damage even if it whiffs. That’s a powerful trait.

[@stebop823]

Legend. I used to hit Ldp Mdp Hdp with Ken clearing arcade.

[@DeadEnDCrew]

Capcom needs to allow a kick move to be accessible when Ryu completes a fierce dragon punch, therefore it would act as a "defensive parry mechanic" disguised as a kick. OP and yes please!

[@brendenhassler4613]

Just good old fashioned reads is all!

[@mysticnamja]

2:39 what's up with that chart? it looks like a couple things were moved down a line because of the first line "Player"

[@rahilhabib]

My game is no where near the level of these guys but I sure do miss playing sf4

[@marsHm311oW]

A legend that spam just one button -.-