Kyokugenryu Karate

Kyokugen Karate (Japanese: 極限流空手, Extreme Utmost Limit Way of the Empty Hand) is a fictitious fighting style employed by several characters in the Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters games produced by SNK Playmore.

Kyokugenryu Karate at a Glance
Kyokugen Karate is primarily based on Kyokushin Karate and has some mix of other traditional Japanese and Okinawan Karate, which was meant to preemptively protect its user from harm. Kyokugen Karate is probably the most violent form of karate.

Relationship between Kyokugen and Ki
Kyokugenryu Karate uses a lot of spiritual power of the user as it incorporates defensive techniques such as the Kou-ou Ken, Ryugeki Ken, and a sign that the user is worthy of the Black Belt of Kyokugenryu Karate: the Haoushoukouken and Haoushikouken techniques. Only the finest Kyokugenryu disciples are taught the Ryuukoranbu (Boisterious Dance of the Dragon and the Tiger) technique. The Sakazakis "marketed" Kyokugenryu Karate as a means of self-defense and prior to Takuma Sakazaki's commitment to teach Kyokugenryu Karate to outsiders (most notably Robert Garcia), it was strictly passed through the Sakazaki bloodline. Prior to the events of Art of Fighting, Kyokugenryu Karate was taught only to males. To prevent her from being re-abducted, Yuri Sakazaki received the honor of being the first female practitioner of the discipline.

The Moves

 * Kou-Ou Ken and Ryugeki Ken: The most basic move, which a user places all his/her Ki onto one hand and does a palm punch that emits a projectile of either the tiger or dragon, depending on the move being used. Kou-Ou Ken is available on the Kou-Ou and Raiou principles. Ryugeki Ken is available only on the Ryugeki principle.
 * Hienshippu Kyaku: Somewhat of an intermediate-level technique, consisting of two spin kicks. Hienshippu means "flying gale." Marco Rodriguez uses an improved Hienshippu Kyaku, which he jumps with a heavy knee kick and slams through with a fierce overhead kick.
 * Zanretsu Ken: The user summons all of his/her Ki onto both of his/her arms and does a series of lightning-fast punches. Zanretsu means "momentary violence." Only available through the Shoran and Kou-Ou Principles.


 * Genei Kyaku: A user summons all of his/her Ki onto his/her legs and does a series of lightning-fast kicks, ending with a Thai-style turnaround roundhouse. Only available on the Ryugeki Principle.


 * Kouhou and Ryuuga: Leaping uppercuts which either the left (Kou-Ou Principle) or the Right (Ryugeki Principle) hand rises up, slamming any jumping foes from the air.


 * Haou Shoukou Ken: A low-level, high-gauge finishing attack which the user places his/her will right onto the fists, does a two-handed fist palm. A high-gauge projectile of either the tiger or dragon emits from the palm punches. Haou Shoukou Ken means "Supreme King Flying Roaring Fist."


 * Haou Shikou Ken: A high-level finishing blow used only by those who have mastered the Haou Shoukou Ken. Virtually the same as with the Haou Shoukou Ken, but done more in a high-level style.

Most noticeably, there are two high-level moves that are taught only after a Kyokugenryu user reaches First Dan Black Belt: the Ryuukoranbu and the Shoran Kyaku, both of them taught only at the highest levels of study. The Shoran Kyaku is the most difficult move to master. The Kyokugen practitioner is free to discover moves of his/her own, as long as the basic forms of study have been mastered. While there are many variations of Kyokugen Karate, the basic principles have remained the same.

Practitioners
By order of seniority of Kyokugenryu Karate:
 * Takuma Sakazaki, the most established known practitioner
 * Ryo Sakazaki, the most well-known practitioner
 * Robert Garcia, the first known foreign practitioner
 * Yuri Sakazaki, the first and only known female practitioner
 * Khushnood Butt, student of Ryo Sakazaki

Worthy of mention may be the Mr. Karate title, used at different times by Takuma and Ryo, which appears to imply that the individual using is the current master of the art.