Ken artwork in Street Fighter 6.
© Capcom
Gaming

How to play Ken in Street Fighter 6

Fiery fists and crisp kicks: Ken returns in Street Fighter 6, of course. He is perfect for players who like to go on the offensive.
Written by Matthias Regge (@PrinnyTonic)
4 min readPublished on
Fighting games are a complex genre. And Street Fighter 6 is, of course, no exception. Although the title offers numerous opportunities to learn more about the system and characters within the game, you may be looking for a quick overview of the strengths and strategies of the different fighters. Then you've come to the right place.
If you want to play a classic but Ryu is too boring for you, Street Fighter 6 also has the hothead Ken up its sleeve. Find out all about his moves and strategies here.
Watch how the world's best players use these characters at Red Bull Kumite in New York on March 16-17.
01

Ken's game plan

Ken retains much of his offensive game plan from previous instalments in Street Fighter 6. Similar to his rival Ryu, he also has solid options in the neutral game and, therefore, good mid-range possibilities. However, he shines above all in closing the gap to his opponent, be it through his run, strong drive rush normals or his Dragonlash kick.
Ken aims to get close to the opponent and stick with them until they break. Coupled with his high damage potential, it can be really scary to go up against a competent Ken.

11 min

Mind of a Beast

Daigo Umehara has been at the top of the Street Fighter world for years, but still loves each new challenge.

02

Run-cancels

Ken's run in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's run

© Capcom

Ken's V-Skill from Street Fighter V is now a move in its own right. If you press two kick buttons, he starts running towards the opponent. His run can be cancelled like a special move from the corresponding normals. Depending on which button you press afterwards, he has different follow-ups:
  • LK: Stops your run
  • MK: Overhead (Safe on Block)
  • HK: Stepkick (cancels into all super arts)
Alternatively, a few of his special moves can be boosted if you use them during a run:
  • Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku
  • Shoryuken
  • Dragonlash
03

Notable normal moves

st.LP

Ken's st.LP in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's st.LP

© Capcom

  • Long range
  • 4 frames startup
  • Cancel possible in specials like Hard Shoryuken

cr.LP

Ken's cr.LP in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's cr.LP

© Capcom

  • 4 frames startup
  • Link in st.MP possible, allows Confirm in its target combo st.MP~st.HP

st.HP

Ken's st.HP in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's st.HP

© Capcom

  • Good poke
  • Cancelable and therefore very good bait for Drive Impact
  • Starter for many run-cancels

cr.MK

Ken's cr.MK in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's cr.MK

© Capcom

  • Far-reaching poke
  • Typical crouching medium kick from Shotos
  • Perfect as a drive rush buffer

st.HK

Ken's st.HK in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's st.HK

© Capcom

  • Punish counter leads to full combo
  • Spacing trap
  • Not cancelable

49 min

The Art of Street Fighting

The world's top Street Fighter V players prepare for the fight of their lives at Red Bull Kumite.

04

Special moves

Hadoken

Ken's Hadoken in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Hadoken

© Capcom

⬇️↘️➡️+👊
  • Ken's classic fireball
  • Strength of the button determines the speed of the projectile
  • OD version hits twice

Shoryuken

Ken's Shoryuken in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Shoryuken

© Capcom

➡️⬇️↘️+👊
  • The iconic anti-air
  • Important combo ender for Ken
  • All versions are invulnerable to attacks from the air
  • OD Shoryuken is completely invulnerable

Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku

Ken's Tatsumaki in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Tatsumaki

© Capcom

⬇️↙️⬅️+🦶
  • Hurricane Kick
  • Can be performed in the air
  • Carries the opponent far into the corner as a combo ender
  • All versions are very unsafe on block

Dragonlash

Ken's Dragonlash in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Dragonlash

© Capcom

➡️⬇️↘️+🦶
  • Tool to strengthen the offense
  • The strong version of Dragonlash is plus on block

Jinrai Kick

Ken's Jinrai in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Jinrai

© Capcom

⬇️↘️➡️+🦶
  • Kick move with different follow-ups
  • f.LK: Low attack. Unsafe on block, but a frame trap
  • f.MK: Overhead. Safe on block
  • f.HK: Combo ender. Does not hit Croucher
05

Super moves

Dragonlash Flame (Super-Art 1)

Ken's Dragonlash Flame 1 in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Dragonlash Flame

© Capcom

⬇️↙️⬅️⬇️↙️⬅️+🦶
  • Cancel from normal moves
  • Invulnerable to strikes and throws

Shippu Jinrai-kyaku (Super-Art 2)

Ken's Shippu Jinrai-kyaku in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Shippu Jinrai-kyaku

© Capcom

⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️+🦶
  • Cancel from normals and OD special moves
  • Completely invulnerable

Shinryu Reppa (Super-Art 3)

Ken's Shinryu Reppa in Street Fighter 6.

Ken's Shinryu Reppa

© Capcom

⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️+👊
  • Invulnerable to strikes and throws
06

Modern controls

Ken does not suffer from the restrictions of Modern controls. All his important moves are intact or can be executed together with the assist button. However, he also has access to a Dragon Punch, for which you only need to press a single button.
07

Tips & tricks

  • Don't be too obvious when approaching opponents with Dragonlash. An attentive opponent will easily hit you with a Drive Impact.
  • It is tempting to use Jinrai as a mixup tool. However, the reward here is often quite low, especially against players who know what they are doing and sometimes punish you for the gaps in the strings. In the corner, however, you can hit opponents with Jinrai kicks several times in one combo.

Part of this story

Red Bull Kumite

An epic battle to find the world’s best Street Fighter 6 player culminated in MenaRD being crowned Red Bull Kumite 2024 champion in New York City.

United States

Mind of a Beast

Daigo Umehara has been at the top of the Street Fighter world for years, but still loves each new challenge.

11 min

The Art of Street Fighting

The world's top Street Fighter V players prepare for the fight of their lives at Red Bull Kumite.

49 min