Hurricane Kick

aka: Vacuum Hurricane Kick

TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!

"The deadliest move known to man, the spinning foot... of death."

— Splatterhouse 3 review

This is basically multiple consecutive roundhouse kicks, often done while jumping in the air.

Is a staple of the Shotoclone.

A Sub-Trope of Rule of Cool, Artistic License – Martial Arts, and Roundhouse Kick.

A Sister Trope to Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs, Shoryuken, Kamehame Hadoken, Spinning Piledriver.

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Video Game Examples:

Action Games

• Bayonetta does this in the air if you do 360 motion with a stick followed by kick button. It also has additional effects depending on the weapon equipped on her legs.
• Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: With the Beowulf Devil Arm, there's a move that's literally called Hurricane Kick (or Tornado, depending on the version) and involves spinning kicks in mid-air. For bonus points, it's a follow-up to Real Impact, a Shoryuken move that involves stopping in mid air twice while ascending.
• The Matrix: Path of Neo has this, you can use it in mid-air, called a Tornado Kick.
• Transformers: Devastation has Bumble Bee do this as one of his rush attacks.
• In the Saints Row 2 The Ronin Gang can use spinning kicks against you.

Beat Em Ups

• Asura from Asura's Wrath has this as a counter move in his special DLC Crossover with Street Fighter.
• Every Double Dragon beat-em-up since Double Dragon II gave Billy and Jimmy the "Cyclone Spin Kick". Double Dragon III in particular gave them a "Double Cyclone Kick".
  • The Lee brothers did had a spin kick in the first arcade game, but it was not a rotating move like the one in the sequels. Instead, it was a jumping sobat that functioned as a back attack. A similar move was featured in the NES version which replaces the roundhouse in a kick combo when the player reaches the highest level.
  • Randy and Andy, their expies from River City Ransom, also had the Cyclone Kick.
  • Double Dragon Neon has the regular spin kick, and super hurricane kick which summons an actual tornado as you spin.
• Guy's Senpūkyaku and Cody's Double Kick in Final Fight^note It should be noted that when they crossed over to Street Fighter Alpha, Guy's Senpūkyaku functioned akin to a Shoryuken, whereas Cody stopped using his Double Kick (aside from the end of his Lv.3 Dead End Irony super in Alpha 3. Cody's brother Kyle can learn this as a counterattack in Streetwise.
  • Haggar's Double Lariat/Spinning Clothesline (later borrowed by Zangief in the Street Fighter series) is a Hurricane Punch.
• Super Punch Patrol have the literal Fighting Clown enemies who attacks by spinning in circles on one leg, knocking you off your feet if you're caught in the way.
• Gene of God Hand has this as one of his Roulette Wheel specials.
• In Kung Fu Chivalry, the Dark Action Girl fourth boss can do both horizontal and vertical hurricane kicks.
• Scott's special move from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is an EX Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku.
• In Splatterhouse 3, Rick can perform a stationary spinning roundhouse kick by inputting certain button combo while not being transformed. It turns out to be his most damaging move, even more than his transformed form's attacks.
• Wade in Violent Storm. Kyle from the same game do a spinning kick, fitting his Extremity Extremist style.

Fighting Games

• The main characters in the Hiryū no Ken series (which includes Flying Dragon and Flying Warriors) typically have this kind of kick as an ultimate special attack.
• Orchid has a shortened version of this move in Killer Instinct.
• Liu Kang's "Fatality" in the original Mortal Kombat (1992) was a Helicopter Spin Kick, which basically involved him bending at the waist and twisting around to deliver two powerful kicks to the face, followed by an uppercut (which could throw people into the spike pit).
• Capcom's arcade fighting game Red Earth has Kenji (or Mukuro in Japanese) using a hurricane kick similar to the ones used in Street Fighters called Rasen Kyaku.
• Hinata Wakaba of Rival Schools has two variants. A regular attack where she's floating forwards and does 3 spinning sidekicks, and a super where she's floating stationary and dishing out a rapid volley of spinning back heel kicks. The super version gets remade into a rising attack in the sequel Project Justice.
  • Hideo, being the series most blatant Shotoclone, also has this move.
• Named from the move in Street Fighter that Ryu and Ken do, also known as the "Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku" ("Tornado Whirlwind Kick").
  • In addition to Ryu and Ken's move, Chun-Li has her "Spinning Bird Kick", which is this, only upside down and with a full split, and the "Tenshoukyaku", only she flies at an angle.
  • Sakura also has one, of course, since all her moves are slightly odd copies of Ryu's. Her version (the "Shunpukyaku") is marginally more realistic, since she can't do the "floating-though-the-air" bit and has to jump in an arc instead.
    • Sakura's "Haru Ichiban" is a sweeping hurricane kick (flying vertical hurricane kick in Marvel vs. Capcom). In some earlier versions, it counted as a low attack, making it a very powerful move due to being hard to block.
  • Akuma ("Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku") and Sean (Tornado Kick), who also have movesets related to Ryu's, have proper floaty versions.
    • In the VS. Series, Akuma's variant is electrified.
    • His second ultra combo in SFIV, Demon Armageddon, takes this up to eleven: Akuma kicks his opponent into a dark void, then spins so fast that it looks like he isn't spinning and is surrounded by a white "ring" of kicks. He then flies into the void and stabs his foot into the opponent's chest.
  • Resident Butt-Monkey Dan has the Dankuukyaku ("Gale Kick"; also "Dan's Wind Kick"), which travels in a similar arc to Sakura's and is likely the only respectable move Dan has in his repertoire.
  • In Street Fighter IV, Gouken has an even more awesome version where he flies upward.
    • Also Juri's second special does this.
    • Fei Long as well, though his "Shienkyaku" is a very narrow, FLAMING cyclone, which hardly moves.
  • Rashid in Street Fighter V puts a lot of the previous street fighters to shame when it comes to this, e.g his V-Trigger Ysaar where using his wind powers he makes a small tornado with his leg and just wrecks his opponent. Unlike Chun-Li or the other Shotokans, Rashid somehow doesn't rotate his upper body during the hurricane kick.
• The Super Smash Bros. series has a couple of these:
  • Captain Falcon does this as his "get up and knock everyone away" move. Slightly justified, given Falcon's style trends toward Muay Thai/Muay Boran, not to mention his absurd strength.
  • Bayonetta's Neutral Air is this, doubly so if she uses her bullet arts. Based on the example listed from her own series.
  • And of course, Trope Namers Ryu and Ken reprise the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku as their side special in their appearances, complete with being able to use it with the quarter-circle backwards input. Ken also has the Shippu Jinrai Kyaku, his Final Smash if it's used right next to an opponent.
• Donatello in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters on the SNES has a spinning kick where he spins on his head.
• Tekken has its fair share with Kazuya and Heihachi's Spinning Demon.
• Yoshimitsu in both Tekken and Soulcalibur. He gets dizzy if he performs it too many times.
• Touhou Project: Two of Reimu's recurring moves in the fighting games are Ascension Kick (a backflipping kick which causes her to rise upwards) and Divine Art "Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick" (a series of Ascension Kicks chained together). A bit easier to excuse since Reimu can fly.
• World Heroes: Hanzo and Fuuma had the Iga Cutter and Fuuma Cutter respectively, which attacks with their kunai during a full body spin with their arms and legs outstretched like a pinwheel. In the sequel, both gain the ability to perform it in mid jump, in similar fashion to Ryu and Ken's midair Tatsumaki.

MMORPG

• World of Warcraft added the Monk class in the Mists of Pandaria expansion which are chinese inspired martial Artists. A basic move in their arsenal is the Spinning Crane Kick, which is precisely this trope. Oddly enough this ability (while obviously an attack) also HEALS ALLIES that it hits for monks that specialize in healing.
  • Later, monks gained access to a level 100 ability specifically named "Hurricane Strike", which shares the Spinning Crane Kick animation with some extra effects and splits its damage between all enemies in a small radius. Paradoxically, this means this Herd-Hitting Attack is in fact much more dangerous when used against a single opponent.

Platformers

• As it is based on Homestar Runner as mentioned below, it should probably not come as any surprise that 1-Up has this as his attack in Stinkoman 20X6. Tap once to kick, hold to keep his leg extended, and press a directional button to spin in place. It also serves as 1-Up's jump attack.
• Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu has a variation in Jackie Chan's special Tornado Attack, which lets him damage enemies by somersaulting in mid-air.
• Jak and Daxter can both do a Spin Kick.
• Top Spin from Mega Man 3.
  • Zero's Rasetsusen in Mega Man X8, become this when the K Knuckle is equipped.
• Courtney Gears and her backup dancers in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.
• This is one of the R-Trigger tricks in the Sonic Advance series starting in 2.
• T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger: The finisher to T'ai Fu's basic combo is a two-legged version of this.

Role-Playing Games

• Gale in Digital Devil Saga has an upside-down version of this when using a multi-hitting physical skill.
• This is one of Tifa's Combos in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
• In Final Fantasy X, the Jecht Shot seems to involve doing twenty-some revolutions while hovering at the apex of your jump for five seconds. What's interesting is how the shot is used both underwater and on land, and is just as implausible in either scenario.
• The Martial Monk garb in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII upgrades the Punt attack to Whirlwind Kick, which increases its base damage and significantly increases its Perfect Hit multiplier.
• Noa's strongest Hyper Arts attack in Legend of Legaia.

Non-Video Game Examples

Anime and Manga

• Code Geass:
  • Suzaku Kururugi's patented spin kick was previously the cover image for the Artistic License – Martial Arts page.
  • Kallen does it too. Bonus points go to the time when she was wearing a bunnygirl outfit and took out a few huge guys with Waif-Fu. She also uses it in the final knock-down, drag-out battle between her and Suzaku in the series finale.
• Dragon Ball:
  • Goku performs a Hurricane Kick on occasion, a notable example would be in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn where he uses it to send the Self-Duplication copies of Janemba flying.
  • Gogeta in Dragon Ball Super: Broly performs a truly spectacular horizontal version◊ against the eponymous berserker, effectively staggering him and cough out phlegm.
  • In his first bout with Imperfect Cell in Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo performances two Street Fighter-esque spinning kicks on the monster. The first one lands, but Cell dodges the second one.
  • Chi-Chi back in Dragon Ball performs a few◊ against◊ her future husband Goku during their match in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.
• Gundam Build Fighters Try: Sekai Kamiki's Senpu Tatsumaki-Geri takes this up to eleven, as not only does he do with with a Gundam (albeit a plastic model), but it's shown to cause a powerful enough vortex to suck in all the missiles on the battlefield.
• Higurashi: When They Cry: Akasaka pulls off one of these in his fight against the Yamainu in Matsuribayashi-hen, kicking out a guy who was coming at him from behind and facing front again by the time he lands.
• Nove performs one in her battle against Teana in of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. In her case, not only is she a Magitek Cyborg, but in the DVD version, she's also shown needing the jets of her skates to do the "sail through the air while spinning multiple times" part.
• Maken-ki!: Azuki excels at martial arts and is especially proficient with kicks. She used a standard hurricane during her fight with Yan-Min and, in Chapter 48, she performed her own rendition of Chun Li's "Spinning Bird Kick".
• One Piece:
  • Sanji has an attack similar to Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick, called “Party Table Kick Course”. When combining this move with Haki, he can deflect More Dakka.
  • In Punk Hazard Luffy uses an attack called “Gomu-Gomu UFO” where he uses his Rubber Man body to perform a spinning kick, very similar to the Hurricane Kick.
  • Kick Chick Boa Hancock during the battle of Marineford while helping out the aforementioned Luffy has a beautiful Hurricane Kick of her own◊.
• Pokémon: The Series: While in the video games the appearance of Blaze Kick is variable, in the anime it's always depicted like this.
  • In the games and anime, Hitmontop is built around this, being designed after a top and Capoeira practitioner. Its Signature Move is Triple Kick.
• Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie: Both Ryu and Ken have mastered the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku and each utilizes it during the film. Notably rendered more realistically than in the game; rather than spinning around on one leg in midair like a top, they alternate legs to delivered repeated roundhouse kicks.
  • Ryu uses his near the end of his fight with Sagat. Then, several scenes later he KO's Fei Long with it.
  • Ken saves his for the final showdown against M. Bison, once Ryu immobilizes Bison by grabbing his legs.
  • During the earlier match with Ryu, Fei Long also uses his own Shienkyaku to try and finish his opponent off.
  • Chun-Li uses her Spinning Bird Kick to turn the tables on Vega. While fighting in only her underwear and a loose shirt. Again, it's rendered more realistically than in the games, as rather than floating a few inches above the ground upside down, she instead moves by using a spinning handstand to deliver the kicks.

Fan Works

• Code Geass: Awesome of the Rebellion includes Suzaku performing the Spinzaku as his signature move. In one chapter, he uses it as a very literal hurricane kick. In later chapters, he is able to use it to turn his legs into helicopter blades. Later, he combines the two helicopter blades into a sword, that he launches as a boomerang.
• In the Dragon Ball Z/ My Hero Academia crossover The Symbol of Peace and Justice, Gohan mentions he likes to play Street Fighter II, and he incorporates some of the moves into his fighting style. At separate points during the U.A's entry exam, he uses Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick, and later Ryu and Ken's standard version.

Films — Live-Action

• Parodied in the beginning of Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, when the Chosen One jumps in the air and does one of these. Of course, the attack looks like a mannequin spinning while suspended on a wire.

Literature

• Lampshaded in Artemis Fowl: when Butler drops a dockhand by this method, Artemis comments that his sensei must be spinning in her grave. On the other hand, Butler was being particularly showy for a reason.

Live-Action TV

• Kamen Rider Double FangJoker's Finishing Move involves him sprouting a blade on his heel and spinning to hit the Dopant.
• Kamen Rider Den-O Sword Form's new Finishing Move exhibited in the Onigashima Battleship movie.
• Tommy Oliver of Power Rangers was introduced this way in the show, as a demonstration of his skill and featured in the opening credits. Although it was a legitimate skill done by Jason David Frank and landing in between the consecutive kicks.

Pinball

• Appears in Gottlieb's Street Fighter II pinball, both on the playfield art for Ken and Ryu, and as a spinning flipper for Chun Li's "Spinning Helicopter Kick" attack.

Professional Wrestling

• Shelton Benjamin's Dragon Whip is like an assisted hurricane kick — when his opponent catches a gut kick, Shelton twists to free his trapped foot and kick his adversary in the same motion.
• Masaaki Mochizuki has a move called Illusion: if an opponent ducks under a high roundhouse, Mochizuki immediately fires off a reverse roundhouse with his other leg.
• Shinsuke Nakamura has a similar move to Illusion, but with a spinning heel kick instead of the reverse roundhouse.

Web Animation

• Homestar Runner:
  • In the Strong Bad Email "dangeresque 3", the climax of "Dangeresque One: Dangeresque Too?!" has Homestar held up by a rope that spins him around as he kicks.
  Homestar: The pipes are broken!
  • Stingy Relenque, the French-Canadian villain in "The Hot Jones Hi-Jack", uses this to kick Dangeresque off a moving truck. In an allusion to the above Mondegreen, he shouts "Ze pipes! Zey are broken!" just before the attack.

Real Life

• Capoeira practitioners often pull a variant of this, basically Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick done with handstands instead of Chi levitation. This was also the way Chun-Li pulled it off during her battle with Vega in the very-slightly more realistic Street Fighter II anime film.
• Certain martial art styles practice kicking with both legs right after each other, rotating 360 degrees in the progress. Most commonly performed with a roundhouse kick and a following backwards Spinning Crescent. Crescent kicks are pretty common, too.
  • They also tend to be some of the most powerful kicks widely taught, but are more or less useless in sparring unless they are used as a fake out - because the opponent can see what's happening just as much as the audience can.
• The windmill in breakdancing, which is supposedly adapted from a kung fu move.
• Daniel Graham's Hurricane Kick. Practicality is far less important to tricking than is style and pulling off these sorts of "video game" moves. The "flash kick" in tricking is also similarly derived from Guile / Charlie's move in Street Fighter.
• A demonstration of several Tae Kwon Do Black Belts doing some, before switching to Flash Kicks in the end (heck, a comment even compared one to the Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku).
• While it's nowhere near as high flying as in Street Fighter, the Tornado Kick, Roundhouse or Crescent, is an aerial kick that involves spinning to generate force.

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