Hwoarang

Basic information

Full Name Hwoarang Known as Blood Talon (TK3, TK8) Free-Wheeling Kicks (SFxTK) Status Alive Fighting Style Taekwondo Nationality South Korea Height 181cm 184cm (TK8) Weight 68 kg 80 kg (TK8) Eyes Chestnuts Hair Orange dyeing (TK3-TK7, TK8) Restored to natural black with orange veining (TK7:FR) Tastes Rock music Street fight Discuss His teacher Fight against Jin Kazama Dislikes Mishima Karate Style Jin Kazama (TK3) Jin Kazama's Devil Form Ogre Species Human Gender Male Age 19 (TK3-TTT) 21 (TK4-TK7) 22 (TK8) Blood type EITHER Occupation Taekwondo student Street Thug Leader/Street Fraud Gang Leader (TK3) Recruit in the South Korean Army (Special Operations Division, Sergeant Rank) (TK4) Resistance Leader (TK6 SC) Hobbies Yachting (good at all sports) Motorcycling

Appearance

Hwoarang is of Korean ethnicity. He has straight, light brown hair, which he usually wears long, and a well-built body with well-developed muscles. Being a tall, heavy man, he is a formidable fighter. Hwoarang is a South Korean Taekwondo practitioner who frequently appears in doboks and biker/street style outfits throughout the series. He typically has shoulder-length hair dyed orange and either pulled back with his glasses, or left loose or off his face with a headband. He wears his natural black hair, mostly restored in Tekken 7, with the exception of a single orange streak in front.

Outfits

Tekken 3 Player Outfit 1 Hwoarang's Player 1 outfit is his dobok. His long-sleeved jacket is white with black trim along the seams and is worn open. The centrally printed black Hangul word on the back of the jacket, 맥, has a meaning that roughly translates to "a continuous spiritual flow of perseverance." Hwoarang's name is written in red capital letters below the Hangul. His pants match the jacket's color scheme. They are fastened with a black belt that has yellow embroidery on it. He wears matching blue hand and foot guards. The longer sections of Hwoarang's center-parted, shoulder-length orange hair are kept out of his face by a black and white headband. This dobok is the base for most of Hwoarang's Player 1 outfits.

Outfits part 2

Tekken 6 Player Outfit 2 Hwoarang's Player 2 outfit is inspired by his Tekken 5 counterpart, but is distinct in most of its details. His leather vest is a tan and green color with a bronze zipper and a buckled strap that fastens at the collar. It is worn partially unbuttoned and the cut of the vest is short, exposing a small strip of Hwoarang's abdomen. A symmetrical design is etched into the tan front panel of his vest. The ram's skull design on the back of the vest is not noticeably changed from Tekken 5, but the 'Demon Head' text is now absent. Hwoarang wears a silver chain necklace with a pendant depicting a human skull in the center of a six-pointed star. His tan leather gloves are decorated with bronze rivets and each of his wrists is wrapped with two brown buckled straps. He wears blue jeans secured by a brown belt decorated with a large silver buckle and metal buttons. Over his jeans are a pair of brown chaps with stylized fire designs and metal buttons on the outer side of each leg. He has two tan belts tied around his upper left thigh. His boots are brown with decorative silver metal toe caps and bronze spurs attached to the heels. Hwoarang's glasses have black frames and red lenses.

Outfits part 3

Tekken 7 In the Fated Retribution update, Hwoarang now wears a white, short-sleeved shirt that exposes part of his abdomen and has a red sun mark on the left side of his chest. On his right arm he has a black armband that extends from the end of his sleeve to just past his elbow that has a white flame mark on it. On his shoulders, Hwoarang wears a blue leather jacket with a gold chain attached to the collar and around his neck with a black skull design on the back that has a single red eye and an eye patch over his right eye. Above this skull design reads "Blood Talon". The lining of this jacket is orange with lighter orange designs on the inside. Hwoarang also wears grey jeans with black panels from his inner thighs to the outer ankle surrounded by light brown stitching. On each side of the jeans are layered pockets above two silver zippers, and on the bottom of his left ankle is a white skull design that also reads "Blood Talon". Along the back of the jeans is a single strap with a silver buckle. With these jeans, Hwoarang wears a brown leather belt with a large silver buckle and a wallet chain around his right hip connected to his belt loops. The belt has a beige tag on the back that reads "Blood Talon" next to a skull design that also sports an eye patch. The height of his jeans reveals the waistband of his underwear, which is green, orange, and white, and reads "Hunting Hawk" in black. Hwoarang's boots maintain a similar color scheme to his previous outfits, with an orange vamp and silver metal toe caps. In Fated Retribution, the tips of his boots are shaped like a shark, with sharp teeth around the tip and eyes on the top.

Outfits part 4

Tekken 8 In Tekken 8, Hwoarang regains his orange-dyed hair, the front and top sections of which are tied into a top bun while the back sections are loose over his shoulders, without the eye patch from Tekken 7. Hwoarang wears a white Taekwondo dobok with a black collar that bears a "Blood Talon" tag on the right side of said collar. There are blue lines along the shoulders leading to black and white tags that read "맥", with the word "Vein" printed underneath, stopping at the top seam of the sleeves, which are rolled up to be worn around Hwoarang's biceps. On the left side of the dobok, at the front of his shoulder, are three orange designs shaped like claw or talon marks. Below this, on the left side of his chest, is the same black hangul that reads 맥; this hangul was also present on his Player 1 outfit in Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament and roughly translates to "a continuous spiritual flow of perseverance". The word "Vein" that is printed below this hangul above his shoulders is the direct, literal translation of this. The back of the dobok jacket also bears this hangul, placed in the center and surrounded by a stylized swirling taegeuk which is in turn surrounded by a symmetrical design reminiscent of fanned feathers. "Hunting Hawk" is stamped across the top of his jacket in white capital letters, and there is another tag reading "Blood Talon" on the tail of the jacket. Hwoarang has a black belt tied around his waist with orange and white bands on the left end of the belt and more hangul reading "화랑" (Hwa-rang) on ​​the right end. He wears black dobok pants with orange designs on the sides, black shoes with orange and white soles, and matching black fingerless gloves with orange protective padding on the outside, also with "Hunting Hawk" printed on the wrist guards.

Personality

Hwoarang is impulsive, arrogant, and hot-tempered. He values ​​his fighting prowess and likes to boast about how easily he defeats his opponents. He is rebellious and dislikes obeying orders from authority figures; however, he does respect his master, Baek Doo San. In Tekken 8, Hwoarang demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and fight alongside others for a greater cause, though his seemingly boastful and dismissive attitude remains largely intact in his personal interactions. Driven by pride, Hwoarang is determined throughout the series to fight his rival, Jin Kazama. Though his rivalry with Jin originated when they fought to a draw prior to the events of Tekken 3, costing Hwoarang an impressive winning streak, his behavior in later games suggests that his desire for a rematch goes beyond a need to prove himself the better fighter. Hwoarang struggles to find satisfaction and meaning in daily life, even when he accomplishes impressive feats: in his final cutscene of Tekken 3, he appears unfazed by his tournament victory and goes to throw away the trophy he won; [23] his prologue of Tekken 4 notes the disinterest and emptiness he feels in the military despite his success in missions; [10] and his final cutscene of Tekken 5 again suggests that he is dissatisfied and bored after a tournament victory. [24] In all of these instances, the prospect of another fight with Jin takes Hwoarang out of what he otherwise seems to perceive as the mundanity of day-to-day life. Hwoarang additionally finds little satisfaction in fighting Jin when he has lost control of his Devil form; even when Hwoarang managed to defeat Devil Jin, he felt discontent, [8] suggesting that he may value his rivalry with Jin on a personal level rather than just because Jin can provide him with a challenging fight.

Personality part 2

Though he often appears arrogant and self-centered, Hwoarang can be perceptive and demonstrate emotional maturity towards those he cares about. He acknowledges that his master is upset in Baek's final cutscene of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and appears concerned for him; in order to allow his master to save face, Hwoarang loudly announces his late arrival as if talking to himself to alert Baek of his presence. [25] In Tekken 8's story mode, Hwoarang tells Jin that the devil is just another part of him, [18] a perception which foreshadows Jin's reconciliation with his devil form during the final act of the mode's narrative.

Biography

Hwoarang is a Taekwondo master and rival of Jin Kazama. [8] Prior to The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Hwoarang was also a Taekwondo student of Baek Doo San and the leader of a street fraud crew that would pick fights and use underhanded tactics to raise the bets against him; they would feign weakness and ineptitude to encourage people to raise their bets, only for Hwoarang to step in when there was enough money at stake and soundly defeat their opponents. One day, Hwoarang encountered some associates of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Among this group was Jin Kazama. Hwoarang convinced them to engage in a match, but was unable to defeat Jin; their fight ended in a draw. This was the first time Hwoarang had failed to secure a victory against an opponent. A short time after Hwoarang and Jin's fight, Baek Doo San disappeared and is believed to have been killed by Ogre. Hwoarang participated in the 3rd King of Iron Fist Tournament to avenge his master and settle the score with Jin in a rematch. [9] There is no canon material indicating whether or not Hwoarang fought Jin in this tournament. After the tournament, Hwoarang returned to South Korea, where he was drafted into the military. He was placed in a Special Operations unit and achieved success in several missions despite his penchant for disobeying authority. However, Hwoarang found life in the military unfulfilling and defected to attend The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 when he heard it had been announced. [10] Before Hwoarang could fight Jin in the tournament, the military caught up with him and he was arrested. [11] While Hwoarang was being held, he received a letter from Baek Doo San, who, it was learned, had survived Ogre's attack. In the letter, Baek asked Hwoarang to return to the military to complete his service.

Biography part 2

Two months later, Hwoarang finished his military service and traveled to the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament [11] with his master. [12] He faced Jin during the tournament and managed to defeat him; however, Jin's demonic form emerged moments after Hwoarang claimed victory and savagely attacked Hwoarang, nearly killing him. Hwoarang fell unconscious and woke up in a hospital bed three days later receiving critical care. He begged Baek, who had stayed by his side, to train him to become even stronger. [13] Baek agreed and subjected Hwoarang to his most extreme training yet. [14] During the events of Tekken 6, Hwoarang led a group of rebel fighters called The Resistance against the Mishima Zaibatsu (with Jin in command, the conglomerate had begun instigating and participating in wars across the world). Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch encountered Hwoarang during this time, with Alisa noting that his personal feelings about Jin Kazama were compromising The Resistance's fight against the Zaibatsu. Sometime after Hwoarang's encounter with Lars, Jin Kazama went missing. Hwoarang suspected that there was more behind Jin's disappearance than met the eye and followed a lead to the Middle East, where he encountered Devil Jin. This time, Hwoarang was able to defeat Devil Jin. United Nations forces, seeking to stop Jin, appeared on the scene and Hwoarang lost sight of Jin in the interference.

Biography part 3

Hwoarang returned home and resumed his training. Unsatisfied with his victory against Devil Jin, he reflected on what he truly wanted. [17] He would then enter the Asia Preliminaries in G Corporation's King of Iron Fist 8 Tournament, where Jin Kazama was also present. Hwoarang made it to the semi-finals. Following Jin Kazama's victory against Reina, Hwoarang entered the ring challenging the tournament brackets, challenging Jin right there. They fought, with Jin ultimately claiming victory by tapping into his demonic powers without fully transforming or losing control. Hwoarang commented on Jin's "strange abilities", but noted that they were ultimately just another part of Jin. [18] Hwoarang traveled to the Colosseum in Italy to witness the main tournament of the 8th King of Iron Fist Tournament. He was asked by Asuka Kazama if he was there to support Jin; Hwoarang denied that he was, telling her instead that he was only there to defeat Kazuya Mishima. [19] When a commotion broke out between various factions in the arena, prompting Kazuya to assume his True Demon form, [20] Hwoarang joined a cohort of fighters in combating Kazuya so that Jin could escape. [21] He survived this encounter and later accompanied Yggdrasil to Yakushima to aid in the fight against the G Corporation forces. [22]

History

Tekken 3 Manual, NTSC and Manual, PlayStation Classic Hwoarang entered this tournament after Ogre attacked his mentor Baek, whom Hwoarang greatly respects. He wants to redeem himself by getting revenge on Ogre and defeating Jin Kazama (Hwoarang was unable to beat Jin in a previous fight). [2] Official Strategy Guide Killing two birds with one stone... A taekwondo student who trains at Baek Doo San's dojang, Hwoarang makes a lot of money through dishonest bets. As part of what's called a fraud team, he and other members pick fights for money. They manipulate the odds by hiding their true strength. Hwoarang increases the odds against himself and makes what appears to be a foolish bet. His opponents soon realize that they are the real fools when Hwoarang soundly defeats each and every one of them. One day, members of the Mishima Group arrive in town, including Jin Kazama. Hwoarang convinces them to play along and they face off against Jin. Hwoarang, shamefully, can only manage a draw. He hangs his head in disbelief at the first blemish on his perfect career. Sickened at the thought of having to tell his master, Baek, the bad news, Hwoarang vows to practice every day to ensure it never happens again. Then, terrible news: Ogre claims Baek as another victim. Hwoarang now has a purpose in life. He will enter the tournament, defeat Jin Kazama, and seek revenge against the God of Fighting: Ogre. Tekken 4 Manual, NTSC and prologue Back in his homeland of Korea, Hwoarang was drafted into the military and assigned to a special operations unit. Although his success in various missions was highly valued, his tendency to disobey rules and orders gave his superior officers more than a headache. Hwoarang felt a strange emptiness inside him. He remembered with nostalgia the days when he made money in street fights, the thrill of combat.

Story part 2

One day, the announcement of the upcoming Tournament reached Hwoarang's ears. For the first time in years, his blood began to stir. He would defeat Jin, Heihachi Mishima, and anyone else who dared stand in his way to claim the Mishima Zaibatsu as his own. Full of anticipation, Hwoarang left the military base and headed to the Tournament. [10] Manual, PAL Hwoarang served in the Korean army and was assigned to a special operations division. He racked up many successful missions thanks to his taekwondo prowess and innate talent for combat. But he was not interested in military matters and resisted authority. During his military service, Hwoarang began to experience a growing sense of emptiness. Ironically, life in the military did not satisfy his hunger for combat, and he longed to return to earning a living as a street fighter. When news of the upcoming King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 reached him, he realized that this might give him another chance to fight Jin Kazama, the first man to ever concede a draw. Sneaking out of the military base, Hwoarang set off for the tournament. Official strategy guide Hwoarang was drafted into the military in his homeland of Korea and assigned to a special operations division. Although his successes in various missions were highly valued, along with his skill in Tae Kwon Do and combat techniques, his tendency to disobey rules and orders gave his superior officers more than a few headaches. Hwoarang had no interest in military life and felt a strange emptiness inside. He nostalgically recalled the days when he made money in street fights and the thrill he felt in hand-to-hand combat. He often thought of one fight in particular, the fight against Jin Kazama. These longings could not be appeased by the military. One day, Hwoarang heard the announcement of the upcoming tournament. Hwoarang's blood stirred. He would defeat Jin.

Combat

Despite having a flashy and agile moveset, Hwoarang's speed is fairly average. He makes up for it with a powerful arsenal of kicks, and is only rivaled by Baek in terms of damage and range. His kicks are also relatively safe to execute as punishment, their only major drawback being their vulnerability to counterattacks. His punches are best used as quick pushes or as filler during juggles. The raw damage of Hwoarang's punches is minimal and should only be used with good strategic planning. Hwoarang is one of the most complex characters in the series due to his multiple stance transitions and huge move list. As a result, he is not very suitable for beginners. Hwoarang specializes in a very aggressive playstyle and many of his moves leave him in an advantageous position, even when blocking. Having poor defensive capabilities, he is best suited to applying constant pressure to the opponent. While not a fighter by any means, he does have a wide variety of throwing techniques, a total of eleven. Notable among these are a crouching throw, a ground-breaking throw that can also be used from the left flamingo stance, a throw used against airborne enemies, and a throw used from the right foot forward stance, which deals unusually high damage for a throw. One of his biggest weaknesses as a fast attack character is his lack of elbow or knee strikes. As a result, he is somewhat weak against characters with Attack Reversals . Hwoarang's full-release game mitigates this fact somewhat.

fighting style

As a taekwondo practitioner, Hwoarang relies heavily on quick and flexible kicks, and if allowed, can keep his opponent on his toes and unable to counterattack. In technical terms, Hwoarang's style of taekwondo is modern and more akin to the style used by the International Taekwondo Federation, which is considered to be based on self-defense, as opposed to world taekwondo, which is based on more popular sports. True to this, compared to Baek, Hwoarang has more aggressive tools that benefit when he charges towards his opponent's face, launching a barrage of attacks as he goes.

Relationship between characters

Baek Doo San: His teacher and taekwondo instructor. Baek is the only person Hwoarang doesn't approach with his usual arrogant and brazen attitude, as he respects him greatly. Jin Kazama - Hwoarang's rival since they fought to a draw in events prior to Tekken 3. For some time, Jin oscillated between seeing no reason for them to fight and acknowledging their rivalry but being unable to indulge it due to more pressing matters. [44] Hwoarang defeated Jin in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, but Jin subsequently transformed into his demon form and nearly killed Hwoarang. Despite this, Hwoarang continued to pursue Jin, attempting to gain his attention through The Resistance in Tekken 6 and tracking him down and defeating his demon form in Tekken 7. In Tekken 8, the two fight in a preliminary of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 8; their sparring serves to awaken the desire in Jin that allows him to reactivate his Devil Gene without losing control. Jin is able to win the fight, and Hwoarang expresses to Jin that his demon abilities are just another part of him. From then on, he fights on Jin's side against Kazuya Mishima. In the non-canon animated series Tekken: Bloodline, Hwoarang and Jin have a kind relationship alongside their rivalry, though they vehemently deny that they are friends when asked directly. Eddy Gordo: His enemy in Tekken 6. As captain of the Tekken Force, Eddy is aware that Hwoarang leads The Resistance. [45] Ogre - Hwoarang entered the third tournament to get revenge on Ogre for his attack on Baek. Miguel Caballero Rojo: Hwoarang's ally in The Resistance in Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign mode. Steve Fox - Both share unique dialogue in Tekken 8 , in which they appear to be friendly rivals. Hwoarang and Steve fought each other in the introduction of Tekken 5. Steve is also Hwoarang's partner in the non-canon Street Fighter X Tekken .

Relationship between characters part 2

Ling Xiaoyu - Hwoarang has one-shot dialogue with Xiaoyu in her character episode of Tekken 8. In the non-canon animated series Tekken: Bloodline, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu are friends. Asuka Kazama - Hwoarang and Asuka briefly converse in the Colosseum of Fate in Tekken 8's story mode. Hwoarang knows that Asuka is related to Jin. Emilie de Rochefort - Hwoarang sits with Lili and Asuka in the Colosseum of Fate in Tekken 8's story mode.

Curiosities

During the Tekken 3 era, Hwoarang was known to some players by the pseudonym 'BoB' (not to be confused with Robert 'Bob' Richards, the character introduced in Tekken 6), supposedly because Western players had difficulty spelling his name correctly. It is also possible that the pseudonym was derived from Namco's Tekken 3 pre-release artwork where he is seen riding a motorcycle; as no name was available at the time, he was simply known as Boy on Bike. Hwoarang, Jin, and Steve are the same age and are the youngest human male characters on the current roster. Hwoarang can be seen practicing ITF Taekwondo Hwa-Rang Tul in the Tekken 3 demo video.[47] Many of his victory animations in the series are taken from various ITF Taekwondo style tul. Hwoarang's movements are captured by motion capture. The actor who did it was Hwang Su Il, a 7th Dan black belt of the I.TF and lightweight champion of Japan. Harada has stated that "Hwoarang" is the name of a street. [48] Hwoarang's given name and surname are unknown. Hwoarang is the only character to have won an official tournament match against Jin Kazama.[13] In Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, Hwoarang's taekwondo belt contained four tags, indicating that he was 4th Dan, but from Tekken 4 to Tekken 7, his belt is customized to have his own name on it and shows only two tags, signifying that he had been demoted to 2nd Dan. In Tekken 8, it now has 8 tags, showing that he had been promoted to 8th Dan. Hwoarang's military history in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 is based on the mandatory military service that has existed in South Korea since the Korean War. Hwoarang shares some similarities with fellow Tekken mainstay Paul Phoenix: They are both motorcyclists. Both consider a member of the Mishima Clan as a rival.

Curiosities part 2

Hwoarang shares some similarities with Street Fighter character Juri Han: Both are originally from South Korea. Both are Taekwondo practitioners. They both like motorcycles. In one game, they both have main outfits that include an eye patch, which will be omitted in the next. The only differences are which eyes were damaged and why they were damaged.