Mortal Kombat 1/Kenshi

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Synergy

Matchups

Frame Data

Resources

#MK1_Kenshi

Introduction

Restorer of His Family's Name

"Once one of ancient Japan's most honored families, the Takahashis were decimated in battle. They lost everything, including the emblem of their power: the revered sword, Sento. Those who survived joined the Bakuto, a predecessor of the Yakuza, for its protection. Five centuries later, Kenshi is raised on the stories of his ancient family's exploits. Detesting his corrupt Yakuza life, he pines to free the Takahashis from the Yakuza's grasp and restore their name. But for his family to follow him, Kenshi must first fight to prove that he can lead. His first battle is to find and retrieve Sento."

Kenshi is a Puppet/Stance swordsman designed around playing neutral to set up and/or hit-confirm into his DB1 Summon Ancestor special and trigger “Sento Stance,” which calls a spirit fighter onscreen to be controlled independently of Kenshi. Sento replaces the Kameo fighter for 10 seconds allowing the player to hold the Kameo Button and input commands with Negative Edge to control the Ancestor’s movements & attacks, while choosing to control and/or idle Kenshi simultaneously. Sento Stance gives Kenshi access to several new mixup options, as well some unique pressure situations such as extensive blockstrings and/or placing the spirit behind the opponent which allows it to avoid being hit (aka “Sento Sandwich”). The spirit will kneel in a cooldown state if it takes a hit from the opponent and will be disabled for 2 seconds, leaving Kenshi in a less-powerful state until he can safely refresh the spirit or exit the stance (with his Kameo Gauge replenishing from empty at a moderate rate once the Sento Timer has depleted or Kenshi ends the stance).

Strengths

Weaknesses

Fighting Spirit: Summoning the Ancestor is practically a win condition unto itself thanks to its ability to enable extended block strings, damaging mixups, and armor break setups; the "Sento Sandwich" is arguably the worst-case scenario for every opponent to face; Kameo Independent: Kenshi only needs his Kameo until he can setup Sento Stance safely, at which point he has his Ancestor out to continue the fight; Starts Out Simple: Default Stance Kenshi is no slouch, as he has a solid, well-rounded move set to make starting the real party an inevitability.

Two Step Game Plan: Kenshi does not begin the round at his full potential and entering his win condition requires him to score a hit first; a savvy opponent who can steamroll a round is his worst enemy; Swords Work Better Unsheathed: Base Kenshi's damage is pretty weak even with meter or Kameos, highlighting the need to transition into Sento stance; Ow, The Edge: While common setups are available in the in-game kombo trials, mastering Sento Stance requires understanding the concept of Negative Edge, or using the release of a button to activate the Ancestor; no other character requires this kind of input and it is the largest barrier to executing advanced tech with this character; The Last Samurai: While not completely helpless, Sento Stance Kenshi is limited when his Ancestor is out of the fight; when the opponent stuns the Ancestor by hitting it or runs out the timer, Kenshi can't afford to take risks in the same way he could previously and is also briefly locked out of his Kameo.

Kenshi
Base Health	1000.00
Availability

Default Stance

Kenshi begins every round with Sento sheathed.

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Normals and Strings

Grounded

1

1

File:MK1 Kenshi 1.png

File:MK1 Kenshi 1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

1

Standing Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-	-	-	-

D1

File:MK1 Kenshi d1.png

File:MK1 Kenshi d1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

d1

Crouching Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

2

2

File:MK1 Kenshi 2.png

File:MK1 Kenshi 2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

2

Standing Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

d2

File:MK1 Kenshi d2.png

File:MK1 Kenshi d2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

d2

Crouching Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

3

3

File:MK1 Kenshi 3.png

File:MK1 Kenshi 3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

3

Standing Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

d3

File:MK1 Kenshi d3.png

File:MK1 Kenshi d3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

d3

Crouching Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

4

4

File:MK1 Kenshi 4.png

File:MK1 Kenshi 4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

4

Standing Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

d4

File:MK1 Kenshi d4.png

File:MK1 Kenshi d4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

d4

Crouching Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Aerial

j1

j1

File:MK1 Kenshi j1.png

File:MK1 Kenshi j1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

j1

Jumping Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

j2

j2

File:MK1 Kenshi j2.png

File:MK1 Kenshi j2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

j2

Jumping Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

j3

j3

File:MK1 Kenshi j3.png

File:MK1 Kenshi j3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

j3

Jumping Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	OH	-	-	-	-

j4

j4

File:MK1 Kenshi j4.png

File:MK1 Kenshi j4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

j4

Jumping Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	OH	-	-	-	-

Sento Stance

Kenshi unsheathes Sento, summoning the Ancestor and disabling his Kameo. The Kameo meter becomes a timer which determines how long the Ancestor will remain active; if the timer runs out or Kenshi exits Sento Stance, the Kameo meter will be emptied and begin recharging.

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Ancestor

The Ancestor's attacks can be activated with either a button press or a button release. Using the latter is known as a Negative Edge input.

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Synergy

Matchups

Frame Data

Resources

#MK1_Kenshi