Introduction
Kenshiro's play-style is quite standard, as one might expect from the main character of a fighting game. He has good normals, well-balanced specials, and his bread and butter combos are very easy to master, making him a good beginner character. His mixup abilities are very decent as well thanks to his extremely fast instant air dash B, and he is capable of applying a lot of pressure in the corner. On the defense he is not lacking either, having both an invincible uppercut and Musou Tensei that he can use to get out of bad spots. Kenshiro's only real weaknesses are his big hitbox(seriously, it's huge), and bad matchups against Toki and Juda - overall he is a great character for players of any level.
Normal Moves
Standing
Close A
Far A
Close B
Far B
Close C
Far C
Close D
Far D
Crouching
A
B
C
D
Air
A
B
C
D
Other
6A
6B
Special Moves
Touki
236A
A small fireball that travels roughly half-screen. Used mostly for putting out other fireball moves and applying pressure. Takes off one star on counter hit.
Hokuto Ujou Moushouha
(Land or Air) 623A or C
A dragon punch move with two versions - the A version does a quick uppercut and Kenshiro remains grounded, while the C version rises into the air. The ground A version has upper-body invulnerability and takes off a star on hit. On counterhit it takes off 2 stars, and the opponent is launched high into the air. It cannot be air guarded, even with the use of Aura Guard.
The ground C version of the uppercut is your classic invulnerable dragon punch, and takes one star on counter hit. An interesting bug exists in which it is possible to cancel the uppercut into ground moves, even though you are in the air. This makes Kenshiro's reversals particularly deadly when he has meter. While very unpractical, it is possible to perform some extremely confusing mixups using this bug. See this video for an some examples.
For the most part it is best to forget that the air versions of the uppercut exist as they have absolutely no use whatsoever.
Hokuto Hieiken
623B
A diagonal rising kick move similar in appearance to Shin's Gokutoken, but lacking any invulnerability. Used mostly as a combo ender when it isn't possible to continue into anything else and as a very situational anti-air. Connecting with an airborne opponent causes wall bounce and can lead to some very big combos.
Hikou Seieikou
236C
A short-ranged move in which Kenshiro strikes his opponent's pressure point, stunning them and taking off one star. Connecting with Seieikou also causes the victim to take chip damage from normal moves for a short duration. Due to its short range it is considered a combo-only move.
Tenha no Kamae
214C
A charge type move that when executed causes the next attack to take off one extra star than it usually would if it connects. However, the charge is used up when you perform any attack, including normal moves, making it rather hard to use effectively. Even Guard Cancels will take off a star, and interestingly enough do not use up the charge, even after successfully connecting. For some reason the C version Moushouha only will take off two stars(3 on counterhit) when connecting. A small amount of Boost and Aura is gained when executing this move so it is also possible to build up meter when at a distance, provided your opponent doesn't have any Boost. The most common spot to use Tenha no Kamae is after dizzying an opponent in the corner, when coupled with a BD throw one can easily pull off a 5-star FKO combo.
Hokuto Jyaraikou
236D
A strong rushing punch, with Super Armor at the very beginning of the animation. It connects only from far D, and is jump cancelable on hit. Despite the Super Armor this move should generally only be used in combos.
Hokuto Shichishiki Heizan
(Air) 214A
A rushing air punch that travels diagonally downward towards the ground. Used mostly after a blocked air dash string such as j.B > j.A in the corner, as a tricky alternative to the normal landing and following up with 2B. While this can very hard to see it is important to use it only sparingly, as having this move blocked will usually result in your death. Generally there is not much merit in tiger kneeing Shichishiki Heizan as Kenshiro's air dash B is so fast and has almost no risk.
Hokuto Ryugekiko
214A
A 'catch' move that for mid and high attacks that causes wall bounce upon successfully connecting. 4F startup. Can also reflect projectiles.
Musou Tensei
214214B (Uses 1 Bar Aura)
A 'charge' super, that after executing grants the ability to use the special defensive maneuver 'Musou Tensei' up to 7 times. While active pressing 6(for mid/high attacks) or 2(for low attacks) in time with his opponent's attack hitting will cause Kenshiro to teleport behind the opponent. Specifically, the time frame for Musou activating is 5 frames within inputing the forward or downward direction. However, if the lever is returned to neutral within 5 frames of the input, the total time is extended to 11 frames. There is a roughly 15 frame window after attempting to Musou in which it is not possible to try again, which prevents continuous Musou attempts.
Musou charges carry over rounds so it is advantageous to try to get off the super as soon as possible.
Tenha Kassatsu
236236A (Uses 1 Bar Aura)
A laser beam super used mostly as a combo ender. While it does have some invulnerability it wears out before the super executes and except for some very rare cases(chip damage finishes, punishing fireballs), should never be used outside a combo. The opponent bounces slightly after being hit by the beam, and it is possible to follow up with some moves when in the corner. Takes off one star normally, and two as a counter hit.
Hokuto Zankaiken
214214C (Uses 2 Bars Aura)
When executed, Kenshiro jumps into the air and attacks the opponent from above. If the attack is successful, a timer reading '3.00' will appear above the victim's head that will slowly begin to count down - although Kenshiro says 'you will die in 3 seconds,' it actually takes about 20 or so. Once the count reaches 0, the player dies and the round ends.
As it is extremely slow, cannot be comboed into, and uses up two full bars of Aura, Zankaiken should be considered a gimmick move only. In addition to being very easy to guard, it misses completely versus all crouching characters except Mr. Heart, and doesn't affect Thouther at all. Also, even if it does somehow connect, you still have to stay alive for 20 seconds. If you really want to use this move the only really realistic spot you can hope to get a guaranteed hit is by using it after a missed reversal dragon punch against an opponent without any Boost.
Hokuto Hyakuretsuken
236CD