The Tenshokyaku (天昇脚 Tenshoukyaku?, "Ascension/Heaven Rising Legs"), also known as either the Tenshokyaku (天翔脚 Tenshoukyaku?, "Heaven Soaring Legs") in some circles, Spinning Air Kick, or sometimes simply as the Up Kick, is one of Chun-Li's special attacks, introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. It makes its return in Street Fighter 6 renamed to Tensho Kicks.
| Appearance | Function | Input |
|---|---|---|
| All other appearances | Special Move |   +
|
| Marvel vs. Capcom series (except X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite) SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes |
Special Move |  +
|
| Street Fighter IV Street Fighter X Tekken |
Target Combo |  + >> +
|
| Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Street Fighter 6 |
Special Move | +
|
Description
- "Rise into the air with multiple kicks. Useful for countering an opponent's jumping attacks, or as a way to close out combos."
- —"Tensho Kicks", Street Fighter 6
Chun-Li leaps upwards and kicks while spinning repeatedly, hence the move's name. The move's hitbox is mainly the area of Chun-Li's kicks, which connect into each other easily. The amount of kicks, damage, and the height Chun-Li leaps depends on the strength of the kick button used to do the attack; weak kick has few hits and small distance, while the strongest kick button makes Chun-Li leap to the top of the screen. It is effective as an anti-air attack and can also be used for combos and juggles. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, X-ISM Chun-Li can use this move as a Reversal only, as it is normally replaced with Spinning Bird Kick. Chun-Li has an enhanced version of this move which is used as a Super Combo, called the Hazan Tenshou Kyaku.
In the first Capcom vs. SNK, the attack also gains special effects where Chun-Li fires short-ranged energy bursts in her kicking direction per kick. This changes to slashing trails instead in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Performed by pressing down twice and kick, Chun-Li's Tensho Kicks serve as Chun-Li's main anti-air option. The Overdrive version introduced in Street Fighter 6 has Chun-Li perform two Tensho Kicks in succession, similar to a Shoryureppa. The second kick only comes out on hit, making it somewhat safer on whiff.
As a Unique Attack
In the Street Fighter IV series, the attack is included as a Unique Attack. This unique attack can only be performed as a part of a Target Combo, which is performed as follows: Kintekishu (back and medium kick, which performs a low kick), Tenkukyaku (medium kick after Kintekishu, which performs a backward-facing splits kick to the opponent's jaw), and Tenshokyaku (down then up and medium kick, which performs the attack as it was in other games). Unfortunately, this version of the move cannot be used as an anti-air attack as the first two moves must be performed on a grounded opponent. Since it is no longer a special move, it does not cause chip damage if blocked.
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Trivia
- In Street Fighter V, Cammy's Delta Drive-enhanced Cannon Spike behaves exactly like the Tenshokyaku.
- It was originally supposed to return as a Unique Attack in the alpha version of Street Fighter V, along with a few new moves such as Hoenbu, but it was omitted from the final version. Its internal name ID is identified as TENSYO. [1]