A first take on Jamie, the new Street Fighter 6 character

The full Street Fighter 6 trailer dropped recently. Make sure to check it out before continuing. Today we are going to focus on Jamie, the young kung-fu fighter. He is one of the new characters introduced in the footage, and apparently the friendly rival to Luke. I will be going through every character announced so far, the changes made to those returning, as well as those that were leaked in more depth. But for now let’s focus on Jamie. The character is listed as from Hong Kong. As you may know it was previously under British colonial rule before being handed over to China. Culturally they people from Hong Kong had more western influences, and freedoms, thus the transfer to a more authoritarian government was met with resistance. Jamie is similar to other young Street Fighter (SF) characters in that he wears what appears to be traditional martial arts gear, with a hint of modern touches. This trend for the series started in 1997 with Street Fighter III. Yun, and Yang were twin brothers that wore what appeared to be traditional outfits, but skateboarded, and inline skated respectively.

The other thing that stood out for the character was the name. Jamie is not a name that we might consider traditionally Chinese. To be fair, a number of Asians have both traditional names, and adopted western names. For example Lee Jun-fan was the birth name of Bruce Lee, and Fang Shilong is the birth name of Jackie Chan. Capcom often gives the staff leeway on the names they select. James Goddard named his Black kickboxer DeeJay in Super Street Fighter II. It is well known that pro fighting game player, and Seth the boss in Street Fighter IV was named after former Capcom Community Manager Seth Killian. If I were to guess where the name Jamie came from it would be from actress Jamie Lee Curtis. She famously attended the EVO tournament in a full Balrog / Claw costume. She has been known to dress up as various pop culture icons in order to attend conventions incognito with her family.

Jamie moves unlike almost any other character in the series, or in fighting games in general. In the trailer we see footage of him spinning, flipping, and tumbling with a ton of dexterity. He has quick strikes which are a mix of kung-fu punches, but with the footwork that appears like an uprock, the foundation of competitive breakdance. His stance, and movement is dance-like, it stands out like a “ginga” does for capoeira practitioners. Given his design, it stands to reason that the young fighter is having fun with his natural abilities, as well as his training.

At first glance the character appears to be a master of Drunk Fist kung-fu. He carries a gourd, which is often filled with wine, according to popular media. Although his stance, and fist positions seem to be those of a traditional kung-fu master, very few of his strikes appear to be based on any traditional form of kung-fu.

There is a part in the trailer where Jamie says “my secret art” then goes for Luke’s throat. This was similar to a move used by Tony Jaa in Ong Bak 2. Jaa was playing the mythical fighter Tien in the film. Tien was a young prince that got kidnapped by pirates, and trained in multiple forms of combat. The character makes his way to some bandits that had brutalized him, and his friends earlier in the film, and fights off a slave trader using Drunken Fist. He grabs the villain by his Adam’s apple before throwing him through a stand via fishhook to the mouth. I sincerely hope that Jamie doesn't have the full attack in SF6.

Jamie’s style can be best described as “Breakdance Kung-Fu.” If you remember your SF history you will know that before Rufus there was a young Black fighter in the planning stages called King Cobra. Although he wore what appeared to be a traditional karate gi, his method of fighting was said to be a form of breakdance kung-fu. He sported sneakers, and a gold chain, showing just hints of an urban background. Sadly there was never a 3D model, or sprite built for this character, let alone the actual animated moves. All we have to go on are concept sketches.

To be completely fair, there was a fighting game character whose entire arsenal was based on breakdancing. Helicopter from Capoeira Fighter 3 used nothing but b-boy moves. Even his stance, and movement saw him performing the wave as he danced through the stages some 15-years-ago.

Many people feel that no great idea goes to waste. Elements of King Cobra eventually found their way into the series. Ken was given an alternate costume in SF IV that looked just like King Cobra’s. Also the fictional form of striking eventually found its way to Jamie. Which makes more sense than to give it to the Black kid from the US. Since Jamie is from Hong Kong, and blends eastern, and western cultures. So what exactly are the origins of dancing as a form of fighting? The roots are based on tropes, and racial undertones. The Black athlete, and Black entertainer are stereotypes known the world over. In many of the early fighting games Black characters were presented often as basketball players. At least one was presented as a dancer.

Mind you, before the internet, it was tough for Japan to get a finger on the pulse of US culture. All the gaming studios had to go by was pop culture references. The way Blacks were portrayed in movies, music videos, and TV shows did a lot to color their perception. Hip Hop was, and continues to be a major part of that perception. The cultural revolution moved into every corner of the world. The four elements of Hip Hop; rap, breakdance, DJ, and graffiti influenced everything from advertising, to fashion, language, and music of course. The trailer for Street Fighter 6 even begins with a graffiti styled version of the Capcom logo. 30+ years ago the Japanese studios were not as in tune as to the proper ways to reflect, let alone incorporate that culture.

The concept for Team USA in SNK’s iconic King of Fighters series was laughable. The trio of men in costumes that were reminiscent of back-up dancers for Salt n Pepa, or Janet Jackson made little to no sense in a fighting tournament. Yet the Japanese designers persisted. They continued putting in elements of Hip Hop into the games. Jamie may yet be the most in tune the studio has ever been to the elements.

Pay very close attention to the cut, color, and design of Jamie’s costume. It looks traditional, but is far from an actual outfit worn in classic China. The illusion of a certain form, and fit is a long-standing design legacy of Street Fighter. I spoke about it at length with Chun-Li’s costume. Most wushu, or tai chi uniforms are made of soft, silk material, but the shirts usually hang long, and the pants are baggy. Jamie’s has a cut top, exposed midriff, and the the shirt, and pants fit more snugly. Also instead of a sash belt, Jamie wears a red cord belt, to hold his gourd. Also note that in all of the footage revealed of the character he wears one pant leg rolled up. Sure enough the Hip Hop elements are not lost on this kid.

If you look carefully at his costume there is a repeated pattern over it. Some competition uniforms may feature an embroidered phoenix, lion, or dragon on them. However Jamie has a pattern reminiscent of the Louis Vuitton brand. As you may know a lot of rappers promote material displays of wealth. In videos, and photo shoots they are often showing off, or “flossing” diamonds, gold, and rocking brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabanna, etc. Jamie’s version of the pattern uses the stars, and gourd motif, as a clever nod to the designer. Also Jamie is rocking some Cloud-label sneakers, instead of the flat-soled shoes that most practitioners wear. The cloud motif shows up on other parts of his outfit. Perhaps to denote his light, and airy fighting style. The use of non-traditional footwear again goes back to Chun-Li, who wore white wrestling boots instead of dainty slippers. Yun, and Yang sported Puma brand sneakers. As a nod to Keen Lieu, who was sponsored by the brand when Street Fighter III was developed.

These were the things that I was able to pick out about Jamie after seeing the footage of the character. I will be digging in to the rest of the cast over the next several weeks. I hope to see you back for that. Is there a character you would like me to look at sooner, rather than later please let me know. Also any feedback would be appreciated. What details did you notice about Jamie? What do you think of the SF6 announcement so far? Are you interested in playing this game when it’s released? Let me know in the comments section please. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!