Spinning Demon (奈落払い Naraku Barai?, lit. "Naraka Sweep"), also known as the Devil Spin or Hell Sweep, is a move used predominantly by the practitioners of Mishima Style Fighting Karate, with the exception of Jinpachi Mishima.
While all Mishima Karate practitioners, save Jinpachi, are able to use the move, the number of sweeps and added attacks vary from practitioner to practitioner.
Description[]
The base version of the move has the practitioner step forward, crouch, and swing one leg in a wide, full circle sweep, hitting the opponent's ankles. The motion can be repeated, hitting multiple times depending on the character, or can have an attack added to the end depending on the input and practitioner.
Variations[]
Jin Kazama/Devil Jin[]
Jin, prior to Tekken 4, and Devil Jin can only do one sweep in their Spinning Demon, followed by a mid reverse roundhouse kick. As of Tekken 6, the mid reverse roundhouse kick attack is replaced with mid downward axe kick, dubbed Spinning Demon Scythe as of Tekken 8, which cause Bound in Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. When Jin is in his Omen stance in Tekken Tag Tournament and Tag 2, he can perform a single Spinning Demon sweep to a Tsunami Kick (Omen Spinning Demon). This Omen version of the Spinning Demon kick is always 15 damage. In Tekken 8, Jin can perform Spinning Demon Scythe instead of regular Spinning Demon during his Awakened Power Stance, while Devil Jin gets a new move called Spinning Demon Hellfire Beam that has Tornado flip on hit and still has access to Spinning Demon Scythe as part of his move. In the final chapter/chapter 15 of Tekken 8, Jin regains the use of his pre-Tekken 6 Spinning Demon move. Later on, gains Heihachi's Spinning Demon Uppercut, as well as a new version of his Three Ring Circus Combo that incorporates the pre-Tekken 6 Spinning Demon move.
- Spinning Demon - one sweep, one mid kick
- Omen Spinning Demon - one sweep, double mid axe kicks
- Spinning Demon Scythe - one sweep, one mid downward axe kick
- Spinning Demon Hellfire Beam - one sweep, one annihilation beam
Kazuya Mishima[]
Kazuya can do two sweeps, or, from Tekken 5 and onwards, he can perform one sweep followed by a left hook. Tekken 8 replaces the original two-sweep version with a new variation.
- Spinning Demon - two sweeps
- Spinning Demon to Left Hook - one sweep, one mid punch
- Illusive Demon - one sweep, one mid leaping kick
Devil Transformation[]
When Kazuya is in Devil Transformation in Tekken 7 he gains additional extensions of the left hook variation.
The partially-awakened version of Devil that Kazuya activates during The Mishima Saga, where he only gains the Devil's third eye without being fully transformed, gives him access to a special version of the Spinning Demon to Left Hook that can be performed after the standard two-sweep Spinning Demon.
- Spinning Demon to Left Hook to Dragon Uppercut - Sweep, to mid punch, to Dragon Uppercut
- Spinning Demon to Left Hook to Heaven's Door - Sweep, to mid punch, to Heaven's Door
Heihachi Mishima[]
Heihachi can do three sweeps in his Spinning Demon. He can perform two attack variations of this with either a Dragon Uppercut (Spinning Demon Uppercut) or a Tsunami Kick (Spinning Demon Tsunami Kick) at the end of the move. A Demon Uppercut follow-up was also possible in Tekken 3 only, and was not added to any other game (Spinning Demon Uppercut (Tekken 3)).
In Tekken and Tekken 2, only the Tsunami Kick follow-up was possible. Adding a Tsunami Kick to a Spinning Demon required the directional input to be returned to neutral e.g. f, N, d, d/f+4, 4, 4, N+4, 4. In Tekken, only a single sweep of Spinning Demon can successfully combo to a Tsunami Kick without whiffing, and only against Marshall Law and Wang Jinrei; other characters will only be hit by the Spinning Demon and the first rising kick unless the move is performed from behind the opponent. In Tekken and Tekken 2, the third Spinning Demon will always whiff if the first two connected.
- Spinning Demon - three sweeps
- Spinning Demon Uppercut - one-to-three sweeps, one leaping mid uppercut
- Spinning Demon Uppercut (Tekken 3) - one-to-three sweeps, one mid uppercut
- Spinning Demon Tsunami Kick - one-to-three sweeps, double mid axe kicks
Angel[]
In Tekken Tag Tournament 2 , Angel can perform Kazuya's Spinning Demon and also a unique variant of one sweep followed by a knee.
- Spinning Demon - two sweeps
- Spinning Demon to Left Knee - one sweep, one mid knee
Reina[]
In Tekken 8, Reina has a unique Spinning Demon that sees her perform a single sweep then a very low second sweep with her leg fully outstretched. She also possesses a variant where she punches her opponent in the face. Neither of her Spinning Demon variations knock down, similar to Heihachi's.
- Ruthless Demon - one sweep, one punch to the head
- Spinning Demon - two sweeps
Trivia[]
- The colloquial English term 'Hell Sweep' comes from its Japanese name, 'Naraku', referring to a Buddhist underworld, and 'barai' a common martial arts term for any sweep.
- Prior to Tekken 6, Jin Kazama and Devil Jin's version of this move (sweep followed by a mid reverse roundhouse kick) also form the end of their Roundhouse to Triple Spin Kicks combo.
- In Tekken 6 onward, the second attack animation resembles Reaper's Scythe on using downward axe kick, but with a right leg and without jumping.
- One of Heihachi's 10 Hit Combos contains two Spinning Demon kicks as the fourth and fifth hits.
- The attack's animation was also reused for Anna Williams' Leg Slicer High Kick Backhand Sweep from Tekken 3 to Tekken Tag Tournament.