*Sobrang means too much or excessive in Tagalog (Filipino)
Before I start detailing the Tekken culture of the Philippines, I’d like to introduce myself so that you know who I am. My name is JT, aka JTchinoy. I’m a Filam (Filipino American) from Northern California and my main character is Ling Xiaoyu. I’ve been active in the American Tekken community since Tekken 5 and have used Xiaoyu since Tekken 5: DR. I have experience playing against the top players in Japan, Korea, and the United States. Don’t worry, I know just enough about Tekken and Tekken communities around the world to talk about this.
I’m currently living in the Philippines for an extended period and I’m here to give you some insight into the Tekken community that has bred a few big name players in America including the one and only FilthyRich. While everyone knows of these players, nobody actually knows about the culture that raised them beyond that fact that they grew up and learned Tekken in the Philippines. I’m here to provide that information. I’ve spent a total of 5 months in the Philippines as of this article and have been extremely active within the community since I’ve arrived. There’s a lot to cover, so I’ll be writing about a different aspect of the culture in this series of articles.
The first thing I’ll be covering is play style in the Philippines. Coming from America, I’m used to seeing play styles of all sorts from every corner of the country. Unlike America, however, Filipino Tekken players, or Tekkenistas, are mostly oriented towards turtling, or a defensive play style. Most people wait for others to whiff or do punishable moves or come to them and run into whatever they want to throw out. Tekkenistas have very good throw breaking, which is likely tied into their defensive style. While the players all are at a similar level of decency, very few players have play styles that make them unique compared to other people with the same character or make them raise above the rest in skill.
Among the few to be noted as unique in their own rights is the Lei player Dax. While not being a complete monster of a Lei player, his understanding of the transitions of Lei and constant use of them makes him always a nice break from the normal flow of games. Along with him is a Marduk player named Allan, who doesn’t know when to stop attacking. His offensive is typical Marduk offense, except he feels like a freight train running at you once the mixups start. He’s also very adept at using Marduk’s clap to launch people, when most Marduks would just ws+4 or ws+1 in the same situation. Lastly, there’s a misplaced Middle Eastern super model named Sassan who actually goes beyond the 5 move Bruce style. I’d say he uses maybe ½ of Bruce’s movelist, which is more than any Bruce I’ve played in any country. He also has a ridiculous instinct to low parry that dumbfounds me at times.
Because of the turtling oriented culture and emphasis on learning from each other, rather than pioneering their own play styles, the skill level of Tekkenistas is overall stagnant. While people improve their knowledge of matchups, nobody seems to take the time to refine their basics and adaptability. Some people spend several games losing just to get a vague grasp of their opponent’s style. While this may be okay for casuals and possibly death matches, it makes the community overall very vulnerable to new opponents in a tournament environment.
Comments
166 responses to “StrongStyle meets SobrangStyle*: Filipino Tekken”
it’s so hard to hold our temper, when we know it’s really worth letting go.
i rather have the players in my country remain unrecognized than have them recognized as stagnant. it’s a harsh word, especially because it’s not true.
“Guile says:
April 14, 2011 at 9:36 am
@ Certified Abangero
U are the stupid troll man are u even Pwersa? Go back to ur place man and tell your baby mama i enjoyed it! fag…”
– hey moron. do you even know pwersa? you talk big dick head. i bet you’re just all talk, that’s all. are you even that good? if you’re a filipino, and you live here in the philippines, then come on down here at SM North Edsa, just let me see how good you are. i’ll keep you company when you get here. just be sure you keep winning. i hate fucking weaklings who criticize other people like they could own you big time. in the end, they’re just sore losers. >:)
stop this nonsense argument about this article. if you think you could own JT, then just sit tight and stay quiet. if you think JT’s article insults filipino players play style or whatsoever, them prove him wrong. each of us have our very own play style. especially when you are fighting top tier players. if your play style is too common and you’re up against one of the top tier players, no doubt he/she will own you good. being aggressive and defending yourself at the same time, i bet that’s the best way to keep winning. there is no point in debating about defensive or aggressive play style. all you have to do is sit in front of the machine and destroy your opponent. i learned this from master jail. hehehe.. o=(‘,o=) if you think you’re good enough and you have what it takes to be one of the best, then stop whining at start the action. let your skills do the talking. but what’s important is that you just enjoy playing and don’t ever lose your cool.. >:)
amen brother! 🙂
@ sky
hey bro i saw ur steve man and all i can say is LAME!!! hahaha i can pawn you with my nina using only my left hand bitch!
@mont
i’ve pawned you before at mega and i can still remember your sorry ass face looking at me.you have the weakest devil jin i know in manila man.my 8 year old cousin can own u with his eyes closed! wahahahaha
@ mont
man u dont even understand what baby mama means? she’s not ur mother or sister asshole!
@sky
i saw u lose a lot for ur team in TB’s how can u talk about challenging me? my main character feng would own u for free…
For the record man your still a fag hiding in that anonymous name Haha! i misread your last message out of anger anyways no need explaining. HAHA! wag na pansinin yan haltang wla lng magawa nonsense yan pareng sky.
“Guile says:
April 15, 2011 at 5:13 am
@ sky
hey bro i saw ur steve man and all i can say is LAME!!! hahaha i can pawn you with my nina using only my left hand bitch!
@mont
i’ve pawned you before at mega and i can still remember your sorry ass face looking at me.you have the weakest devil jin i know in manila man.my 8 year old cousin can own u with his eyes closed! wahahahaha”
– just come to trinoma tomorrow. show me how LAME my steve is. >:) you’re playing with a guy who doesn’t have time to practice. hahaha.. i bet if you play against me back then when i was still active, you’re just going to shut up. show me what you got. or are you up against me in a TEKKEN LIVE, HUH? >:) just be there at trinoma tomorrow. like i said before, stop whining and start the action. you’re just hiding yourself here. show up tomorrow you fucking gay! >:)
“Guile says:
April 15, 2011 at 5:21 am
@ mont
man u dont even understand what baby mama means? she’s not ur mother or sister asshole!
@sky
i saw u lose a lot for ur team in TB’s how can u talk about challenging me? my main character feng would own u for free…”
– you’re all talk bitch. you keep barking yet you don’t have the guts to show up. you’re just all talk. if you think i’m that lame, then destroy me completely. maybe you were just lucky because you won. if there’s a nina player who could destroy me completely, then none of them is you. because i know those guys. and they have guts. they don’t talk too much, their skills do the talking. unlike you, you couldn’t even shut up. if you’re man enough, take me on tomorrow at trinoma. i’ll be waiting for you fucking gay. >:)
“Guile says:
April 15, 2011 at 5:21 am
@ mont
man u dont even understand what baby mama means? she’s not ur mother or sister asshole!
@sky
i saw u lose a lot for ur team in TB’s how can u talk about challenging me? my main character feng would own u for free…”
– you’re all talk bitch. you keep barking yet you don’t have the guts to show up. you’re just all talk. if you think i’m that lame, then destroy me completely. maybe you were just lucky when you won. if there’s a nina player who could destroy me completely, then none of them is you. because i know those guys. and they have guts. they don’t talk too much, their skills do the talking. unlike you, you couldn’t even shut up. if you’re man enough, take me on tomorrow at trinoma. i’ll be waiting for you fucking gay. >:)
too fast! i already got u now u want some fist fight? i got u this early? wow you are WEAK and i ain’t even gonna waste my time on you no more.
“Guile says:
April 15, 2011 at 5:39 am
too fast! i already got u now u want some fist fight? i got u this early? wow you are WEAK and i ain’t even gonna waste my time on you no more.”
– hahahahahahaha.. see how scared you are kid? hahaha.. that’s what i’m talking about.. all talk, no action. you can’t even prove to me that you could take me on (in tekken or in fist fight) you talk to much. you just don’t know when to shut up, don’t you? >:))))))) scared piece of shit.. hahahahahahahahahahaha… >:))))))))))
@ sky
why would i be eager to play if i have already pawned u before multiple times? try to remember kid you don’t matter to me coz i’ve already shitted on you.
“Guile says:
April 15, 2011 at 5:50 am
@ sky
why would i be eager to play if i have already pawned u before multiple times? try to remember kid you don’t matter to me coz i’ve already shitted on you.”
– that proves that you’re just a nobody and an piece of shit.. hahahaha.. you’re just too scared that i’ll completely destroy you tomorrow and too scared of my fist.. hahahahahaha.. i hope you don’t have a team, you’re just a disgrace to your team, boy! >:) too scared that i’ll beat you down too many times, huh? >:)
Filipino’s gotta learn to stop feeding trolls.
don’t feed the trolls 🙂
Don’t feed the animals haha! ika nga sa zoo wag papakainin ang unggoy kasi posible na duraan ka pabalik 🙂 Guile: your probably true pala dun sa sinabe mu na weakest DVJ , so what? kaw na tekken god para matapos na haha.