Daigo Umehara (38) is considered one of the best players of Street Fighter overall. He shares a story about a defining moment at the age of 13 that would change his life.
Who is he? Daigo Umehara started playing in arcades at around 10 years old. In 1991, “Street Fighter II: The World Warrior” had just been released in arcades.
As a teenager, he participated in Street Fighter tournaments and made a name for himself. His career took him around the world. In Japan, Daigo is now almost legendary.
He was the first professional eSports player in Japan. The Wikipedia list of his tournament achievements spans over 23 years and consists of several pages. He is undoubtedly a legendary player of Fighting Games.
In Street Fighter, Daigo preferred Ryu for many years, but switched to Guile in 2017 with Street Fighter V.
A 13-Year-Old Beaten by an Adult
Why was he beaten? Daigo recounts a defining experience as a teenager. When he was 13 years old, he often went to an arcade to play fighting games.
One day he played several matches against an adult who was over 20 years old and defeated him repeatedly. The man became increasingly angry.
Suddenly, the man came up to the 13-year-old and punched him in the face. Umehara slipped out of the chair, but the man continued. He took him outside and beat him up outside the arcade.
In the end, Umehara’s face was full of blood and swollen.
This is how Umehara dealt with the incident: Umehara decided not to make a big deal out of it. He didn’t talk to anyone about it and simply went to another arcade.
But he was unhappy with himself. Playing in the new arcade wasn’t fun for him. He was frustrated about being so passive and taking the beating. The anger over himself kept him awake at night. He decided to make a change.
Umehara vividly recounts how he returned to that arcade. It wasn’t a “proud reclaiming,” but he struggled with himself to open the door. He felt hesitant and fearful.
Umehara had to overcome himself and convince himself to return to the place where he had received such a beating.
In the end, however, the thought of chickening out and riding his bike home was worse than the fear of encountering the man again. Umehara opened the door and saw that the man was not there. He never encountered him again.
But the decision to open the arcade door left a mark on him. This way he was able to forgive himself again.
Umehara says in the end: “If I hadn’t gone through the door back then, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” There are feelings that one has to overcome as a professional player; otherwise, you give up first when resistance comes and things don’t go as desired.
Umehara states: If he had gone home back then, he would have become the type of person who gives up.
The title image has been cropped from a YouTube video from Red Bull about Daigo Umehara.
