Dan was a reckless youth who was constantly getting into trouble. His
father, Go Hibiki, saw that his son needed discipline and attempted to
train him in the martial arts. Dan was never able to master the art of
fighting, and his continued failures disgraced him. Growing more reckless,
he left home and began to wander the world in the hopes of finding a
master who could teach him. While he was gone, his father left for
Thailand to challenge the Muay Thai master named Sagat.
For a while, it seemed that Go had the advantage, but the mighty Sagat soon
defeated him. Go had been dealt a mortal blow, and he died just a few days
after the fight.
Dan managed to get word of this during his travels, and raced home to
find that his father was indeed dead. Filled with rage, Dan vowed to avenge
his death and defeat Sagat. In desperate need of training, Dan went to
Japan to a man named Gouken in order to learn the killing techniques of
Shotokan Karate. He began learning the basics, but was again disgraced by
Gouken's prize students, Ryu and Ken.
Even the less-adept Retsu was able to outshine Dan
in Gouken's eyes. Frustrated, Dan demanded that Gouken teach him the
Shotokan killing techniques. Gouken explained that the killing techniques
were forbidden, and seeing the rage in Dan's eyes he refused to train him
further. Dan left Gouken's dojo possessing only a rudimentary Shotokan
education.
Dan began to train on his own, and developed his own unique (if less
effective) fighting style which he called Saikyo-Ryu ("The Strongest Style").
Believing his style to truly be the strongest, he decided that after he
defeated Sagat he would open up his own dojo and teach Saikyo-Ryu to others.
After he completed his "training," Dan received word that Sagat had been
defeated by Ryu. Not wanting anyone to interfere with his plans for revenge,
Dan immediately headed to Thailand to confront Sagat. He managed to find
Sagat after a few months of searching, and challenged the fallen champion.
Dan was in way over his head, however, as Sagat was more massive and
powerful than ever before. Dan was pummeled without mercy, and surely
would have been killed had Ryu not intervened. Dan was tossed aside as the
two great rivals squared off again, and Sagat was again defeated. Despite
seeing Sagat in defeat, Dan still felt his task was not completed. He also
felt a burning hatred for Ryu and Ken, because they had outshone him at
Gouken's dojo and because Ryu had interfered in his fight with Sagat.
After his disgrace, Dan became a hobo, wandering from place to place
and fighting for money. In his travels, he encountered
Sakura, a Japanese schoolgirl trying
to emulate Ryu's fighting style. Seeking to prove that his style was
the best, Dan began teaching Sakura moves. While in Sakura's hometown,
Dan participated in a tournament hosted by Karin
Kanzuki, in which he lost to Ken. This only served to further his
animosity towards Ryu and Ken.
When he set out to find Sagat again, he found that the Muay Thai fighter
had been defeated by his former pupil Adon. Dan
challenged Sagat again, and this time defeated the reckless fighter. Feeling
that his father had been avenged by Sagat's disgrace, Dan returned to Hong Kong
and began recruiting students for his new Saikyo-Ryu
dojo, which opened to great success.
After a few years, Dan felt that he was stuck in a rut and temporarily
shut the dojo down. He began to wander the world again in search of worthy
competition. His travels led him to Brazil, where he met up with a local
Brazilian legend named Blanka. Dan had met Blanka
before he faced Sagat the first time, and the beast had saved his life. Not
forgetting the debt he owed Blanka, Dan offered to take Blanka back
to his dojo and train him. Blanka, whom Dan knew as Jimmy, felt confident in
his own fighting skills and declined the offer. After advising Blanka to
travel the world in search of his own challenges, Dan returned to the Saikyo
dojo to once again train his students.
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