Snafu the Great
Jerkass Woobie
A shameless bump, I know. But I had to update Gouken's Profile.
Gouken's Background
Nationality: Japanese
Date of Birth/Age: December 14/Unknown, probably in his late sixties
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch (seriously!)
Weight: 198 1/2 pounds
Hair: White
Eyes: Brown
Blood Type: Unknown
Allies/Friends: Retsu, some also say he's friendly with Gen
Enemies: Gouki
Family: Gouki, younger brother; had a daughter whom Ryu and Ken called 'Little Miss' (whereabouts unknown); Ryu, student/foster son
Special Skill: Training Students
Likes: His friends, his students and martial arts
Dislikes: Gouki, the Dark Hadou (Satsui no Hadou)
Fighting Style: Martial Art rooted in assassination arts (Ansatsuken)
According to Capcom's official account of Akuma's backstory, the two brothers were once students of Goutetsu, a practitioner of nameless martial art that was original developed with the intention of killing an opponent, which origins are rooted back to Japan's feudal age. Goutetsu taught his skills to Gouken and Akuma. Eventually, the two brothers began to differ in the methods and usage of their fighting style. Akuma became bent on completely mastering the style, and embraced the killing aspect of the art to the point of succumbing to the Satsui no Hadou, or "killing intent". Gouken, on the other hand developed his own style: turning fatal techniques such as the Hadouken and Shoryuken into tools for self-defense, removing their killing potential. After succumbing to the Satsui no Hadou, Akuma would fight and murder Goutetsu, before leaving behind both his master's dojo and his brother in order to train by himself.
During this time period, Gouken would found his own dojo, and took Dan Hibiki as his first pupil. However, Gouken learned that the reason Dan wanted to learn martial arts was for revenge, and rejected him for his motives. Later, Gouken would find an abandoned orphan, Ryu, and take him under his wing. Ryu was joined by a second student, Ken Masters, who was sent from America by his father, a good friend of Gouken's, in order to learn humility and respect. After Gouken began to train the two boys, Akuma would make a sudden appearance at Gouken's dojo. There, Akuma would challenge Gouken to a fight. Akuma was soundly defeated by his brother, but Gouken spared his life even after Akuma's insistence that Gouken should kill him. After Akuma's arrival and departure, Gouken would continue to train the two boys. Eventually, Gouken would find his two students adept enough to leave the dojo and travel the world to continue their studies.
Afterwards, Akuma would reappear at Gouken's dojo, and challenge his brother to a rematch. This time with Akuma ending up as the victor and supposedly killing him with the Shun Goku Satsu. However, because Gouken used a technique similar to Gen's and emptied his soul of emotions, he was merely left in a deep coma. Because he was unconscious for an extended period of time, Ryu and Ken believed their master to be dead, and left him as such.
After awakening, Gouken leaves his dojo and tails his students, pleased that they have come so far. However, he is not satisfied just watching them, and enters the new S.I.N. tournament in order to test their strength himself. Gouken successfully finds Ryu after Seth's defeat, and manages to seal the Satsui no Hadou. Akuma appears afterwards and is furious at Gouken for completing this task. The two brothers then face off in another rematch, with control of Ryu's fate as the prize. The outcome of this fight is unknown, though it is known that both survive and that Ryu does not go to Akuma. Afterwards, Ryu and Ken ask Gouken to stay with them a while, but Gouken tells them that are both grown men and no longer need a master.