TM|Arslan Ash might end up going down as one of the greatest fighting game players ever with all that he’s accomplished in Tekken as a competitor. Red Bull Gaming recently released an interesting video that documented interesting parts of Arslan Ash’s professional career.
Within Arslan Ash’s Pakistani scene, there was this perception that, in order to be an “alpha” in the fighting game community, players had to play as the male fighters. Any man that played as one of the female characters risked being mocked.
“Like, there was an element of shame. Because people didn’t play with girls, they didn’t have practice against them,” said Arslan Ash.
“How can you practice against something that you never do?” — Arslan Ash
Due to this mentality, Arslan Ash realized that most of the players in his scene didn’t really have match up experience against the female fighters in Tekken. As an added bonus, Arslan Ash believed that many of the female characters were simply better due to attributes such as better frame data and damage capabilities.
“How can you practice against something that you never do? That was the reason that I kept playing with them.
“Then I won with Julia, then Nina, then Lily, in Pakistan.”
However, it would seem that it was his mother that ultimately inspired Arslan Ash to pick up Zafina. Through it all, it would seem that his mother was very supportive of Arslan Ash’s passion for Tekken.
“That was the reason that I kept playing with them.” — Arslan Ash
“Yes, I told him to play with this character, Zafina. I liked the way she jumped and spun herself,” explained Arslan Ash’s mother.
“I was watching him play when I asked, ‘Is that a new character?’ You should play with her.”
Arslan Ash’s wife would confirm that this is the reason why Arslan Ash plays Zafina.
“I asked him why he plays with Zafina,” stated Anum Arslan. “He told me that his mom asked him to play with her.”
Evidently, Arslan Ash’s mother has had a very positive and strong impact on his life and professional career.