Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi, left, and his father, Hisashi Taniguchi, laugh in Taniguchi's office in Japan. His father's support allowed Tokido to pursue his passion for fighting games and, this July, become the Street Fighter V champion at the Evo. Imad Khan/ESPN It was a big ask. It was 2002 and Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi, then 17, should have been preparing for his college entrance exams. He was a
![Creating a champion: How a father's trip abroad led Tokido to the top](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/11290a36780a1eb8c02975e84f3b9463232169ff/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fa3.espncdn.com%2Fcombiner%2Fi%3Fimg%3D%252Fphoto%252F2017%252F0824%252Fr248418_1296x729_16-9.jpg)