St. Pierre's tattoo - its not kyokushin is it?

[FutureProdigy]

Someone mentioned that the othr day but I thought the symbols were different. Didn't he in some interview say it stands for the two sides of him - evil/nice.... what does the tattoo mean?

[Mikemok1981]

I always thought it was the Kyokushin Kanji. But I've never seen it close up. I know his base style is Kyokushin.

[powerof0ne]

Originally Posted by Mikemok1981

I always thought it was the Kyokushin Kanji. But I've never seen it close up. I know his base style is Kyokushin.

His base striking style is kyokushin..kind of. He's heavy in bjj, boxing, and wrestling, trains primarily with thaiboxers for his striking but kyokushin definitely helped him with his kicks. He trains in muay thai under Kru Phil Nurse at the Wat in New York City. He also trains with Keith Jardine and Nate Marquadt and all the other gaidojutsu guys. He received his brown under Renzo Gracie in 06(he no longer trains with Renzo, but with CTT, I think).
In regards to the tatoo:
"GSP: The tattoo on my chest means that there are two sides to me. I can be very rude and I can be very nice. I like to be rude when I fight."
taken from A day – and exclusive interview – with Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com

[Mikemok1981]

Well, when I say base I meant what he first started in. His first martial art he studied, in life, was Kyokushin. But thanks for all the detail. And I know he doesnt train with Renzo because of his fight with Serra. Serra got his black belt under Renzo and they're still very close. And before their first fight George was asked to stay away because Renzo was training Serra. After that Serra said some inflammatory remarks about George and its just gone down hill from there.

[FutureProdigy]

yeah thats the quote i read... most uninformative tidbit ever lol. Says nothing about what the actual symbol literally means.

[Martin H]

No the tatoo does not say "kyokushin", it says "jujutsu".

[powerof0ne]

Originally Posted by Mikemok1981

Well, when I say base I meant what he first started in. His first martial art he studied, in life, was Kyokushin. But thanks for all the detail. And I know he doesnt train with Renzo because of his fight with Serra. Serra got his black belt under Renzo and they're still very close. And before their first fight George was asked to stay away because Renzo was training Serra. After that Serra said some inflammatory remarks about George and its just gone down hill from there.

I'm sorry, I'm not nitpicking but don't really consider it his base style, GSP trains a lot in a lot of other stuff. He's gone in depth with wrestling, even to the point of considering Olympics for wrestling. Trains with pro boxers for boxers and pro thaiboxers for muay thai. He's very heavy in BJJ, obviously. As far as I know, he's not training with any Ichigeki or any IKO dojo. Yes, GSP started out in kyokushin and you can see some of it in his kicks but I wouldn't consider him a Kyokushin stylist anymore...he's the epitome of a mixed martial artist.

[sokaiya]

Originally Posted by powerof0ne

I'm sorry, I'm not nitpicking but don't really consider it his base style, GSP trains a lot in a lot of other stuff. He's gone in depth with wrestling, even to the point of considering Olympics for wrestling. Trains with pro boxers for boxers and pro thaiboxers for muay thai. He's very heavy in BJJ, obviously. As far as I know, he's not training with any Ichigeki or any IKO dojo. Yes, GSP started out in kyokushin and you can see some of it in his kicks but I wouldn't consider him a Kyokushin stylist anymore...he's the epitome of a mixed martial artist.

I completely agree but I'll add my own personal 2 cents..

There's something to being a Karate-ka that doesn't just involve fighting in a Karate tournament or learning their punches and kicks from Karate. Since when was being a Karate-ka about what moves you know? I'd say even venture out and say a lot of Knockdown Tournament fighters do not display the abilities of a Karate-ka but rather that of complete brawlers but that's a whole other subject. If you wanna check out someone who's (not Kyokushin) but from Karate and who follows and applies Karate to his MMA game look no further than Ryoto Machida.

[Martin H]

Originally Posted by powerof0ne

I'm sorry, I'm not nitpicking but don't really consider it his base style, GSP trains a lot in a lot of other stuff. He's gone in depth with wrestling, even to the point of considering Olympics for wrestling. Trains with pro boxers for boxers and pro thaiboxers for muay thai. He's very heavy in BJJ, obviously. As far as I know, he's not training with any Ichigeki or any IKO dojo. Yes, GSP started out in kyokushin and you can see some of it in his kicks but I wouldn't consider him a Kyokushin stylist anymore...he's the epitome of a mixed martial artist.

true up to a point.
No GSP do not train kyokushin anymore, and he is not a kyokushin style fighter. For standup he trains kickboxing or even thaiboxing (although I hear that he has broken ties with his muay thai trainer recently).
However, kyokushin is the style he trained first, and HE considers it the base of his standup skill.
While it certainly is not ALL of his standup skill, I would say that he knows best how much kyokushin flavour there remains in his techniques.
so while kyokushin is not his base style, it is still the base he builds his stand up game on.

[sublimo]

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Watch the intervieuw from GSP. At the end he is wearing a Gi. Look @ the logo.

[Kurisu]

[vapor]

Thanks for the screen shot Kurisu!

vapor

[Kurisu]

No problem. It was a challenge since the video showed this sequence so quickly. The best thing about it is that I could say, "hey, I have that gi too!" haha

[powerof0ne]

Originally Posted by Martin H

true up to a point.
No GSP do not train kyokushin anymore, and he is not a kyokushin style fighter. For standup he trains kickboxing or even thaiboxing (although I hear that he has broken ties with his muay thai trainer recently).
However, kyokushin is the style he trained first, and HE considers it the base of his standup skill.
While it certainly is not ALL of his standup skill, I would say that he knows best how much kyokushin flavour there remains in his techniques.
so while kyokushin is not his base style, it is still the base he builds his stand up game on.

I agree to disagree.
GSP shows respect to the sensei he loved that he tained under...to me if someone has a base style that means they're still training in that style. I could be wrong, maybe GSP is doing Kyokushin kata and kumite training along with kihon but I doubt it.
Branco Cikatic started out in Shotokan and Rob Kamen started out in penjak silat (tjakai) but I doubt they claim those styles as their base style. Whatever floats your boat but I'm looking at the facts of who and what GSP is currently training in.
With that being said, he's a very talented fighter.

[Martin H]

Originally Posted by powerof0ne

I agree to disagree.
GSP shows respect to the sensei he loved that he tained under...to me if someone has a base style that means they're still training in that style. I could be wrong, maybe GSP is doing Kyokushin kata and kumite training along with kihon but I doubt it.

As I said (wrote). GSP does not train kyokushin anymore. He does not do kata, and he does not do kihon. Maybe every once in a while for nostalgia, but not as part of his MMA training. But the question is, do he still use kyokushin kumite techniques in his training and fights?
Are the kicks he does something he leaned in muaythai, or are they the same ones he learned in kyokushin.

To me the base style of a fighter is the background baggage he carry with him and which has formed him.
The stuff he falls back on when he gets tired.
Not whatever he is doing currently (which may change at any given moment). If he dropped whatever standup trainer he has now and got a sanda/sanshou trainer, would he be a sanda/sanshou fighter in a few weeks?

If buakaw would start training and competing in knockdown training under Matsui or Midori, would he forget his MT skills and be a kyokushin fighter in a couple of years. Ofcourse not. He would still be a a muaythai based fighter for a LOONG time -probably forever.
Would Royce Gracie be a judo fighter next year if he tomorrow renounced BJJ and joined a judo gym? No, ofcourse not.
Peter Graham does not train kyokushin anymore, do you think he is a "pure" kickboxer, or that he is a kyokushin based kickboxer?
In contrast Feitosa is not just kyokushin based fighter, but a kyokushin fighter fighting in kickboxing. He still trains kyokushin (not sure how much kata and kihon he does regularly either, though).

GSP trained kyokushin during all his formative years. He entered his first amateur MMA fight without having trained anything but kyokushin (and won by KO). I say its a fair bet his kicks and punches are still strongly influenced by it. Especially as HE himself has claimed kyokushin as his base, but not his current, style.

[vapor]

Ok.....enough guys!!!

vapor

[Traphiccc]

very very nicely said... awww i was expecting the tatoo to be kyokushin in kanji.... oh wells.

[vapor]

Traphicc

Be sure to jump over to the INTRODUCTIONS forum, and tell us abit about yourself!

vapor

[shinobijesus]

Originally Posted by vapor

Ok.....enough guys!!!

vapor

im confused, whats wrong?