Is Street Fighter 3's Urien the best modern representation of pankration?

Comments · 86

• AM

  @AMOPankration · 2 years ago (edited) · pinned

  Part Two: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdgreM0tzM">https://youtu.be/AOdgreM0tzM</a><br>Combat Sports vs Fighting Games: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz858qT65K8">https://youtu.be/fz858qT65K8</a>

  25

• CO

  @corrupt_Lurker · 2 years ago

  I&apos;m genuinely surprised that we got this level of accurate portrayal of pankration in an old 2D fighting game, now if I could only master the Aegis Reflector...

  221

• CA

  @CaptClaymor · 2 years ago

  The headbutt kinda makes sense when you take into account Uriens character, where he is a vicious power hungry fighter. So his headbutt is an &apos;illegal&apos; move, but they must have outlawed it because of how dangerous it actually was to headbutt someone. So Urien doesn&apos;t follow that rule.

  111

• RH

  @Rhino-n-Chips · 2 years ago

  Excellent analysis, I could never put into words why I liked Urien so much, especially his intro. Tearing off his suit and literally bronzing himself to become like an idealized Graeco fighter is also fitting for the arrogance of the character, too.

  64

• TH

  @TheJaranggigi · 2 years ago (edited)

  I actually think Jeffrey being a Pankration fighter was a mistranslation that stuck. There used to be an old MMA/Pro-Wrestling organization in Japan called &quot;Pancrase&quot; that had some similar rules to Historical Pankration but was primarily meant to be a bridge between grappling and striking rules in Japan at the time. It&apos;s actually very influential in the history of MMA with many early MMA fighters (Bas Rutten, The Shamrock Bros., etc.) getting their start in the promotion. Jeff&apos;s fighting style matches the ones that evolved in Pancrase as fighters experimented with which strikes and holds from competitive martial arts and Pro-wrestling were doable in a real fight and his equipment (particularly the foot protectors he wears) matches up to the standards from that field. <br><br>Most likely Jeff was originally meant to have been a &quot;Pancrase&quot;-style fighter but had it translated to Pankration in english. As the Pancrase organization went defunct the publisher probably stuck with Pankration as his martial art out of convenience, if they had ever cared about the destinction to begin with. Virtua Fighter loves it&apos;s accurate martial arts but has always been more focused on eastern ones, it wouldnt surprise me if this slipped through.

  96

• MO

  @Morrigan101 · 2 years ago

  Urien name being based off a emperor that rejected Christianity while his brother is a &quot;messiah&quot; is a great way to show his animosity to Gill and even jealousy

  20

• NO

  @Nosvenicar · 2 years ago

  When you mentioned that historical evidence points toward headbutts being &apos;illegal&apos; in pankration, it immediately struck me to be very intentional design decision that Urien rely heavily on this illegitimate tactic. Urien is very much a &quot;low blow&quot; kind of character, as his huge but fragile ego and constant sense of indignation would naturally lead him to using underhanded tactics to win at any cost. <br><br>I like this revelation very much, nice vid!

  158

• TT

  @ttd0000 · 2 years ago

  Pure head canon, but I think the Street Fighter universe is one where pankration survived the centuries as a mainstream sport. &nbsp;Urien and Gill are using the pure or ancient, while Marisa&apos;s style is the modern version that&apos;s changed with the times. &nbsp;Like how ancient sumo used to be a straight up brawl with the only rules being &quot;don&apos;t touch the ground or get rung out.&quot;

  27

• GE

  @genericbonk · 2 years ago

  Honestly I feel for the headbutt, the entire point was to be something not allowed<br><br>I mean, Urien is no stranger in resorting to cheap tricks or tactics

  18

• BL

  @Bloothehedgehog · 2 years ago

  I’d love a in-depth analysis of Marisa and what makes her less accurate to Pankration, and where she is perfectly accurate (if in any moves!)

  15

• PU

  @Punk4ss-Weasel · 2 years ago

  I think that with Urien and his headbutt, it might be a character lore thing. Urien resented his brother and pretty much stands against his brother&apos;s organization. His headbutt could be a sign of his rebellious nature to the artform.

  22

• MA

  @Maikeru-os4ti · 2 years ago

  I was today years old when i discovered Uriens fighting style was Pankration i never thought about it in depth but for Urien it makes sense

  5