Goku's Mastery of Combat: Dragon Ball's Secret Symbolism

[@majinsole8554]

“True knowledge is knowing that you know nothing.” I love how Goku exhibits notions like this; so simple, yet so profound. He truly is a great example of someone who understands more than he knows. Great vid. ~_~

[@SeeReax]

Interesting as hell.

[@MasonC2K]

The Go symbol also means “to perceive”, “to understand”, or “to be aware of” so there is a deeper meaning there as well.

[@z11zen9]

Makes it seem like Ultra Instinct was his destiny all along

[@RobertLoyale]

All the Saiyan went into the time chamber as Saiyans (with the armor). I always thought this was symbolic to the fact that they were all trying to unlock the secrets of true Saiyan power.

[@DragonballBlack]

Your title triggered Vegeta.

[@everyonesfavorite7560]

Wow, watup black

[@hellotherekenobi2156]

Yes! Yes it did...

[@warriorz9451]

Hi

[@Shaprite]

He pressed the Goku button.

[@DragonballBlack]

Everyones Favorite yo

[@CarthusDojo]

What a great video. Honestly think this is the sort of stuff your channel does best, the little nuances of Toriyama’s original work and how much they matter. Thanks for being great bro!

[@someguydownthestreet206]

Dragon Ball is and will always be my favorite anime. The journey of Goku's adventure will never cease to amaze me. He started out as a child from the woods, and as his adventure begins, he gains many friends, and evolves on the way. Now, he's in the level of a God. But you have to pay attention to the fact that without all of his masters, he would've never gotten to the place he is now.

[@PrincessQ-fj9ly]

That's so true. Goku would say or at least imply that he owes his power and skills to his masters and would even go back to his masters to train and learn more from them. 😊

[@kakarotjr5676]

I honestly think Goku is a good fighter because he had a lot of teachers. It also explains why he grows fast.

[@earthisnotflat7557]

Like real-life fighters, he is willing to learn more and more forms of martial arts and trains everyday.

[@kakarotjr5676]

@@earthisnotflat7557 True.

[@NaveenJeyaBalan]

One of the reason why he grows fast

[@BenaresDarkness]

The reason for the growing fast is the saiyan blood I also learned that goku is stronger than vageta because goku has perfect cell's in his body where as vageta don't

[@derikbreon7685]

Dude, it’s amazing how much I’ve learned about this series because of you. I’ve been a long time Dragon Ball fan and I thought I knew so much, but damn I was wrong. Thanks bro, keep it up. Been with you since before you even hit 100k subs.

[@thedarkderp2520]

such a subtle way of saying Goku gained his coloured belts and i never would've noticed this detail if not for you geekdom thanks

[@MasterShwagg3524]

Goku's Gi with the "Go" kanji and the sash is legit my favorite rendition of his gi. Gland they brought it back in the Broly movie.

[@Chrisrhamm85]

this was really good Danny my man.

[@David88123]

Awesome stuff. While I did notice this, I never knew the meaning of all the symbols and it really does add up very well. Watching this really does want to make me re-watch and reevaluate things in Dragonball again.

[@PrincessQ-fj9ly]

Me too. It's amazing to see how much fascinating lore Dragon Ball has when you stop and look closely. 😊

[@WeBarelySober]

Love when Geekdom drops these type of videos like the Ultimate Gohan one.

[@samprizzi1159]

I don’t think that Goku became a true “master” of martial arts until the end of Z. It was during all of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z that we saw Goku wear his typical orange gi, but it was after the Buu arc that we see him wearing a new blue gi, a sign that he has finally achieved his own mastery of martial arts.

[@N.N01]

​@Pro Jey96 they literally look nothing like the ones his grandpa gave him

[@trevinodude]

That detail with Goku still learning about his Super Saiyan powers, and not wearing a kanji is pretty fantastic and super consistent even in terms of DBS once you think of it... Goku only reclaims the Go kanji after he masters Super Saiyan 3 and feels he's reached the peak of his power, only for Beerus to come in and flip his world view on his head. Goku once again takes on the symbol of a master when training under Whis to master God ki, but after being able to control God ki enough to put the Kaioken on top of that, he switches back to his Go kanji just after the Universe 6 tournament. In a way, it implies that Goku refuses to wear his own Go kanji until he feels he has mastered all that he knows to master.

[@kurtru5selcrowe607]

I love getting quickies from you Geekdom!

[@travelreview5962]

Geekdom, as an old fan I 100% support you doing more advertising in your video. I've seen how hard you have work to grow the channel and I would like to see you be as successful as possible! If it means watching a 30 second sponsored ad, bring it on.

[@mckstellar1005]

I'll admit I noticed that he wore the turtle symbol then the Kai symbol (I mean it's hard not to they pointed that one out) but never did I realize that he wore the go symbol due to his mastery of the martial arts and his self training. This is so amazing I thank you for it!

[@nekoripper651]

What about whises symbol?

[@majinbuddha5392]

Whis*

[@FATMAN162x]

Whises symbol was explained in the show and the movie, this video was to point out the ones that were NOT talked about in the series or manga.

[@may42o43]

god training?

[@mitchellbest9024]

Whis became Goku’s new master and thus drew his symbol on Goku’s GI.

[@DerBeppone]

I believe that basically was only some sort of demonstration and Goku and Vegeta hadn't had any spare clothes with them to change, basically. :D those symbols are basically abscent with the beginning of the tournament of power.

[@bryoq]

I always thought in the back of my mind that something was off about Goku's outfit in the Cell Saga, how did I never realize there was no Kanji on it..

[@mjmundy8185]

This has been something I have always wondered about. I knew that the symbols represented master Roshi and King Kai, but I could never find any information about what the third symbol meant or why he stopped wearing one altogether after Frieza, so thank you for making this now I know one more thing from my favorite anime.

[@N.N01]

you said its called a geekdom... quickie?

[@undertheshadetree5230]

"Pause" lmao

[@HekRod7]

😂

[@sopretty43vr]

Under The Shade Tree fr cause I’m lovin it no homo

[@qevon244]

Bruh LOL

[@quanthinh3487]

I swear to the God, it's feel amazing everytime you look at the manga. Every page brings satisfaction, even more than watching anime. Akira Toriyama is always the best.

[@LimitbreakerStudios]

I feel like after the Broly movie and the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc, Goku and everyone should have to fight against more magic based villains. Someone with techniques that would require Goku to do more than just get stronger to win. Like the villain could be an Ex-God of Destruction that was revived from the dead. Honestly it would be crazy if Goku had no choice but to learn some magic to beat a new villain. I know the idea of Goku doing magic sounds weird at first, but Whis, Piccolo, Kami, Fourtune Teller Baba, and even Master Roshi all know magical techniques, so why not Goku? It would also require Goku to strengthen his mind for once, not just body. And then when Goku truly masters Ultra Instinct, he could combine it with his new magic skills to cast spells without thinking lol.

[@Gnidel]

Moro from Galactic Prisoner Arc is magic-bases.

[@LimitbreakerStudios]

@@Gnidel haha yeah just realized that. Hopefully they make him super op so Goku has to learn magic to beat him.

[@ryukishi07thecreator70]

@@LimitbreakerStudios Buu knew magic too.

[@devantewinston4865]

You do know goku does train his mind tho that's what meditation and image training is in Dragon BALL vegeta let babidi take control of him he could have resisted it more proof of this is disobeying babidis orders but I also agree with what your saying goku having more magical attacks

[@ryukishi07thecreator70]

@@devantewinston4865 Goku can read minds too, and Ultra Instinct gives him low energy nullification plus auto dodge and attack hax, he also has Mafuba(Anime) and Hakai(Manga). On a side note, his mind training on Namek was the reason why his Zenkai boosts were so huge compared to Vegeta and why Ginyu couldn't use Goku's full power after stealing his body, that's because Ki comes from mind while Chi comes from body, and our fighters mostly rely on Ki.

[@420Dopeman1]

Bro always enjoy your great content, I see the passion in your work and that is what keeps me coming back...besides my absolute love for Dragonball

[@shinidragon7775]

You see this is why I love this channel so much 👌. I always love to learn new things about things I enjoy.

[@metsuryuogikai4907]

Amazing! You definitely opened up my eyes to this, gotta love some secret symbolism!

[@raygarcia1103]

Goddamn it! You got me all hyped up because I used bring this up all the time back in the day. Nobody could ever follow me. They would just look lost when I would bring it up. Thanks man! Feel validated once more Dragonball stylz!

[@tarquinjanis5918]

It's hard to teach me new things about Dragon Ball, however, this is why you have my continued support from like 20k followers hahahaha you always find a way to bring more information and lore to me. 10/10 video! The fucking Go symbol is now something I will never unsee!

[@paranomsun]

Great video. The deeper aspects (like the kanji) has been a special place of interest for me since I was young. The way you explained Goku leaving kanji off of his gi during his stage of learning Super Saiyan is gold. Good shit.

[@NidgeDFX]

The reason GOKU's symbol was like that on his gi was because Bulma's dad made the outfits... just Saiyan :p Also why no symbol after Frieza saga is simple... Akira forgot xD

[@ArmandoFloresAvila]

@NidgeDFX I thought the same thing lol

[@davontihoward1864]

Good call! Guess that means this video was a little informal but totally misleading 😱

[@davontihoward1864]

@FREDRICK ADAMKIEWICZ I hope this is a joke. He's covering dbz and db in this video.

[@mitchellbest9024]

FREDRICK ADAMKIEWICZ yeah but between Freeza and Whis, Goku has no master. So it was up to him to figure out this new Super Sayan power he had and how to unlock its full potential. So in those chapters he did not have a GI with an emblem on it. And all The other masters he served even admitted that they could no longer teach him anything since he surpassed them all.

[@mitchellbest9024]

Oh! And Roshi’s symbol doesn’t change til he starts training under others. Most notably Kaio. And since he loved Roshi Kaio allowed Goku to keep his Roshi symbol but put his on his back. The manga and tv show clearly states this.

[@ItsComicG]

The king kai outfit was always my favorite.

[@JustinY.]

It just works

[@lennyb9286]

Justin Y. Oh come on this video to

[@ugandanchungus604]

Justin "Y" are you everywhere

[@hellotherekenobi2156]

Been noticing Justin on quite a few Dragon Ball videos lately. Has he always been DB fan or has he just recently become a fan?

[@omasego5572]

This is officially a Jojo reference

[@ScienceDrummer]

Reported

[@donovandelaney3171]

"No turning back. No backing down. Nowhere to run to. No solid ground. Nowhere to hid. No one to trust. No one to help you when your lost! There's only us" - Animorphs.

[@celticwarrior6714]

Amazing video! Keep up the great work.

[@davontihoward1864]

Except for the fact his last gi didn't have a symbol because Dr.Briefs made it lol.

[@raph8065]

He did start to use the "GO" symbol again when dragon Ball returned in The Battle Of Gods movie and through the majority of DB Super.

[@bluesman402]

LOVE this video glad someone also catches stuff like this lol you go geekdom!!

[@jcam320]

nice, now I know which symbol my sweater has lol it has roshis symbol on the front and king kai on the back. Thanks!

[@quellethatsme]

Such a solid video. Best DB KZbinr of all time.

[@thomasryan6240]

+Geekdom , the same symbolic message I feel also applies to when Gokou joins the battle at with Nappa and Vegeta. He arrives to the battlefield unseen, Nappa misses, Gohan saved, and the alien Vegeta look up, and we see Gokou's back high above the battlefield with the Kai-Oh [World King] kanji. He was Number 1 Under the Heaven and now he returns as World King. Heavy handed symbolism and AWESOME!!

[@voraxe3032]

its pretty common when climbing the ranks of martial arts that your gi changes everything from style to badges especialy when you have to go interstate to rank up only have so many belt colors

[@aibot2671]

You forgot the Blue inner/under garment, which is a Kami-Sama uniform. Remember when yamcha and krillin trained with kami/popo, they were also given these undrshirts.

[@postalpancho]

I was literally thinking about this the other day. Great video. I couldn't figure out why he changed the symbols. Made no sense until now.

[@claudioschumi87]

Quality Video once again Geekdom love watching your stuff all the way from the UK! In the middle of re watching Dragonball Z and on the Frieza saga as we speak! 😀

[@stevenjohnson6962]

I knew about the kaiosama change but never knew about the others. That is really cool and a nice touch that toriyama did.

[@MxPotato84]

Ive always wondered what that 3rd symbol he wears during the Namek arc meant. Now I know! Cool. Something my grandfather told me years ago when he was alive was... “no matter how old you get, and no matter how well you know things, you are always still learning. You don’t stop learning till the day you die.” I think that fits in very well here.

[@yllwboy1123]

Great vid!

[@Cavi587]

Damn, I consider myself a big fan, but I never really paid attention to that! It really shows how much of a genius Toryiama is when we find new things in this story many years after being introduced to the series.

[@LilRello607]

geekdom you should've mentioned how he learned how to read minds when he went to save Gohan and krillin

[@leont6813]

You're probably the first person I've ever seen using an arrow in the thumbnail that makes sense, and not just some click bait bull :p

[@primalpem]

i love this topic , thanks for making this video!

[@TheRabbitRonin]

I enjoyed this very much. I recently got me the Journey to the West books to read and you used a cover of one of the volumes in this video.

[@Unpopular_Duality.]

Wow I did notice the symbol when I first saw it but never payed it to much attention cause I always thought it was still related to king kais symbol. Never really questioned it before or put to much thought into it. This was an eye opener. Love the video man. Id like to see some more stuff like this. This is interesting. 👍👍

[@brandonsellers1076]

I knew he wore symbols to show his current teacher/master but didn't realize the symbol in the Frieza arc was not simply different but showed he was his own master. In super, it continues with Whis' symbol and in the manga with the Galactic patrol symbol as well.

[@SSBAce]

Great video as ever. I honestly NEVER noticed this,Your a beast. Love ya to bro.

[@RaMraM-zm1el]

I learned something new today.... I didn't even know. Thank you

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

When is Goku going to come up with an attack himself?

[@DonZillaDaGod]

Dragon was his wasnt it

[@DonZillaDaGod]

And that chest punch he did to frieza in the r.o.f movie

[@memzl.g.7249]

He did in the tournament with chi chi

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

Donzilla The God The dragon fist is Goku’s own technique, but it’s not a canon technique. So, canonically speaking Goku hasn’t made his own technique. As far as I know anyway. He could’ve made his own technique in dragon ball.

[@alektoledo4436]

Wyndell Lee kaioken and Genki Dana basically because Kaio could not perform them himself

[@BlackLotusFlame]

Thank you Geekdom, another masterpiece

[@jarenceearl3599]

Goku: AYE THAT JUST MY SUIT FOR WORK. ~IM READY IM READY TO GO TO WORK ~

[@j.baptistecl.5758]

awesome video man learned a lot of very interesting and cool stuff in there

[@buckkful]

Good stuff ! Another powerful scene is when he gets out of the healing chamber after getting his body back an blasts over to Freeza . Then everyone feels like crazy wind an power an realize Gokus back in action . An that’s the first time Freeza even knows of his existence

[@RidKain]

You should do an in depth review on the saiyan/namek sagas, you'd probably have the worlds greatest opinion on the whole of it, plus you could get others in the dragon ball community to help you and voice some parts. A good ol Geekdom101 movie.

[@ThePureBloodedSaiyan]

Great video as always geekdom! I love that I can learn something new even after all this time

[@missiray]

This is what I call a video worth watching

[@onursarigul2092]

really good analysation ;) like to see more kind of these videos.

[@musicfan018]

Thank you for explaining the symbols 😁

[@normal_2956]

Nice the first Geekdom Quickie in 2019

[@daymianhogue1634]

I thought, the Frieza saga "Go" Symbol was because Bulma/Dr. Briefs made the outfits for him in space. And afterwards the lack of symbol was just Toriyama not wanting to keep writing them; or maybe in universe excuse of they didn't wanna keep making the symbols on the outfit.

[@lazygenius3139]

Thanks geekdom for another awesome video love your stuff they actually helped me better understand dragon Ball as a whole so thanks man

[@latincear4558]

The first time I noticed that the signs on his clothing had meaning is when I saw his clothing after whis changed them. The first time I noticed the importance of Gi types in general was when watching Dragon Ball Abridged and Gohan asking for a Gi that looked like Piccolo's. Whats your opinion on Gohan's Gi choice? He picked one that looked like Piccolo's in the Cell Saga, but went back to his father's Gi in super. Thinking about it now, I think it would have been pretty badass if he had his own Gi to represent a uniqe mixture of Goku's and Piccolo's fighting styles. His own character' his on Gi. Don't you think?

[@ComradeQuagsire]

Doesn't Piccolo say something about the sign when he makes Gohan a gi that looks like Goku's but has his Demon sign In the Saiyan saga? Then King Kai mentions his sign being on Goku's gi later in the Freeza saga. Did... Did you watch the show?

[@latincear4558]

@@ComradeQuagsire Yeah. Like 3 years ago. Sorry, but I kinda stopped watching Z after the third time through (obviously, Abridged dont count) 😂 That, and I have a terrible eye for small details and not that great of a memory for dialogue.

[@maximillianoorosco-randhaw9336]

Actually Future Gohan had his own Kanji on his on the back of his GI that translates to “Han” which is the second half of his name

[@torrennobles1740]

You always come with 🔥

[@Delantho]

I like to think that upon discovering super saiyan, goku realized that there are no masters, there is always something more and always someone stronger. To accept "mastery" is to assume that there is a limit to knowledge and power and to think like that will ultimately hold him back as he should always strive to push any perceived limit.

[@WaVeY_333]

The last symbol Goku Gets on his Gi is from Whis, remember when whis was taking goku to beerus planet to train and gave him a new Gi and Whis was going to give Vegeta new battle gear but Bulma already made and gave Vegeta it. Well anyway when Whis is sparing with Goku and Vegeta at the end of the sparing match Whis was so fast he said he signed both of their outfits without their knowledge of him doing so, well thats the last time Goku Got a new symbol/signature writing on his Outfit/Gi

[@KrazyStargazer]

If you look at Eastern Philosophy like Taoism, Buddism and Eastern Mythology theirs a lot of references in DBZ. You can look at it as just a show where people punch and yell a lot but if you look at the influences theirs a surprising amount of thought and symbolism

[@dragonf5325]

Remember when Goku could read minds, must be something he learned at the school of Go.

[@TheCCBoi]

You forgot when Wheis changed his emblem after training with him the first time.

[@Justinzac100]

I've kept an eye out for goku's ever changing symbols too. And i believe that the reason behind goku having his own symbol in namek saga is cuz those clothes were give to him by dr.briefs when he left for namek. Dr.briefs left a bunch of uniforms inside the spaceship knowing that he was gonna be training in there for quite a while. Could you please make another video explaining why goku started wearing his own kanji again in super? Thanks man, love your content

[@DGarc]

Geekdom101 this is great, I think there is another element that I think you should explore. The Chinese symbol translates a bit differently and it means something different for super. It is actually really cool! We are going to make a video response to this, tell us what you think!

[@davontihoward1864]

"channel doesn't have any content" .-.

[@Huskyman2]

I really like your vids keep up the good work bro 😄

[@phiefer3]

Another bit of symbolism with Goku changing to his own emblem when he arrives on Namek could also be a sign of rebellion. When he was on his way to Namek King Kai specifically forbids him from fighting Freiza. Goku half-heartedly agrees but it's clear that Goku has every intention of fighting Freiza. I don't think Goku is really the type to directly disobey his master like that, but by declaring himself his own master he sort of frees himself of his "obligation" to obey King Kai's wishes. As far as the lack of any symbol moving into the Android/Cell/Buu arcs, I'd never really given that much notice. And despite what a lot of people are saying, it's not that Toriyama forgot, as Krillin and Yamcha still have their symbols on their gis at the Cell Games right alongside Goku without a symbol. It seems unlikely that he'd remember to put it on theirs but then just forget Goku in the same scene. Though I think the reason isn't necessarily meant to be a statement of him still learning (though he is), I think it's more likely that it's a sign of being humble. It's normal for a student to wear their master's symbol, but you don't generally see the master wearing their own symbol very often. How often do we see Roshi wearing the kame symbol? Now, King Kai and Kami wear their symbols, but I think that has more to do with their station rather than their role as martial arts masters. Anyways, when Goku arrives on Namek it's his first time declaring himself his own master so wearing his own symbol sort of sends that message that he's no longer a student, but after that I think he realizes that it's not necessary to wear it. Sort of like how when someone first earns their black belt they wear it and/or brag about it, because they're proud and want to show off their accomplishment. But the true masters don't even bother with their belt, they don't need to show it off, they know what they're capable of and that's enough (I keep thinking of that scene from the original Karate Kid where Daniel asks Miagi about his belt and he says he got it at JCPenny, and says that a belt just means you don't need a rope to hold up your pants)

[@Scapegoat0442]

Finally someone made video on this topic

[@ssjoshx8772]

Needed this one.

[@ScienceMagicStudios]

that's not the only symbolism either, I mean just the concept of their Ki, and their Aura that's emanated from their Ki has or HAD a lot of meaning right up until Super, I love Super, but nothing beats that lovely Cel Sheet Cinema Quality Goodness

[@WYKJ773]

This was dope ,....this is kind of similar to master roshi in the t.o.p. On him still fighting and learning fro, goku and krillin

[@justinabaya6622]

Very interesting Geekdom, good work

[@nathanieljackson7422]

This is one of the best videos about the series ever

[@ezioauditore1300]

Awesome video.

[@282texas2]

Wow good info! I never noticed the change of his logo either

[@RhythymNZee]

Wow! Sooo awesome I had noo idea :) thank you geekdom!!

[@shanethompson4571]

Loved this one! So awesome😀

[@jitos82]

I think he put his own symbol in the namek/frieza saga because he thought at the moment that he had nothing else to learn from anyone his final teacher is himself. But after he went super saiyan he realized the he still had much to learn about this new power. It was a power that had never been seen befor and he had no idea how to use it and so he had no teacher to teach him. Therefore he can't put on a symbol that represents the end of his learning if he's still learning and he also has no teacher to give him lessons. So i think his gi less clothing represent him learning from an unknown teacher.

[@zuribanks7626]

I've been rewatching dragon ball z and I'm in the frieza saga ep 82 to be exact and I didn't even notice the gi symbol change. I'll be looking for more subtle things like that.

[@Haruglory131]

Nice I totally was oblivious of this

[@animefan77]

5:48- Goku became the master of martial arts, able to overcome the Ginyu Force and would've been completely victorious had it not been for Capt. Ginyu's own trickery and eventually stop Freeza with the Super Saiyan form. Then he loses it because even though he learns the Instant Transmission, he is not the ultimate master as Cell and Gohan were both better than him at the time; and even later when he is outclassed by the likes of all of Super Buu's forms, Gotenks and Ultimate Gohan. Aside from the brief instance during Resurrection F where Whis draws a kanji on both Goku/Vegeta's uniforms to label him his students, he still doesn't have it as he is still not the master due to beings like Hit, Goku Black, Fusion Zamasu, Jiren and Broly being on levels that Goku couldn't defeat initially on his own merits without risky techniques, Deus ex machina transformations and fusions. So he's got a long road ahead till he's the best of the best.

[@airplanetowardsthesky3265]

Thank you I’ve been wondering about this for a while

[@anxofernandez3344]

And yet in DB Super he wears again the GO symbol, like he sees himself as a master. For a while he wears gi made by Whiss with Whiss's logo, but he soon goes back to his old clothes and symbols, even though he's still learning under Whiss and still discovering new techniques and new powers and transformations.

[@samarthkapil6579]

What is the difference between self respect, dignity and ego.

[@ailiall6310]

The idea that the frieza arc was supposed to be the end of the series also ties in with his mastery, and also reinforces your thoughts on him saying, yes I still need to learn

[@sricharanduvvuri1820]

Glad to see dragon ball going back more to the martial arts fighting rather than just brute power.

[@maganhassan2627]

Not sure about dragon ball super but I guess you are right lol