Kung Fu Tattoo

[logic]

I have this cool Yin Yang Tat on the back of my right calf.(about the size of a silver dollar)
It started to fade, so I had the black filled in a little.
Yeah:cool: I must say it's lookin gooooood.

Any other tats out there, or plans on getting one?

[friday]

hmmm...i don't have any tats but I would like to get a small chinese dragon on my left shoulder blade just left of my spine.

I had thought of getting the chinese character 'crane' on my shoulder but...i was told many many times by some close friends of mine that that is 'lo to' meaning old fashioned, out of date so i think i have ditched that idea for now. :)

[Crimson Phoenix]

Lo To huh? Go for it, ******...my chinese friends always tell me "we chinese blah blah"...I go "what?? You gotta be kidding me, I sweat and suffer more to preserve a part of chinese culture more than you ever will".
Chinese born overseas are totally overlooking their root culture, I think it's a shame...I'm happy that they are mixing well in western societies, but if it means forgetting or looking down on some cultural treasures they could have, then it's a shame. Anyway, just a rant to tell you that if you want to do it, then do it, it's not old fashion, it's traditional :-)
As for myself, I have a phoenix tattooed on my left shoulder blade.
I definitely plan to get another one, covering either my other shoulder blade, or the rest of my back...

[Skarbromantis]

Got alot of non-martial arts tatoos, but i want to put my class logo on my back, as soon as i feel im good enough.

Skard1

[Qi dup]

I'm one of the billions of people with chinese symbols on my back. I didn't just pick them out at a tattoo shop, I'd had them in my head since i was like 10. I know it's the trendy thing to do these days, but it's ok I like mine:) I also have a pretty cool rampant lion on my left shoulder. I've been contemplating getting one that says 'john barleycorn must die' for about a year, but i don't think that is ever going to happen really. My friend is gonig to get Ralph from the simpson or mighty mouse. Tattoos seem to be a pretty touchy subject because everyone has very diffiering ideas. I also like those dark tribal ones you see on every college kids arm.

[ewallace]

I am thinking about getting a tatoo of Kuan Ti on my right arm or back of shoulder. It is going to cost a grip to get it done right though.

[shaolinboxer]

I have a toatoo of the kanji for strength on my left arm, and grace on the back of my right shoulder.

Looking for a new tatoo, thinking about getting a star of david.

[dwid]

Some big black bars (taoist wards against ghosts) on either side of my back running about 2/3 top to bottom, a big bagua with a chinese demon face in the center with a sword in its mouth in the center of my lower back (all black and gray). Another taoist symbol on my left forearm. Semi-related, a very stylized rendition of my chinese zodiac (rabbit) based loosely on the character blackavar from watership down - the coolest rabbit ever. Finally, a lotus in a pool on my chest, surrounded by the heart sutra mantra in sanskrit. Luckily, I have a lot of tattoo artist friends, so these tats haven't completely put me in the poor house. Eventually, I want a thousand armed avalokiteshvara to take up the rest of my back. My friend who I'm always trying to talk into taking this design on as a challenge insists that if we did it, we'd have to do all 1,000 arms. Oh joy.

[dwid]

On a related note, if you ever get a kanji tattoo, be sure you get the kanji from a reliable source before presenting it to the artist. Lots of the kanji appearing now on random household items often totally don't mean what they say they do. Case in point, a friend of mine was given a coffee mug that was supposed to have his name in kanji. His brother, who also was given a mug with what was supposed to be his name on it had the exact same symbol on his mug. It was probably the kanji equivalent of "sucker."

[Mutant]

yeah i have a dragon on my arm. got it back when i was way into dragon part of wu xing chuan,5 animals. got the image out of a 5 animal masters book from hong kong. i forget i have the **** thing most of the time. don;t regret it though.

[Ray Pina]

I have a yin/yang (Taiji) on my left bicep but its kind of distorted with edges, like a buzz saw. Its also surrounded by traibal polynesian waves.

I'm over it. Got it when I was a studid teenager. I want to go over it with a landscape scene. I'm going to wait till next winter so I can surf this summer and not sweat it.

If I could go back I wouldn't have gotten it, but since I did I will just evelove it oevr time to express my current self.

[dwid]

If the yin-yang is all filled in, you're going to be hard pressed to cover it up. The more black space in a tattoo, the harder it is to come up with an effective cover-up design.

[bongtzu]

I have the Chinese characters for "Freedom"
tattooed on my right arm just below the shoulder.

It's symbolic in that it was done by a good friend and former roommate in our kitchen (with a tat gun, not the ol' ink n' needle method), and it was done just before my roomies and I moved from Chicago to Santa Cruz...

It's "just another word for nothin' left to lose..."

[straight blast]

One of my uncle's is an artist, and the other is a tatooist. My artist uncle is working on an armband for me. The idea is a western dragon biting the tail of an eastern dragon biting the western dragon's tail circling around my left arm at the biceps level. It usually takes my uncle about a year or so to do a piece though so I think I'll be waiting for a bit.

My other tatt is going to cost me $450 (had it priced yesterday!) so I think I'll be waiting a bit for that one too as I'm too poor to even train at the moment. When I get them done I'll post some pics of them. The second tatt is going on my left shoulder and is a werewolf using bong sao/straight punch simultaneously, but he's wearing torn punching wraps (in memory of my beloved Muay Thai days).

Can't hardly wait, but I have to. :(

[friday]

hmmm... a friend of mine just said it could be bad luck if u get the a tattoo thats not right for u or in the wrong place...any thoughts?

[TenTigers]

I'm an artist. I draw alot of tattoos for my friends and students who then take them over to tattoo artists who then make transfers and tattoo them and charge 400 bucks, so...I got my own tattoo gun and I'm going to do it myself. If I ever get a round tuit.
another thing, like the other guy said, get your chinese or japanese characters from a reliable source. I saw a girl with a tat on her arm, she thought it said something like warrior woman or some crap-it said concubine.
Here's something fun. I see guys at tournaments all the time with the dragon and tiger tats on their forearms, and I look at it and say,"Oh man, you got it backwards. The tiger goes on the left, and the dragon on the right" then I wait about an hour,before telling him I was joshin' ! they usually don't laugh quite as much as I do...funny.

[wushu chik]

I have the Chinese Character for Dragon on the small of my back in red (thats the sign I was born under FIRE DRAGON!!). I also have a dolphin on the inside of my right ankle and I have a butterfly on my left big toe. I am getting another one, probably a band around my arm with chinese Character. What do ya think I should get besides that?

~Wen~

[TenTigers]

it's always good practice to tattoo the small of your back. Didja ever see an acupuncture chart? There are dozens of main points all converging at the small of your back, and you're digging needles into it. Tell me in 10 years what effect it has on the system. Hmmmm, that would make a kewl tat! I'm gonna tattoo the entire chart on myself. Wait a minute, what am I saying? I'm gonna talk some dolt into doing it instead! -probably find someone stupid enuf in the clubs or at ren faires!

[grogan]

I've got a huge tattoo of the Karate Kid in the crane stance on my chest, it was cool in the 80's but not so much now.

[wushu chik]

TenTigers...you are about dumb. First off, like anything would be permanent. It's not like i am walking around with needles stuck in my back ALL THE TIME. Why don't you go find someone else to talk smack to, because all you will get HERE with ME is it back at ya, about 100 fold. ASK ANYONE.. i won't take stupidity very easily. And, from your posts, it looks like that's exactly what you are. Go read some more Mantak Chia books.

~Wen~

[Satanachia]

Don't have a tattoo at the moment, but thinking about getting one in the future. But i do have a question.
Say you get a tatoo, and then put on alot of muscle. Would the original tattoo now be warped at all?

[wushu chik]

Satanachia~
Yep. It will. Honestly, I would try to put it some place you aren't going to build TONS of muscle. If you aren't going HUGE..then it won't be that bad...but remember, anytime you put on weight, build muscle, etc....skin stretches, and so will your tats.

~Wen~

[Chang Style Novice]

Shaolinboxer:

"Looking for a new tatoo, thinking about getting a star of david."

This is very ironic. Traditionally in Judaism, a tattoo is seen as defilement of the body. Then there's the whole Concentration Camp tattoo issue...

[Yung Apprentice]

I have a tat above my @ss crack that says,

"Exit Only"

It saved me from many unpleasant situations in prison!:D

Seriously tho, I'm thinking about getting two different Aztek calenders on both of my shoulder blades, or shoulders. I was also thinking about having an eastern dragon wrap around my arm, with it's head ending just before the wrist, and the tail ending either before the armpit or shoulder.

I also have some other ideas for some tats, that I'm thinking about.

I like StraightBlast's idea about the dragon armband. Wish I had thought of it first, or else I might have used it.

I have a few(3) questions on tats. (1)It's the same question as Satanachia asked, only reversed. If you have muscle when you first get the tat, but lose the muscle afterwards, will it look funny?

(2) I'm aware that you can contract diseases from the tat guns if not cleaned properly.(especially hepatitis) Does anyone know what are the statistics or chances of contracting theses diseases?

(3) Whats a good way of knowing that a tatoo place is a good,clean,reliable,safe place to get your tat?

[dwid]

(1)It's the same question as Satanachia sked, only reversed. If you have muscle when you first get the tat, but lose the muscle afterwards, will it look funny?

Possibly somewhat. In both cases it depends on how quickly you put on and lose weight. I come from Eastern European stock - thick people, and I tend to put weight on really easily. I have lots of tats in lots of places, and I've never had a problem with warping of any kind. I've known girls who had kids, and their tats in certain areas got pretty stretched out, but when they dropped the weight after giving birth, they did so gradually, and the tat went back to its original shape and was fine.

(2) I'm aware that you can contract diseases from the tat guns if not cleaned properly.(especially hepatitis) Does anyone know what are the statistics or chances of contracting theses diseases? (3) Whats a good way of knowing that a tatoo place is a good,clean,reliable,safe place to get your tat?

Go on your gut feeling. Check a shop out. If it seems shady it probably is. Ask if the artists have taken any seminars in sterilization procedures, blood-borne pathogens, etc... Some states require this sort of training, but even if the state doesn't, a good shop will require it of the artists. I've been tattooed out of people's houses, but the people were professionals who knew how to create a sterile space. Conversely, there are lots of shops where people do not know fundamental things about maintaining sterile conditions. If the artist sets up without gloves on and then puts gloves on, they are only protecting themselves, not you. All that stuff they touched before putting gloves on is potential infection for you. If things seem kosher, but then when you're sitting down in the chair waiting to start, you see something shady, don't be afraid to leave then and there. Blood-borne diseases are nothing to mess with, and in a shop that follows solid procedures, there is no more chance of catching anything that you would have in a doctor's office.

[Sharky]

I want a tattoo but i have never seen anything cool enough to ever want one. I think i will regret it once i'm over 30 - especially if i have kids.

I'd get one if there was something cool to get. I was thinking of a angel on one shoulder/arm and a devil on the other - but maybe that is just gay. And requires gettin two. I don't think you'd be able to see it well on my skin.

Any ideas? I want something cool, and no offence but chincese characters are mad played out now.

[Tae Li]

What do u guys think of Li Lian Jie in chinese characters just below the spinal chord........

Tae Li;)

[dwid]

It's such a personal thing, nobody can really tell you what to get. Also, if you're afraid you'll regret it when you're older, go with your instincts. I've thought long and hard about every tattoo I've ever gotten. I won't get anything that's visible if I'm in long sleeves and pants. I like being able to go incognito if necessary, and working in academia, this is basically a requirement. That said, I have never regretted a tattoo I've gotten, as they all have very deep symbolic value to me. It's an aesthetic that I'm just really into. Some people simply aren't.

That said, people who are dismissive about tattooing as an art form as just something you do to be cool when you're young and stupid can bite me. I saw a lot of friends get tattooed in high school, when they thought they would have the same politics and musical interests forever. These are the people who regret their tattoo choices. My first tattoo was when I was 21 or 22, and I'm glad I waited. The history of tattooing goes back thousands of years, and something that is such a cultural universal cannot be dismissed just because it happens to be a trend right now. I wouldn't endure the excruciating pain of the hours of tattooing required on my chest for the lotus design there (let me tell you, the sternum hurts really really bad) if I was just trying to be cool; there are much easier ways.

Sorry about the rant, it's not directed at anyone in particular, it's just an attitude I see a lot.

[Qi dup]

Right on dwid, I'm with yah.

wushu chik, I don't think TenTigers was giving you a hard time, He was just joking around. Like I said earlier, people are sesative about there tattoos

[Sharky]

That's what i mean dwid, thanks for your post. I do want one, maybe i am just waiting to find the perfect design.

Cheers.

[raving_limerick]

Another thing (coming from a friend of mine who's now a tattoo artist)-- if you're really concerned about infectious diseases, go to a parlor that uses new needles for every tattoo. It's a bit more pricey and you must watch them take it out of the sealed packaging to make sure it's safe, but it might be worth it, if for just your peace of mind.

[anton]

Originally posted by Tae Li
What do u guys think of Li Lian Jie in chinese characters just below the spinal chord........


Do you mean really low on of your back?

I reckon thats a really sexy look for a chick.
There was this hot asian girl in one of my tutes last year, who always wore low-cut pants and you could always se a tattoo (can't remember what it was now) on her back every time she leant forward...daaayam *drools*

Sharky
If you get something that is personal and actually means something to you, then you wont regret it.
A friend of mine's brother died a few years ago and they were really close, so he's getting his brother's name tattooed on him. He want's to do it on the small of his back. I suggested he gets it on his shoulder blade. But he said he preferred it somewhere less visible cos it was a personal thing. I'm sure he'll never regrett getting his tattoo.

[kungfu cowboy]

How much could a new needle possibly add to the cost? $3-$10?

[Satanachia]

Two more questions about tattoos....

1) What is the pricing like? Is it based on size, time taken, intricacy of design?
What are some basic prices? Where do they start, what is average for an "average" tattoo.

2) What is the pain like? Ok, so i'm a little wuss. You'd think after being elbowed in the face, kicking peoples shins, and coming home with bruises up and down my forearms i'd be used to it, but no, i'm still a little wuss. So what does it actually feel like?

[ewallace]

well, if you are a guy and get test. cancer, and have to lose one of your boys, you can always get a squirrel running up one leg and another squirrel running down the other leg with a nut in his mouth. That way you can ease the uncomfortable moment of the "first time" with a new partner. When you notice the confused look you can say something cool like "mr. fuzzy snatched it".

[African Tiger]

Yikes!

Well amongst the many Marine Corps inspired tatoos I have (including Snoopy carrying an M-16, and Wiley Coyote carrying an M-60 machine gun), I have the simplified character of "Patience" tatted on my right forearm. To remind me that kung fu is a way of life and a journey, not a destination.

Next up, characters for "fortitude", "stillness", "charity", and others as I earn further sashes in my kwoon.

[dwid]

Raving Limerick> Another thing (coming from a friend of mine who's now a tattoo artist)-- if you're really concerned about infectious diseases, go to a parlor that uses new needles for every tattoo. It's a bit more pricey and you must watch them take it out of the sealed packaging to make sure it's safe, but it might be worth it, if for just your peace of mind.

KF Cowboy> How much could a new needle possibly add to the cost? $3-$10?

To be honest I've never been to a shop that reused needles or known an artist who did, so I wouldn't know about the extra cost, but reusing needles definitely sets off my "sketchy" detector.


Satanachia> 1) What is the pricing like? Is it based on size, time taken, intricacy of design?
What are some basic prices? Where do they start, what is average for an "average" tattoo.
2) What is the pain like? Ok, so i'm a little wuss. You'd think after being elbowed in the face, kicking peoples shins, and coming home with bruises up and down my forearms i'd be used to it, but no, i'm still a little wuss. So what does it actually feel like?

1) A big part of it with most artists I know is how interesting the design is. If it's going to be fun to work on, you'll probably get a good price on the tattoo. This may sound unfair, but when you are putting kanji and butterflies and simple tribals on college kids all day, there's no way you're going to be excited about doing another one of those. But mostly it has to do with size and intricacy. Most shops have a basic cost that even the smallest tattoo will be due to set up time and cost of equipment. After that, it usually has to do with the artist estimating how many hours it's going to take to do the thing, so the bigger and more intricate and more colors, the more it's going to cost. It's impossible to give you an average tattoo cost, because there's simply so much variation.

2) I'd say it depends where on the body you're getting tattooed. Also, lots of people are different as to where it hurts most to be tattooed. Personally, I don't think it hurts much at all in most places after about the first 15 minutes, when you adrenaline or endorphins or whatever kick in. But opinions vary. If you're worried about not being able to take the pain, either start with a small and simple tattoo, or with a larger one, start with a component of it that is small and simple and can stand alone in case you decide you don't want to endure sitting for the rest of the design. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. If you can handle being hit, you can easily handle being tattooed.

[Kristoffer]

the arabic word for "milk" in my fore-head
and my hotmail adress on my ****

[logic]

I have often thought about getting another one.
I just don't think it looks real good on me, having so many tats.
But my brother has a few and it looks allright.

[Sharky]

i am thinking something along the lines of my mc'ing name, or maybe a picture of a Mic, but, not an LL Cool j type thing, i dunno, mics are kinda gay shapes :)

kristoffer: haleeb?

[kungfuyou]

I have the Kanji on my left upper arm for Love. I also didn't want to get anything that I would regret when I was older.

I also am considering getting another tat of a tiger coming down my right upper arm with it's paw outstretched down towards my bicep much like this one.

Another one I thought about was the one of the tiger and dragon forming a Yin Yang symbole on my upper right arm.

Was also thinking of putting an Eastern Dragon across my upper back from shoulder to shoulder, but thought otherwise.

[bongtzu]

Some good points made...

The pain of a tattoo is definitely something that is a lot easier to take once you're there and, as dwid said, your natural chemicals start kickin' in.

Yeah, Chinese chracters are fairly played out, but I think it's a better trend than most. (at least it's not Warner Bros. characters anymore.)
But you really do have to make sure what you think you're getting is what you're actually getting.
Everyone has a horror story of some chump that got
something ridiculous tattooed on them. (I myself heard of a dude who went to Japan and thought he was gettin' 'Samurai Warrior' on the back of his head -- it actually read 'Pigf**ker', or something to that effect.) What I did was run around Chicago's Chinatown like a madman asking everyone in every shop "What does this say?!" and pointing to a scrap of paper in my hand. After enough people looked at me like I was insane and responded "Freedom", I was convinced. I figured if that many people said the same exact thing, I was all good.

Now, with alot of people I know, a tattoo becomes an addiction thing. Like my wife, for example. She got one, then two, then three, and she still wants more. (luckily, they're all smallish and discreet)
It seems to be a common thing with tattooed folk. But I just have the one and no real desire at all to get another. What about you guys? Satisfied with whatcha got, or dreamin' of sleeves and full-back tats?

[Kristoffer]

Sharky- hehe well it's not there yet... But I think it would be kinda cool no? :D

[raving_limerick]

dwid- From what I understand, reusing needles is more common than people think. Of course, most of the time, the shop will sterilize them with bleach and then autoclave them before tattooing another customer, but it's on a shop-by-shop basis (At least out east). Thus, it's ALWAYS a good idea to ask about it before hand, even if it's a parlor with a good rep.

As for why it's still done, I don't know, really. I'll ask my friend next time I see him, but I have a suspicion that new needles aren't really that cheap. Personally, I'd pay extra for the new needle, but that's just me.

[Dark Knight]

I did a girl who was born in Japan (Military dad) so she had "Made in Japan" on her butt

From down periscope: "Welcome Aboard" on the *****.

[GreyMystik]

i have six tattoos. 2 dragons on my left (one chinese, another just a tribal looking one), a panther on my right arm, an ankh with a celtic pattern around it also on right arm, eye of horus on my neck, and a big chaos star on my back

if anyone wants pics send me a private message i'll send them.

as far as pricing it really depends on who you know and the area you're in. i got mine dirt cheap but i know the guy personally and he works out of his home. and for all you naysayers out there, he has his own autoclave and all the sterilizing equipment, and i see him open new needles every time ;)

the first one is the hardest to get because you don't know what you want to start with alot of the time, but after that it's easier

[African Tiger]

Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor on the left bicep,

Blood dripping dagger on the right bicep,

Snoopy with an M-16 on the Chest,

Wiley Coyote with a machine gun on the right thigh,

Rosary on the right ankle,

Simplified Chinese character for "Patience" on right forearm. This will be joined in the future by characters for "Fortitude, Stillness, Charity" and others, as I earn each rank.

Ahem, my advice: you get what you pay for. You can always haggle with a tattoo artist before hand, but keep in mind his mindset isn't going to be too positive if you made him drop his price before he starts. Tipping is a good idea as well!

[ChiTaoWU]

I WANT TO GET AN 8 trigrams tatoo on my back and two crossed broadswords with protect ya neck written under em

[guohuen]

Dragon, upper left arm. Airborne jumpwings, upper right arm.

[Colin]

Sharky,
I don't know how dark your skin is, but a friend of mine is pretty dark (from Jamaica) and he has some Celtic stuff, armband etc. It looks really good just the plain black on his skin tone.
He had a Scottish grandmother or something so felt it would be nice to express his Scots roots.

Tats on chicks are real sexy, so long as they are not too big, and make her look like a porn star!

Wushuchik,
So you are a fire dragon cool!

I 'm a fire horse.
I always thought about having some rendition of firehorse tatooed on me, but i've since found out that according to chinese tradition a fire horse can brings bad luck to their families, and were often either aborted prior to birth, or disposed of after!
So i thought i'd best not advertise it too much!:(

I've gotta tell you this story!
This is Gods honest truth.

I used to be involved in a Scooter/northern soul scene a few years ago.
We used to go to a lots a places where there were many skinheads.
Now these guys are not known for their intellect!
I once saw this bloke with a tattoo on his forehead that read "SNIKS"
He had tattoed it himself in the mirror, where it read SKINS. :eek: :D

A couple of years later I saw him again, but this time he just had a big green rectangle on his forehead!
I think the nice British term "wanker" applies here!

C.......

[scotty1]

I have a tribal sun thing on my shoulder blade, a stylized Biohazard symbol on my pectoral, a tribal mask on my shoulder with a K (my girlfriend's initial)in the middle, and a tribal badge thing on my stomach.

Whenever anyone asks me if they hurt, I say, yes of course they do. When they say, "would it hurt if I got one on my arm?" I say yes, its like being shot, hurts less through the arm than through the stomach, but it still hurts.

[GeneChing]

Kungfu Qigong magazine has been requested by a distributor that sells to tattoo shops. What do you think? Would we sell there?
We've always wanted to do something on martial arts tattoos. If you have martial ink, send me a pic. Maybe if we get enough, we'll run it the mag.

[wushu chik]

Gene~
You are going to go blind on the amount of e-mail that's going to be coming thru your office now. Prepare yourself!!!!! I know SOOO MANY people that have MA tats, it's crazy!

Have fun!!

Colin~
My sign would explain why I am so fiesty and boisterous. Being a Fire Dragon has perks though....at least they don't ALWAYS blame it on PMS! :D

~Wen~

[Ryu]

I've got a big tattoo of Richie Rich on my face. Does that count?


Firey women are the best! :D
I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

What a woman!

;)
Ryu

[Yung Apprentice]

Gene Ching- I thought Kung Fu mag already put out an article on a past edition on MA tats?

Wushu- How can I find out what sign I was born under?

[Kristoffer]

I drawed a cat on my arm once..

[Yung Apprentice]

1982- Am I a Water Dog?

[Kristoffer]

water dog? isnt that pokemon crap over yet??

nah seriously...... I wanna know this too, 1984-mars, what am i?

[David Jamieson]

Helpful hints for those who want to know thier chinese horoscopical sign.


http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/resources/horoscope.html

peace

[Yung Apprentice]

I'm a water dog!? That doesn't sound as cool as Gold Dragon, or Fire Horse. What are the charecteristics of a Water Dog? And what does one look like? (if I were to get a tat?)

[Kristoffer]

cool thx

[Kristoffer]

I'm a Wood Rat :D what the hell is that all about? I like it though, its cool :D

[Yung Apprentice]

Sounds better than my Water Dog.:( Just kidding, my sign is o.k. I would like to see a pic of a Water dog or a Wood rat though!:)

[ghostdragon]

I'm a water rat... :(

The jokes could be endless!

I can't see myself getting a muskrat/beaver tattoo anytime soon though...

[guohuen]

I have a tat on gilligan that just says IN when he's at rest. Wake him up and it says, In the beginning was the word......ect.:D

[4r3abdf]

http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/toplesscarwashdoc/tattooartist.html

[dwid]

That is awesome.

I just hope it's a true story and not a spoof.

Anyone who goes to get a kanji tattoo and doesn't know what the character is supposed to look like deserves what they get.

[Judge Pen]

It's got to be a spoof, but it makes you wonder.

[MasterKiller]

urban legend.

nothing more.

[chen zhen]

like that one involving a woman, a horse, and a bucket load of cum;)





:D

[SevenStar]

I heard about that a few weeks ago - tripped me out when I first read it. It's gotta be a spoof though.

[Judge Pen]

If it's not a spoof, then the tattoo guy has just screwed himself in the lawsuits that are going to follow! Plus, that chik must have had a pretty large belly for all the characters "Insert General Tso's chicken here" to fit. :D

[MasterKiller]

like that one involving a woman, a horse, and a bucket load of cum My friend has an Mpeg of that one. It's real, all right.

[Chang Style Novice]

If the tattoo story isn't real, it SHOULD be.

On the other hand, it seems weird that the tattooist is described as Japanese, but the tattoos are described as being in Chinese. So, it's probably false.

Further edited - ouf oaklin online.com appears to be a local version of "The Onion." Draw your own conclusions from their homepage.

http://www.soufoaklin.com/index.html

[Shaolin-Do]

Probably is a fake, but how unbelievable a story is that?
How many people do you think are walking around right now with tatoos that mean nothing like what they were supposed to?
:D
Makes me smile just thinkin about it...
:)

[dwid]

There are undoubtedly tons of people who think they know what their tattoo says and are dead wrong.

I have a lot of friends in the tattoo biz, and the exception to the rule is for someone to go to the trouble of finding the kanji character they want in an actual dictionary.

Oftentimes, people rely on much more questionable sources, like bringing in any number of items they bought that already have a kanji character on them that is supposed to mean a particular thing.

Case in point, one of my tattoo artist friends was given a coffee mug years ago that supposedly had his name in Kanji on it. This was before the current explosion of popularity of the stuff, and he was a young tattoo artist, so he decided to tattoo the character on his leg. It turned out several of his relatives had received mugs bearing identical characters, all of which were supposedly representative of their individual names. To this day, he has no idea what the character tattooed on his leg means.

:D

[Judge Pen]

A guy in college had characters tattooed on his back and an asian guy told him that they were upside down.

[chen zhen]

My friend has an Mpeg of that one. It's real, all right.

Uh-Oh

:eek:

[GeneChing]

Back when I doing some work for Jackie Chan's Save the Tiger campaign for Wild Aid/ACAP (http://www.wildaid.org/) I was selling these little Chinese calligraphy paintings with the word "Tiger" on it to raise funds. This guy came up to my table and said "I got this tattoo, it's supposed to say 'tiger' but it doesn't match what yours said." We couldn't recognize the character, but luckily we were selling Chinese dictionaries at that table and we looked it up. Well, it did mean tiger in the 4th definition or so, but the first definition was 'clown.' That was a great one - there was a tat artist who really knew his trade.

[dwid]

there was a tat artist who really knew his trade.

I think this sentence is based in a misconception that's part of the problem.

Tattoo artists are, at best, artists. They can draw something to tattoo on you or modify something you bring to them so it will look better on skin. It isn't their job to verify that a character means what you think it means. If you're going to put something on your skin for the rest of your life, it's probably wise to be **** sure you know exactly what it is.

Anyway, just a pet peeve of mine.

:cool:

[CaptinPickAxe]

it would be hilariously ironic if it were real, but chances are its an urban legend. My friend got a japanese character tattooed on his neck. He claimed it said, "I f*cked your mom," but was just two different symbols thrown together... I guess its a nicer version of this story...

[dwid]

That's funny.

That's the first phrase I was ever taught in Mandarin.

[Shaolin-Do]

Thought it was "I f*cked your sister"
Whatever it was, probably wasnt right.

[CaptinPickAxe]

it was "...mom".........i couldn't of said much, it was done by a drunken idiot turned navy seal.

[Starchaser107]

they Deserve what they got, if the story is real, and I hope it is.
Bandwagonists and mindless idiots.

[norther practitioner]

I'm sure that one is a spoof.. but there have been cases of "kanji gone wrong."

[Stranger]

Whether the people were stupid or not, that little pr1ck should get beaten, held down by his victims, and have them go to work on him with a tattoo gun. Who has the right to brand somebody for life with something they didn't want that makes them a joke to millions of people? I have no tats, but I say this guy is a worm. If he were a man, he'd tell people "no" when they asked and then back up "no" with his policy statement unashamed. He didn't have the sack for that. I hope he gets everything he deserves.

The guy is Japanese and the characters are referred to as Chinese probably due to the Chinese origin of Japanese kanji characters.

[kungfuyou]

Originally posted by Stranger
Whether the people were stupid or not, that little pr1ck should get beaten, held down by his victims, and have them go to work on him with a tattoo gun. Who has the right to brand somebody for life with something they didn't want that makes them a joke to millions of people? I have no tats, but I say this guy is a worm. If he were a man, he'd tell people "no" when they asked and then back up "no" with his policy statement unashamed. He didn't have the sack for that. I hope he gets everything he deserves.

The guy is Japanese and the characters are referred to as Chinese probably due to the Chinese origin of Japanese kanji characters.

AGREED!!! This isn't something that just washes off! Why does it matter if they are bandwagoning or not?? If it's something someone wants, no one deserves to be "branded" with something that they didn't want or know about because the tattoo artist has an issue with why they are doing it!! Just like stranger said, he has the right to say no!! If I was one of those people, he would be paying out the nose!!

[shaolin kungfu]

First of all, its probably not true.

And if it is true, he probably felt they were degrading is culture and heritage, and wanted to get back at them through their ignorance. It may not be just because they are "gettin on the band wagon".

[Stranger]

A person wants to write something on their body in a foreign language, and you think it is "degrading to his culture and heritage" enough that this spineless backstabber has the righteous authority to carve and stain the skin of his human customers with petty insults? I'm not saying he has no right to be upset (although it is still being thin-skinned IMO), but he crossed the line. If he didn't want to do it, he should of just said he wouldn't or couldn't. I'm saying, be a man about it.

[Laughing Cow]

Couple of points:

1.) The Characters are Katakana not Chinese kanji.
2.) They look like they were written by a felt-tip by someone NOT used to writing japanese.
3.) Obvious spoof, but based on some true stories I know.
4.) I have seen chinese character tattoos and on average the look more like calligraphy than printed characters.

A lot of Asians and Japanese to get upset about the literal use of words and similar.

Many words can have double meanings and the actual meaning is often not known unless taken in context.

Also many people that choose chinese characters don't do proper research and end up with something that would sound the same but might be an insult rather than praise.

Still laughing at the baseball-caps that have one character (Fire, Water, Wind, Friend) or similar written on them, What's up with that??

OTOH, many Asians wear T-Shirts with english on them that makes just as much sense.

[joedoe]

I remember reading a few months back about some guy in England who went to get a tatoo done and chose some Chinese characters that he thought looked good. Turned out what he got was a group of characters that said something along the lines of "I am a naughty little boy" - he found this out during his next visit to the local Chinese take away. When he went back to confront the tatoo artist, he had shut up shop and could not be tracked down.

Now i read it in a newspaper article, but you can't always believe what you read can you? ;)

[Laughing Cow]

Joedoe.

That reminds me of an old story:

One guy went to China on Business, before returning he thought of a friend of his who is well versed in matters chinese and a lover of chinese teas.

So he heads downtown to buy some tea for his friends, he haggles and is assured plenty of times that he is getting top quality tea and yadda yadda.

Anyhuh, he goes to his buddy and gives him the Tea.

Friend looks at the parcel bursts out laughing, appearantly on it was written in Chinese: "Good enough for the foreign devils" or something similar.

:D

BTW, I have seen some "round-eyes" with some weird/funny Chinese Character Tattoos that they decided upon themselves.

[joedoe]

I am not a tatoo kind of person, but this is the only Chinese character I would consider getting tatooed on myself.

[Serpent]

Definitely a hoax - you can see even from that pic that the "tat" is faked. Trust me, I know.

Joedoe - the story you're talking about was "This is a very ugly boy". Dunno if that one's true or not.

[joedoe]

That sounds about right. When I read it, it looked like a newspaper clipping. But as I said, you can't believe everything you read can you? ;)

[Starchaser107]

Never buy a puss in a bag, (pig in a poke) whatever u wanna call it :p

[Chang Style Novice]

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/07/1022982759183.html

This one seems fairly legit.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/07/1022982759183.html

This one seems fairly legit.

That's the one. I think that one is real. You know, it'd be a lot cheaper to get it covered with a good design rather than removed. Be easy to cover characters too.

Maybe he's just lost all faith in tats.

[Chang Style Novice]

Just as an intellectual excercise, what might be the result if you went to a chinese tattooist and demanded he ink the characters for "This big dumb ****** thinks he's cool but he's not" on your chest?

[PHILBERT]

Originally posted by joedoe
I am not a tatoo kind of person, but this is the only Chinese character I would consider getting tatooed on myself.

If that means small patience (like the file is named), then Im confused. Because it also bares strong resemblence to Ninjutsu.

[joedoe]

Actually, it means something along the lines of patience/tolerance/perseverance. It was called small patience because it was a small image :) It also happens to be a pseudo-motto for our school (and as I understand it, many schools use it as well).

I think it is the same character as the 'nin' in ninjutsu, but in Japanese it has a slightly different meaning.

[PHILBERT]

Yes, in Japanese it means "can kill anyone they want!" because they are totally sweet and make me want to crap my pants.

Dude, check out http://www.realultimatepower.com and look on the side for top searches. Beware popups. I realize the real website is .net, I typed .com by mistake.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
Just as an intellectual excercise, what might be the result if you went to a chinese tattooist and demanded he ink the characters for "This big dumb ****** thinks he's cool but he's not" on your chest?

I think he'd happily oblige.

[joedoe]

Originally posted by PHILBERT
Yes, in Japanese it means "can kill anyone they want!" because they are totally sweet and make me want to crap my pants.

Dude, check out http://www.realultimatepower.com and look on the side for top searches. Beware popups. I realize the real website is .net, I typed .com by mistake.

I love that site. So much so that I kicked my mom in the head. :D

[uki]

i have "wood tiger" on the side of my neck in big characters...

[Iron_Eagle_76]

This is a pic of my latest tat I just got last Friday, the tribal chest piece. My Kung Fu tats are integrated in with the ying yang with fire and water and my name in chinese on my arm, as well as a chinese dragon on my other arm you can't see.

[David Jamieson]

Hey, it's Brett Michaels! Where's the love bus man? :D

[Iron_Eagle_76]

Brett actually stole the bandana look from me, true story!:p

[David Jamieson]

Brett actually stole the bandana look from me, true story!:p

I dunno man, I think Brett was almost ****ing dust when you were just finished ****ting yellow. :p

[bawang]

This is a pic of my latest tat I just got last Friday, the tribal chest piece. My Kung Fu tats are integrated in with the ying yang with fire and water and my name in chinese on my arm, as well as a chinese dragon on my other arm you can't see.

you look like powerful warrior

im cry beacuse i so proud of you

[Iron_Eagle_76]

you look like powerful warrior

im cry beacuse i so proud of you

Your words give me streth and honur, I plan to pilege ane rap in Bawang's mighty name!!

[uki]

This is a pic of my latest tat I just got last Friday, the tribal chest piece. My Kung Fu tats are integrated in with the ying yang with fire and water and my name in chinese on my arm, as well as a chinese dragon on my other arm you can't see.i like all the triangles incorporated in there... good stuff.

[uki]

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff350/mossjuice/Photoon2011-11-18at1456.jpg

[KungFuBiker]

In ref to the “used” tattoo needle v/s the “new” tattoo needle.
Have any of you been under a surgeons knife? Do you really think that every scalpel is brand new “out of the box.”
Virtually every licensed tattoo studio in the U.S. (And I would daresay probably most of Europe) works under stringent sterility guidelines. The tattoo equipment undergoes the same procedures as any surgeons instrument.

My ink? I have a cobra on the right shoulder and an eagle in mid stoop on the left. Are they MA oriented? Well, I’m MA oriented and they’re in my skin, what do you think :)!

[hskwarrior]

Left and right forearm

雄 英
拳 棍
放 飛
出 腾
虎 龍
昂 擺
頭 尾

Chest: 鴻勝

left top forearm: 鸿胜蔡李佛

Dragon and Monkey on right arm and forearm

Tiger on my left arm.....

[GeneChing]

Gene Ching- I thought Kung Fu mag already put out an article on a past edition on MA tats?
You are correct, YA. We ran an article on tattoos in our 2000 July issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=119) - A Tattoo Odyssey-Tai Chi Snakes, Dragons and the Tao By Frank Allen with Sally Kealy. And at the end of that piece, we ran a sidebar titled 'Show us your tats!' asking readers to send in pix of their martial tattoos. We didn't get any submissions. Now, over a decade later, we have this thread, so I feel vindicated.

[Yum Cha]

"Welcome To The Republic of Trinidad, Have A Nice Day"