Kung Fu Tattoo

[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!

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.