Hello,
I have a tat of a Dragon and the kanja for my Sifus system on my right arm.
The characters translate as Limitless Wing Chun or Wing Chun without limits. Of course, English translation is not always word for word and it also can mean hope for the futre. However, the characters have been recognized by several people as being related to Wing Chun Kuen.
Anyhow, my Sifu was okay with me getting the tat several years ago and did the characters for me himself. I am happy with the result.
[QUOTE=Xiao3 Meng4;1038355]
In the last century, for the most part, Tattoos were associated with gangs and hence crime.
[/QUOTE]
tatoo was asociated with gangs and revolutionary for over one thousad years
[QUOTE=bawang;1038361]tatoo was asociated with gangs and revolutionary for over one thousad years[/QUOTE]
There were points in those ~thousand years when it regained some popularity. Never stuck around though. Maybe it will this time.
some good traditional tatoo words are “” “,” ,
ask ur teacher to write that 4 u
unless ur a big hairy pusy, then u get ur teacher to write tai chee zen
[QUOTE=bawang;1038366]some good traditional tatoo words are “”[/QUOTE]
That is awesome! I think I want that one.
some good ones r “,” “,”
a buddhist one is “,”
good ones with tai chi moves are “” “” “” “”
[QUOTE=ghostexorcist;1038294] Otherwise, you might be in a changing room when a Chinese persons asks you why it says “Cat anus” on your back [/QUOTE]
that guy must be abc. cat anus is badass. everbody in china knows this.
[QUOTE=bawang;1038330]its exactly like yakuza tatoos. all the legendary gangsters had tatoos[/QUOTE]
I’m talking about the root of the stigma: tattoos as corporal punishment. Criminals were tattooed on their face. This is not something they could hide. The public knew to stay away from such people. It was later that gangsters embraced tattoos as apart of their cultural and social identity.
The “Five Punishments” during the Zhou Dynasty were death, castration, cutting off the feet, cutting off the nose, and tattooing.
[QUOTE=Xiao3 Meng4;1038355] So some king, at some point, abolished Tattoos. Maybe it was at the recommendation of Confucius in the Zhou dynasty. Maybe it was earlier, and Confucius reframed the idea in a “don’t defile the body” kind of way.[/quote]
Tattoos were considered one of the mutilating punishments, so you are on the right track.
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1038313]if you got your tattoo in 1958 and it was done with pen ink, then yes. lol 
these days the pigments are superb and many of the artists are well trained and have good knowledge.
It’s an art form to be sure.
Some people are wrecks, but many have exquisite pieces.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately there are still Tattoo artists that want to save a buck and use cheap ink. In '99 I got some chinese writing on my arm and it was from a shop just starting up. Well needless to say it looked great when I got it, then after a couple years later it bled and blurred, and now it looks like some funny black blobs. (ironically the other tattoo I have on the same arm is now 20yrs old and still looks like great with no fading or bleeding…good ink by a different artist)
My friend who is now a Tattoo artist says he has many horor stories of covering up tattoos done with bad ink from so called “professionals” and many of these were in the last few years.
yep my advice is to actually research your artist first. if you think you may want someone to ink you, look into them first. find someone who specializes in chinese characters and other asian ink art.
if they cannot freehand write the characters on paper (not joking, doesnt matter if they can match the style you bring in, but they should have first hand knowlede of how to structure characters), they better not try to tatoo it…lol. i dont care if they stensel or not.
ask to see a portoflio of your artists published ink.
[QUOTE=Lucas;1038575]yep my advice is to actually research your artist first. if you think you may want someone to ink you, look into them first. find someone who specializes in chinese characters and other asian ink art.
if they cannot freehand write the characters on paper (not joking, doesnt matter if they can match the style you bring in, but they should have first hand knowlede of how to structure characters), they better not try to tatoo it…lol. i dont care if they stensel or not.
ask to see a portoflio of your artists published ink.[/QUOTE]
Thats a good point. Even if they can produce exquisite western art… they might give the distinguished eye a laugh if they attempt Chinese calligraphy. I need to find a tattoo artist that is also a Chinese calligraphy master…
tempted to merge
You’ve seen our Kung Fu (and other Martial Arts) Tattoos thread? I just merged three other tattoo threads into that one (it was the earliest). I’ll merge this one too eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later. Maybe when someone else asks a similar question in a few years…
[QUOTE=KC Elbows;1037856]Seriously, many kungfu teachers act as if they’re a calligraphy master, and most suck. I leave your decisions to your discretion, but urge you to narrow the field by choosing from only true calligraphy masters, as they better capture the characters.
Just because one can fight well doesn’t mean they have the same fury in their handwriting.
This is writing that is permanently on you, and you are not likely to learn beforehand the subtleties of chinese calligraphy(or you’d just do it yourself), so there’s really nno harm in looking for calligraphy masters’ works in the field.
Past that, hopefully someone here can post a pic of some famous kung fu master’s work for ya.[/QUOTE]
I once met a sifu from KC that taught “6 Elbows” style but I could never remember his name. I met him in the late 90’s at a tournament in Alabama that Shawn Liu was hosting. I think it was Chu Man Sit?
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1038688]You’ve seen our Kung Fu (and other Martial Arts) Tattoos thread? I just merged three other tattoo threads into that one (it was the earliest). I’ll merge this one too eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later. Maybe when someone else asks a similar question in a few years…[/QUOTE]
You’re so decisive!!
i cray at night because i no have wife
[QUOTE=Lucas;1039389]You’re so decisive!![/QUOTE]
Hopefully he is too busy working on that second book…
will buddhist monks get offended by a Siddhrtha Gautama tattoo?
I guess burning a dragon on your forearms at the Temple is out of the question?
[QUOTE=shaolin_diciple;1039442]will buddhist monks get offended by a Siddhrtha Gautama tattoo?[/QUOTE]
I don’t see why they would. Depictions of the Buddha were few and far between during the early period following his death. Some scholars have argued in favor of ancient Buddhists having an aniconistic view similar to modern day Muslims. However, this changed. There are depictions of the Buddha in various shapes and forms all over the world.
The only objection a monk may have is if you are getting the tattoo just because you think it looks cool.
speaking of tattoo ink…
just the other day i bought 1oz of triple black for 10 dollars - 35 for 4oz. my brother and i also just finished combining two minds to build our best homemade model yet… tattoo’s are means of identifying the spiritual aspects of ones inner being… the imagery that one decides to adorn his outer body with is nothing more than a visual manifestation of what adorns the inner body… those associated with the negative energies of death and destruction typically use skulls, demons, and devils… discerning the spirit is an ancient ability that is nearly lost amongst the ignorantly chaotic and mindless fray that makes up “civilizations” today… nations today are among the most ignorant of all the great ages of mankind… identifying incarnate souls is done by the use of symbols.
one of my upcoming tattoos is going to be 5 comets/asteriods streaking across my chest from one shoulder to the opposite hip in the manner that one would also seem to see a great big tiger claw mark… within the comets i am toying with the idea of 5 symbols for earth, metal, water, wood, and fire… symbols are universal and transcend the multitude of written languages. 
[QUOTE=uki;1041048]just the other day i bought 1oz of triple black for 10 dollars - 35 for 4oz. my brother and i also just finished combining two minds to build our best homemade model yet… tattoo’s are means of identifying the spiritual aspects of ones inner being… the imagery that one decides to adorn his outer body with is nothing more than a visual manifestation of what adorns the inner body… those associated with the negative energies of death and destruction typically use skulls, demons, and devils… discerning the spirit is an ancient ability that is nearly lost amongst the ignorantly chaotic and mindless fray that makes up “civilizations” today… nations today are among the most ignorant of all the great ages of mankind… identifying incarnate souls is done by the use of symbols.
one of my upcoming tattoos is going to be 5 comets/asteriods streaking across my chest from one shoulder to the opposite hip in the manner that one would also seem to see a great big tiger claw mark… within the comets i am toying with the idea of 5 symbols for earth, metal, water, wood, and fire… symbols are universal and transcend the multitude of written languages. ;)[/QUOTE]
Cool…but having a real artist do the work doesn’t hurt.