!
IT sucks.
Thats why I waited until I was about 30, even though I’d wanted a tat since I was around 14. The first one I got was a custom job from some art that I picked out of The Book of Kells as a tip of the hat to my Celtic ancestry (Cymry [Deceangi], Gael, and Brigantes). Its a Celtic infinity knot design with two dragon heads anchoring it. Originally, I just wanted the infinity knot, but the artist said that it was too complicated a design to guarantee that the ends would match up, so I’d either need a small gap on the inside of my bicep or some sort of design to anchor the two ends - hence the dragon heads.
Lame blow up of one of the dragon heads from another pic. I can’t blow it up anymore or it gets all pixelated. I’ll see if I can get a better pic and repost.
My second tat is on my right shoulder and matches one that my wife got at the same time on her left shoulder. We got these on Sixth Street one Halloween night a few years back.
The image is reversed because I took this pic in the mirror.
You have some really girly looking arms (no offense). Maybe it’s just the camera, but you look softer than me.
I have soft skin.
The women love it.
Silky.
It’s why I do more gi than no gi. Dont 'wanna damage the skin.
tattoos are so damn addictive
I prefer chics with a tattoo or 2 on them when in the right places
(ever since i started gettin them, I always look out for chics with ink now)
so here’s pix of mine…grainy pic, only cuz i think the site i use to host the pix downsizes it automatically
my back tattoo was my first…phrost, like you i said, i only wanted one…within 6 months of the first one, i had already gotten 3 more. About the tat, its got the JKD yin yang, not because i ever did JKD, but my first MA school for chinese boxing, used this symbol in their logo, strongly influenced by JKD concepts
right arm, is a chinese leprechaun ('tis what i am…born in Ireland)…so thats how that came about…and systema under it…this arm will eventually be a half sleeve, its gonna be all MA theme
left arm, first is the griffin…tattooed in honor of one of my best friends that i worked with, watchin each others backs for 3 years before he passed away. This was his tattoo he wanted to get next, but that never happened, so I decided it’ll have to go on myself instead. (btw, its the griffin, exactly as displayed from a corona bottle)
chest, just tribal…not finished, gonna cover the whole half the body eventually
and many many more ideas, waiting to come out =)
tattoos, u get what u pay for…its for life, so go figure - I’ve sure had my share of good and bad…
albeit, was in LV for pride in feb, stopped by Hart and Huntington…they were chargin $300/hour (thats what they quoted my friend for a tatttoo the size of your palm)! ridiculous!
the Koi tatts are real nice…! I never really appreciated it until i read up on its meaning to find out why its so popular. We have an authentic Japanese tattoo shop here in Toronto, with the japanese owner who is an amazing artist, and brings with him a shitload of flash art that no one else can get. They’re passsed from generations prior to him. Stunning pieces of art…lotta big back pieces to look at with all the asian gods u can think of, the koi, samurais…etc. He also employs a thai artist that specializes in their type of tattooing (the name escapes me for now) anyway, just thought i’d mention it to anyone interested in the future. I will be getting my next tattoo there :glasses9:
Could it be the pale pasty skin?
I am still talking about getting one.
I am considering a large Vietnamese dragon from ankle to knee…fully wrapping around the calf…and across the front of it, the name on Mrs. Praxx original birth certificate.
Like I told people before…I understand the dangers of getting a womens name tatooed onto your body…that is why I choose to do it in another language.
Oh… and does it matter if it is on the left calf or right?
I would hate to do an elaborate permanent body modification only to have people say, “On you left calf?..that means you gay!”
flashes back to the one ear ring days of the 80s
Well the idea behind this tat is that I’m going to have it as a “base” of sorts so any future tattoos will be connected.
in that case…start with Mo
later you can add Shemp, Larry, Curley, Joe, & Curley Joe.
wow prax
I would offer advice, but I’m just watching that kick in your av
over and over and over
I don’t think there ever really was a “gay ear-ring” - that seems like a rumor started by fathers and priests to me, much as how in the early days of baggy pants several pillars of our community tried to tell the student body of my highschool that “wearing sagged or baggy pants [was] one way prison homosexuals let other prisoners know they were available.”
ahh, so there WILL be more tattoos after…:icon_lol:
5 headed dragon eh?
its hard to be original these days. Everyones got the same ol stuff. especially dragons
i’d think of ways to distinguish your specific dragons, and make it ‘yours’.
u said ur part scottish/irish. Maybe for 3 of the 5 bodies (or just the middle, or all of them, whatever u like), use celtic knot type designs for the body of the dragon?
thats kinda how i decided to do with my left arm, embedding celtic knots into a plain tribal piece (then even went with the stone look for the other ‘half’ of the tribal)
throw samurai in there tackling the dragons with his bare hands! =)
I kind of like this one:
Of course, the canvas may have as much to do with me liking it as the ink.
Here is a couple of sites with some cool yakuza type tattoos.
thats the type of shit i saw at this japanese tattoo store.
I spent over an hour in there just lookin at the flash. I was droolin uncontrollably.
I am actually somewhat curious - what is the japanese attitude about tatooing? Particularly the cats that get giant yakuza-style tattoos and such - is there a secret code to that sort of thing, or is anyone with tattoos going to get shitty looks? And what do they think about people from other countries with japanese tattoos?
i think the negative attitude for tattoos have lessened now. More and more we’re seeing regular japanese guys with tatttos, where not long ago, anybody not in the shady business, wouldn’t think of getting any ink on them.
Nakamura for example, has a tat or two. Ryo chonan has a beautiful dragon on him…etc…but of course, thats me assuming they’re not ‘connected’
much like the stigmas with tattoos here in north america…its not just for gangsters/bikers anymore. I think Japan is becoming the same way.
but obviously, the dudes who get the full body type tats (a-la the badass yakuzas) I’m sure is still going a bit far even for mainstream standards
In general, tattoos are looked down on in Japanese culture. Historically, tattoos were used to brand criminals and are continued to be associated, for the most part, with yakuza. Some public baths will not allow people in that have tats. The first time I lived in Japan, I did see some really cool yakuza tats in some public baths and at the beach. The last time I was in Japan, though, smaller more Western inluenced type tattooing (i.e. not yakuza style full body tattooing) was becoming more popular amongst the Japanese youth. I still think that there is a pretty big stigma attached. That said, my parents hate my tats, too.
edit - cross posted with Hank
My carp (koi) actually does become a dragon on my upper arm. My tattoo artist is from Japan and has been tattoing me since 1997. At first I came up with the ideas and he sketched them out and went to work. After awhile I just said what I wanted and he did it right there and then. I am fully sleeved on the left arm and across the chest and going next month for more work on the right arm. The back piece will come last. Currently I have a dragon, a carp, Raijin, Fujin and a samurai all blended together. Next comes the dragon from Fujin’s bag that will encoporate a disembodied head in it’s claws. Fun and as mentioned… addictive as all hell.
I’d really like to see some pics of that. It sounds really cool.
As promised, here are a couple of better shots of the tat on my left arm:
As you may notice from this second pic, my inner tricep is not as big as it was at the time that I got the tat done (I was surfing almost every day back then), so there is a little distortion with the shape. This is something to keep in mind when getting tats on areas that are prone to a lot of muscle gain or loss.