You guys like Tattoos?

Hello how do you guys think about tattoos? have one? and i think its a great psychologic advantage..
if i see a guy tattoed in his neck and hands.. i know he dont give a fuck...

I still give a fuck, so i only have one on my leg.. sort of pencak symbols. if i win the lotto, or find a way to be independent of any boss or soo, i get more.

they say its a mirror of you soul. what do you guy s think?
greets chulo

i guess it's that centuries old thing. warrior culture thing. right of passage thing. i really like tattoos--and i'm particular about them: too much semetry and rock star design and i start thinking of the 'trendy-everything-becomes-style-to-be-bought' thing. like when i was into punk rock. i wore shit clothes that i picked up from thrift shops, really didn't have extra cash, didn't really like most of the music, but hung around equal minded young folks who were a little edgy and reckless. our DC punk scene included skin-head-ish folks that weren't pushing the racism (ie...more about walking a tough role and fighting and getting into clubs, etc). we actually had several infamous african american skinheads--whose names i don't care to mention because it feels a bit like telling a story that is theirs to tell and not mine. it was a kind of posturing i guess, and probably contrived as anything else, but it was more real than the yuppies who later wore (co-opted) designer combat boots and had their 'punky' themed hair cuts, like adult children enjoying the idea of it whilst listening to 'madness' and 'the clash', then moving on to their 'tracy chapman', etc... it became more trendy and less authentic--in reputation at least. but i guess nothing is really original and everything is sort of bullshit--so we were our own version of contrived...i remember loads of suburban punks acting broke, begging, living rough/homeless--until they were tired and moved back to mummy and daddy.

BACK TO TATTOOS:
i like them messy and having meaning. for a time i was sure i was going to have one sleeve that was embalanced (not bilaterally symetrical) and full of personal stuff from my hand to my neck. then i realized that my friend who did my first several wasn't around anymore, and that i had to pay for these fookers.
the I-Ching on my left tricep means endurance and constancy--something i equait with inner strength. the dragon in my inner left fore-arm was the whole martial arts romance that i spent years with--before changing gears and simplifying. i had a macho nick-name on my inner right fore-arm that i tattoo'd over because i began to get annoyed with the fact that i no longer went by this name. that's the problem with nick-names. if i really thought about how illogical it was to get one's nick-name (people called my--laugh now, it's okay, "brute" in high school..."Tonto" in university..."Bishop" at one of the kung fu school i was at for a time--and none of these were my idea.. as is the case with most nick-names, you don't chose them and can't for the life of you get people to stop calling you them...i was called "Lady-walk" by the local friends where we stayed in Senegal because as a kid i would imitate how women danced--silly bugger stuff; i knew of a guy who was called 'Wanker' his entire adult life because he was caught masterbating as a kid in boarding school...it was one of my dad's friends). i'll never tattoo a nick-name again, and 'no'...i wont tell you the one i tattoo'd over, it's just too--erm, how does one say it...STUPID.

the one that i like the most is the black snake the starts on my right fist and coils round my arm all the way to my tricep. when i used to fight in the ring, i had a fast jab that had some power to it back then. i would throw my waist and shoulder into it, and often be able to get two or three in succession, because people were expecting right/left right/left--then the haymaker following because the attention was not on the 'cross' anymore. it has meaning to me, that's important.

in future, unless someone gives me some spending money now, i'll probably fill up my fore-arms and nothing more. i've been liking that theme more and more as i get older. there was some guy in american history called 'red-sleeves' who fought someone to death and had his arms bloodied from fingers up to elbows. i like this idea of having bloodied sleeves. my own version would just be filling up my fore-arms with stuff that is relevent to my life. too broke to do this, but i have a head-start at least. the snake took 8 hours to fill up--by an aquaintance luckily, so it did not cost me what it should have.

i may get one on my neck though--eventually. skull coming; trident coming; all personal stuff. i do like those yakuza tattoo's but since that isn't my culture, i didn't get it. i like maori stuff--but again, didn't want to do that as it carried no meaning for me.

Hi guys,

I have loads of tats including hands, neck, legs etc, I used to be a tattoo artist, laying the ink for over 20 years.
I did a lot of my own tattoos, and get some funny looks when I tell folks I tattooed my own neck while using a mirror (not easy).

It's funny the way a lot of people think about tattoos. I used to say "The only difference between people with tats and those without is the those with don't moan and whinge about those without!"

okay, is it you on the avatar? nice tattoos!

greets

Done in 2003.
I'm no tank now, but god I was skinny then

done in 1989 when I was 16 (picture is this year)
had it done on my back so my parents wouldn't see it.
Unfortunately a side effect is that I can't see it either

guitar and skulls... so you are a rock guy?

nice tattts

good guess mate

yes, been playing 21 years.
I'm a bit tasty, even if I say so myself

nice tattoos bigade/adam,
lonewolf(333), you ninja, why'd ya take your contribution down? your tatts sounded cool. love grim reaper stuff. and occult stuff.
bigade, where-abouts do you train/live. i met one person that tattoo'd himself as well. i just don't know how you could do that as well as you obviously do. i guess it's doubly impressive to me since i can't draw for shite as well. are you expensive?
chulo, what would you get? i knew a guy who must have had no nerve endings or something, or gotten woodies from being punctured. almost every patch of skin you could see was inked over, gangster tear drops and all. but his stuff looked like someone's doodling pad of scribble. is was a jumble of messy cartoonish crap without any relation symetry or similarity of style (artistry). i liked him and will not be naming him here. i was always impressed with his tolerance to pain--without a doubt. i am good for about 4 hours in, and then all my endorphines go out drinking or something and leave me wanting to press some magic rewind button on the whole thing. worst place, for me, to tattoo--the lower front bicep. not the fist or whatever everyone claims.
one of my friends stole (he's an idiot) from his tattoo artist. he's a skin head who has impulse control and thrill seeking issues (used to fight all the time). this tattoo artist didn't miss a beat. he set his needles on "from here to eternity" or some shit like that on a giant back tattoo he was doing for steve (fook it, his name is steve). steve had to vomit. steve had to stop the tattoo for a time. steve got to keep the money since no one was going to search the fooker, but he has some nice pain thresh-holds overtaken and given a beat down for his troubles. the tattoo artist in question did most of my stuff. i'm glad the tattoo artist like me. i'd have caved long before on a giant back tattoo.

Hi Russell, sorry for the late answer, been busy.

I don't actually tattoo any more, retired on account of alot of problems with the tendons in my hands.

As for training, I don't do as much as I'd like as a couple of years ago I had a triple heart bypass so I have to be a little bit carefull. I try to do about an hour a day, 6 days a week, as long as I feel okay. I have my own little gym.

hiya mate,
impressive work ethic from what you wrote about!
sounds like you're putting in your time in the gym. an hour a day is no small thing. that's about me anyway--quality over quantity kinda like.
nice to have your own gym. i had that once set up in my basement...heavy bag, olympic bench, etc...now (ha ha) it's more like...have exercise matt, will travel--to any wall anywhere for makeshift padwork...occasionally finding students who'll put up with the rigor, using school facilities under the guise of classes offered to my work. god help me, i'm even teaching a (cringe) "cardio kickboxing" class just to finagle my way into using a real exercise area. ha ha. come on ladies, feel the burn...work it!!

crikey.

thanks for the response. where are you from? or more rather. are you in the u.s./u.k.?

Hi mate, I'm from Essex on the southeast coast of the UK.

I'm getting on a bit to, 57 so I'm getting all the arthritis pains etc. Someone once told me years ago, that when you get to 50 everything you do starts to hurt. I have found that to be very true.

I tend to like watching martial arts/RBSP/etc training dvd's. I have quite a collection now and quite a few of Richard's.

...my brother just passed the 50 mark. he just blew his foot out after a lifetime of defying his age in soccer--he still manages 2 teams but he has since had pins in his foot. he'd probably agree with this idea. i reckon you're handling it the way most of us would like to think we would, fighting (in one way or another).

i'm originally from godstone, surrey--pretty landlocked with kids and low wages in DC (USA). when i do travel, i always start with England, then to inlaws in Italy.

how do you train?

Training, at the moment is geared towards keeping my weight down and fitness (due to the heart disease).

I stick to what I know and also try new stuff via these forums and the dvd's I get. I do the stationary bike every other day for 45mins. My gym days consist of a short multi gym and free weights circuit x3. Then I move onto basic strikes etc. In my so-called gym, I have a multi gym, row machine, free standing dummy, a Wing Chun style (steel dummy) dummy, maze bag, gym ball etc plus a few bits I made up that I use.
I find that Youtube is a great way to find new types of exercise and equipment.

I train on my own at present so I'm a bit limited. There's a few clubs about but nothing Reality based.

sounds like a nice set up you got. when i train with others, i admit i do it for 'good measure'. i actually rather like training on my own for the mindset and the preferential things to focus on. i get alot from Richie's/Bob's stuff too. i went from totally traditional, athletic and...ill-prepared--to 180 degrees the other way occasionally just taking on students and stating my previous training, my experiences and my change in focus. i know i need folks for the drills, kind of have to minimize on the grappling presently for my sciatic nerve, but really get alot from my own pad/bag work, etc... ironically when i did train in a traditional setting, i always faired much better in 'sparring' when i would take leaves of absence. i realized later that my instincts would come back to the dojo with me after a hiatus...and that the alone time would actually help in a big way.
i think it must be why i don't try too hard to change what is going on with my training at present. students for a bit. alone for a bit. and the cycle builds rather than forms a rut or psychological dogmatic pattern with all it's potential stiffling limitations. not like i don't need the steady training, at someone elses lead--i probably do, but i do admit to holding out until i can run into folks that are on my road but furthor down it if you catch my drift. i'm sure if i trained closer to Richie/etc...i'd be feeling like a novice about now. but most of the folks i've met have delicate egos built around unchallenging systems. and frankly, i always will favor the self training rather than find myself in some dogmatic system where one tends to get lost in the upward climb in the hierarchy to such a degree that it becomes easy to forget what it is doing for you--in the quest for self preservation. sorry for the thinking out loud. all this to say, i still love a good home gym. it's 'chi' building for lack of a better way of saying it. zen like. good stuff. that's what my goal is. having my home gym back and running, maybe training a small group. or being part of a larger group like Richie's or senshido. nothing more.

for now, i'm sort of biting the bullet for training facility. my boxing class fell through because the good folks that owned the facility felt it was too intimidating and 'could i teach a cardio kick boxing class'. erm...sure. howsa'bout i play my tapedeck and we just hit the pads...enkay? i'm not wearing a aerobic instructor's uniform either

I love to train alone for some stuff, and only in a small group otherwise.
I trained one on one with my Eskrima teacher for 6 years. Most of the time it was just me, other times, 1 or 2 others. After he died I started at a Japanese Dojo - they do Tamashagiri, live blade cutting, and the teacher is awesome, which is why I went, but I found it very hard, and still do, to fit into a class. I find myself wanting to work at my own pace, doing what I want, exploring something that takes my interest, changing cadence etc etc ....all no-nos! Ah well. Like Russell I like the idea of a small group with whom I can exchange ideas. Teaching is cool, you learn alot, but it's always nice to train with someone better than you, right? Sometimes you don't know what you don't know without someone 'pointing it out to you', as it were:lol:
It IS hard to find the right group, though.

@Russell - A long time ago I took a cardio boxing class with a teacher who was a Golden Gloves champion. There was absolutely NO disco, in fact we worked out to the same music as the Cuban Olympic Boxing team!
Class consisted of everyone wrapping their hands, shadow boxing, jumping rope, pad work, and hitting the heavy bag. There was a big emphasis on proper technique and issuing power. Much of it was split into 3 minute rounds. It was a great class and would have had some sparring too if the space had had insurance. No need for spandex leggings.

Maija,
with you on all points mate--relating training. every so often when i think my training is becoming too 'sheltered', because i'm either the teacher with students that are intermediate to beginner, or i'm training alone too much, i just bite the bullet and network/train with someone. last time it was BJJ guy, but that's not exactly what i was interested in but it allowed me to see certain things about how my own training was going--or not going it made me see the value of a good knee technique (don't ask ), on the one hand, but made me feel good about my hands (okay, now you can ask...just kidding ).

i'd be pretty frakking nervous with a blade glass. were you talking about focus cutting, or one-on-one style training. i can't seem to leave the kitchen on certain days without nearly cutting my hand off . i think if ANYONE was teaching how to properly use a kuhkri, i'd bite the bullet and go to that class. for some reason, when i hold one of those, the universe falls into place (where are those meds).

THANKS for the tip regarding the cardio class. i'm SO on it--sans booty pants, and music in the background, etc... i actually snuck in a boxing class like that in the past--included everything but the sparring. DANG...i should have called it 'cardio-boxing'. 3 minute circuits, the whole bit. on several of the days when i was sure no one was really paying attention, i had three minute pad rounds--they hit the focus hand pads and i lightly bop them to keep them moving with some of the dynamics involved. even that was a leap! okay, now i'm feeling a bit better. the wheels are turning in my decaying and rusted head. I CAN DO THIS (says tommy the engine).

Russell,
The cutting is on targets made of tatami aka grass matting, or bamboo - no partner stuff - that would be hectic! I can barely trust MYSELF sheathing and unsheathing a live katana, let alone letting someone else wave one around near my nose
Very few places do it - The US being such a litigation happy place and all, but it's very satisfying to cut cleanly through something real with a long sword (is that weird?), and brings together a nice combination of skills - accuracy, intent and power.

....know what you mean about the kukri .... funny how certain objects just feel ....right.

re the khukri- I picked one up the other day reminded me of something... Bob did run a class for the Ghurka regiment last year (maybe still does) in knife fighting and Im pretty sure he said they were using K-Bars as the Khukri only had ceremonial value- I will check with him

Maija,
thanks for the explanation i think i'd like cleanly cutting through stuff to.

Richie,
khukris and k-bars. you're making me drool. the k-bar is another i like. whole navy seal rep just did it for me. where do i sign!!!??? i didn't know the khukri was ceremonial. i had one for years, sold to me by some, erm, wild looking man. looked to have quite a history--or was old at least. the weight of it felt so good, it (how do i put this) lended itself to forward movement as the end was heavier and almost said, "hurl me...hurl me toward the enemy...go on, you know you want to."

i gave it a mate in the end because he's that geek that would keep it safely on a wall, and out of trouble. along with models of the star ship enterprise.

I believe the Kukri, like the Machete, the Bolo and Golok were all purpose tools that were carried every day in traditional cultures. All tip heavy for chopping wood, cutting brush, opening coconuts, preparing food etc.
I have heard stories of the effectiveness of the kukri as a weapon in the hands of the Gurkha, but perhaps the K-Bar or other more modern designs are deemed more versatile nowadays....?

i'm such a dumb-arse...in about 2 weeks our school 'accountant' (if you can believe it) comes back from his yearly trip to india. he was a general with 20 years of service with the gurkas--and a zorastrian priest (which i know even less about). he makes the rounds once a year and stops in on his old stomping ground.

i'd like to hear what he'll say about this nice blade. i can really imagine it as the all purpose knife though. it has that feel. chop wood. lop a head off. dice a tomato. etc...i still have a machete which i keep outside in my tool box in the backyard (probably should lock that tool box now that i think of it). love those big all purpose knives.

i probably have 'the' sharpest butcher knife on the planet. sometimes i just don't use it if i'm in a rushing mood to prepare dinner. just a bad idea to rush with such a tool. okay, that was off topic...unless terrorists rush into my kitchen whilst preparing chops-n-peas for supper

Hi Guys

Yes, as Rich says I have spent quite a bit of time working with the Gurkha Rifles and they are a nice bunch of guys. Very open minded when it comes to fighting! They are also quick to learn new techniques and use the Khukri for both ceremony and fighting. Although they are intelligent enough to realise the limitations of the weapon it is their mindset that makes them formidable... The Khukri is essentially a hacking weapon and not very good for thrusting. Try it yourself and you will see how easy your hand slides down the grip and onto the blade....Ouch! The khukri is used by the Gurkhas as a fighting weapon but they are also quick to realise the effectiveness of a modern weapon such as the K-Bar. I should know I spent months working with the Gurkhas prior to their initial tour of Afghanistan.

The Khukri is essentially a tool used in the day to day work of the rice farmers in the region of Nepal around Lake Pokhra. It is used for chopping wood, slaughtering animals and skinning them. They do not have 'kata' or 'forms' used to train them in the use of this tool. That was made up by certain Nepalese individuals in order to make a few bucks taking in such martial arts luminaries as Dan Inosanto etc..

Amazing what people will believe.

If any one wants more insight into the people of that region and their fighting methods pm me and I will see if I can help