How dedicated are you to the genre of Kung Fu movies? Do you consider yourself a full-fledged fanatic for the Fu? Would you, or have you gone to the extreme to permanently mark your love for the genre of Kung Fu films by getting a tattoo on your body? This is something I have thought about over the years to great extent. I personally do not have any tattoos, piercings, or any forms of body art whatsoever. I have thought to myself, if I ever was to decide to get a tattoo, what would I get, and why? Usually a person decides to get somewhat of a memorial tattoo of someone that has passed away, someone they loved or deeply impacted their life. Also very popular is getting the name of one’s loved one, such as their spouse or child’s name. You also often see a person get a word, or phrase that may mean a lot to them, but in a different language, such as using Chinese lettering. I’ve thought about this quite a bit, and even though I honestly doubt that I would actually go through with getting a tattoo, in trying to be original, I know that I would most likely not go with the idea of using Chinese lettering, just because it’s been done so much by so many people. That does not mean I don’t think it doesn’t look good when done right.
But if I decided to go for it, would I get something that has to do with my love for kung fu movies? For instance, would I get the Shaw Brothers logo inked on my chest? Would I get a quote from a movie, or a popular saying amongst the culture, such as “Buddha Bless You” on my wrist? Maybe the colored mask of my favorite Venoms character from the ’5 Deadly Venoms’ movie tatted on my shoulder? How about the face of my favorite character from a movie, such as Gordon Liu in the ’36th Chamber of Shaolin’ film, or Hwang Jang Lee in the movie ‘Invincible Armour’ placed on my back? The idea of getting a kung fu themed tattoo would probably be quite difficult, not because of the pain the needle may cause when poking your skin, in and out repeatedly, several hundered times, but because it would be so hard for me to decide on what to get. Than I might actually find myself in a situation where I originally only planned on getting 1 tattoo, but because I gave myself so many good options, I might go ahead and continue to get tats of all my ideas, and I could see the procedure of getting inked up, to become quite addicting.
At the time I am writing this, I do not actually think I would ever get a tattoo, but that does not stop me from thinking about the fact that what if one day I decide to… what would I get. My questions to those of you out there reading this post, my fellow die-hards of the genre, do you have any martial arts related tattoos? If not, but decided to get one one day, what would you get, and where exactly on your body would it go? Please leave your answers to these questions in the comments section below.
I did a quick google search on this topic, and to no surprise, I managed to really only find tattoos people have gotten of the martial arts legend, Bruce Lee.
Click here to see a few of the ones I found.
Article by SMK
SMK (Shaolin webMaster Killer), I am based in Northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area. I've created this site to share my love of Kung Fu movies, primarily the 'Old School' genre, with others who cherish these films as much as I do.
SMK has written 170 zen like articles.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, I have a few tattoo’s, and I do have some that are not Fu related. However, my lower left arm has a shield bracelet (well that is what I call it). My “fu” tattoo is on the upper left arm, and it has cherry blossom branches with banner/flags hanging from them. One of the banners says Tai Chi Chuan in Chinese characters with a yin yang. Another banner has Fu Sheng’s name in block characters, and then I have his name again in large brush stroke characters, in a sunrise colors pattern, next to a large blossom. Fu Sheng means a great deal to me, more than I can explain, and all in all, it is a beautiful tattoo. It took several sessions to complete, and I have had it for many years.
First off, thank you for commenting Marla. Second, I really appreciate you sharing this with us. All of your tattoo’s sound very nice. I can really appreciate especially the Fu Sheng ones. I can imagine these specific tattoo’s would make you feel you have a somewhat closer connection with Fu Sheng than the average fan. Thanks again for sharing.
Thank you for your very kind comments brother Ray. It is a circular thing – I got the tattoo because I felt close to him, and the tattoo does make me feel closer to him. I will probably add Bruce’s name in Chinese at the foot of the tree, or as they say in “Brave Archer 3″, the head of the tree. Bruce Lee changed the world, and that is very special too. Growing up in Hawaii, I was very open to all things Chinese, and Bruce brought the old and the new together, and I know he left his mark on Fu Sheng as well. I mean that in a good way!
Instead of cattle branding yourself like in THE 18 BRONZEMEN & other Shaolin alleyways films how about getting a tattoo of the dragon marks?
Because the brands proved that you had conquered pain and were still able to function. I’m not sure if this really happened at the Temple, but it did happen in the non-Temple Shaolin martial arts schools. We tried to get someone to create a brazier for our school a few years ago and it did not go so well… that was before tats and piercings became hip. Maybe we should try again…
I don’t have a movie tattoo, but I do have traditional characters for “Shaolin Fist” in black with a red drop shadow.
It’s unlikely to have really happened as the whole film is very much based on Wuxia novels.
I know several, all older, people who say they have met people, all even older, who had brands. However, all of them have reported the brands being on the stomach instead of the arms. One of my Chinese teacher’s said his uncle had brands; he disappeared during WWII (to give a timeframe).
Given the fact that many US fraternity members get branded, I don’t find it very hard to believe that members of martial arts schools would be branded to show their permanent loyalty/indebtness to their martial family. To be honest, if we still did it in my system, I’d train for the brands.
(Just don’t tell my wife.)
I personally think it would be on hell of a cool thing to be branded to show my dedication, loyalty and completion from my school of training.
I was not really only speaking of kung fu movie related tattoo’s, but just any tattoo’s pertaining to the culture in general, and a “Shaolin Fist” tattoo surely qualifies. Thanks for the comment Michael.
Good Idea, Gonna get the SB logo on m chest and 5 deadly venoms on the back of my neck…
Interesting article Ray !
No I don’t have any body tattoos either ! But IF I did I believe they would be more Buddhist related than Martial Arts despite my passion for the genre ..BUT I do have a Indian Hindu Bindi tattooed between my eyebrows ( had it since I were 5 years old you know) & that is probably much more shocking to people in the West !! Since it is part of my heritage & I have never seen myself without it, I would never ever considering having it removed …
Still nice Images in the little gallery you made !!
Xiexie, Athena ..♥
I have 2 tattoos, but they are not kung fu movie related. Instead they represent the Shaolin dragon (rt upper arm) and tiger (lt calf). I study Shaolin kung fu and got them when I was young and had more disposable income.
These 2 tattoos sound very CLASSY kngfu !
Athena..♥
I want to get a tattoo of a six-pack on my lower abdomen. Same result as a thousand sit-ups but with a fraction of the pain….
I currently have 3 tattoos, with plans for 3-5 more. Off the top of my head the Shaw Brothers Logo would prob be a no brainer for me..though a slick Bruce Lee tat would be very cool if done right. It will beinteresting to hear more of the fu families thoughts on this.