Cute Tattoo Designs: Martial Arts

A couple weeks ago, I felt like I had won the Tattoosday lottery. In my own neighborhood, I ran into Kerry, who had a bit of a tattoo peeking out of her left sleeve. I stopped her and introduced myself, and she shared some simply phenomenal work. We'll get to that left sleeve in a second, but Kerry figured I'd be impressed with this tattoo on her upper right arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKgtFB-nU7bjLdxX1gaDMhzjhtimFA6p0nqtyDw3VxWqcMi9YxV90o5cdRqcDDpt6O-ZYheqzttDokPTcOKvXrO1j8AszkLCFX04cjl2AR0nAYvSxVUXGfJMX8MuCDg0dLCiYrbX6rKI/s1600/Gupta+Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKgtFB-nU7bjLdxX1gaDMhzjhtimFA6p0nqtyDw3VxWqcMi9YxV90o5cdRqcDDpt6O-ZYheqzttDokPTcOKvXrO1j8AszkLCFX04cjl2AR0nAYvSxVUXGfJMX8MuCDg0dLCiYrbX6rKI/s400/Gupta+Butterfly.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><br />Well, she was certainly right about that!  This is a piece by <a href="http://www.anilgupta.com/">Anil Gupta</a> at <a href="http://www.inklinestudio.com/">Inkline Studio</a> in Manhattan. The detail of this work is astonishing.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRj-NnID-BloY6EbK56oqAUVmLIJXWueukZzKG5KuZyH6vqWJP-ZVJs_y6EQlqnNxNTSJwG0VVOnNra4uNJK313ECIcPL0s2C3iKvwdft8XHj0JLPnpU0Pq9LMi9gCILn004Xo7jlE8w/s1600/Gupta+Butterfly+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRj-NnID-BloY6EbK56oqAUVmLIJXWueukZzKG5KuZyH6vqWJP-ZVJs_y6EQlqnNxNTSJwG0VVOnNra4uNJK313ECIcPL0s2C3iKvwdft8XHj0JLPnpU0Pq9LMi9gCILn004Xo7jlE8w/s400/Gupta+Butterfly+detail.jpg" width="396" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anil Gupta is considered a master of the biomechanical tattoo. Kerry explained:</div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I'd seen Gupta's work and I really wanted something in the biomechanical style ... I just thought of a butterfly, which is usually something very feminine and soft, just made it out of parts and steel ... like a cool mix of the styles ... we just kept building and adding more stuff to the design ... he was great to work with."</div></blockquote>To get a full appreciation of the tattoo, check out the work from Gupta's portfolio. Simply stunning!<br />  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDb9iuw0x5-5_5ketuJljFSRvWTyQSHSDZX0j4CYMjWwyX7dz1io8pnlMhjE_y9y59183dvzZDlYYcDiijl3Hmu79RRXgEnppxIbIqF1Y_bac7T-deCHl5kO6EliTGsm2ggoaxNzWmbc/s1600/Gupta+Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDb9iuw0x5-5_5ketuJljFSRvWTyQSHSDZX0j4CYMjWwyX7dz1io8pnlMhjE_y9y59183dvzZDlYYcDiijl3Hmu79RRXgEnppxIbIqF1Y_bac7T-deCHl5kO6EliTGsm2ggoaxNzWmbc/s400/Gupta+Butterfly.jpg" width="382" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's twenty-five hours of work by a master of the biomechanical.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Remember, it wasn't the Gupta tattoo that caught my attention, but this colorful section of a sleeve, on the lower part of Kerry's left arm:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTCS4apTC7v4r1ZtMHoSA7pKK0dZxBypwaB9DeIXL8-2AIHGZQP4-BEszO8Y5P-yqBYj-iBgX8CuJ3HLnazMZfLQYvk1V8vU9hA8W6x4XfRRCdEP2Jr4TZamNm7twv80N-TmzdUAJg4M/s1600/Samurai+monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTCS4apTC7v4r1ZtMHoSA7pKK0dZxBypwaB9DeIXL8-2AIHGZQP4-BEszO8Y5P-yqBYj-iBgX8CuJ3HLnazMZfLQYvk1V8vU9hA8W6x4XfRRCdEP2Jr4TZamNm7twv80N-TmzdUAJg4M/s640/Samurai+monster.jpg" width="270" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kerry rolled up her sleeve to reveal the entire arm:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IbGXvS6opzv8Mo2hSK8Mknkcljoom-WJGw52KW4Gt5ojwZKqi4FsIRZLq-Tj_MiVcFGZ45DuCm8p__Hq_EKJZfdgTUg1c3VkZ-h-d8k1TTOgs0Km9WE6T7fhNW10odaH1LG3IDqpIYc/s1600/Samurai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IbGXvS6opzv8Mo2hSK8Mknkcljoom-WJGw52KW4Gt5ojwZKqi4FsIRZLq-Tj_MiVcFGZ45DuCm8p__Hq_EKJZfdgTUg1c3VkZ-h-d8k1TTOgs0Km9WE6T7fhNW10odaH1LG3IDqpIYc/s640/Samurai.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Wgl_w20BmplqAFpP6DgLEZtI16A4yCEBoodWwRONvO4YQiLiLaSSEbE8AWzAb1ibJyC3O_2M04UaVisRgP2WpCEvc88OILv8wz9JT3nhAfJwKJh-_cvI8zfcHH-M6ND9GvOzOE7h9ps/s1600/Samurai+bottom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Wgl_w20BmplqAFpP6DgLEZtI16A4yCEBoodWwRONvO4YQiLiLaSSEbE8AWzAb1ibJyC3O_2M04UaVisRgP2WpCEvc88OILv8wz9JT3nhAfJwKJh-_cvI8zfcHH-M6ND9GvOzOE7h9ps/s640/Samurai+bottom.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What you see is approximately forty-two hours of work by the talented <a href="http://blog.nyadorned.com/search/kaz">Kaz</a> at <a href="http://blog.nyadorned.com/">New York Adorned</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kerry explained the genesis of this sleeve:</div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I saw this picture when I was looking up samurai stories, because I'm a martial artist and, initially, we were just going to do it half-sleeve, but then just decided to go whole hog. Kaz is really good, so I just let him go crazy with it."</div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Kerry's focus in martial arts is grappling and kick-boxing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And to think, I would have missed all of this amazing work, had I not been intrigued by the head of this Japanese monster, peeking out from one of her sleeves!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY56vEFwQ1PJXlABNv-VP6zYxuyM85sVhtWd3nofraR6anL0wfcYiCGJxv_CaQkK19F5ZwYOMuvxfDSqSwLqDtpAeflPtrtiTU3YMYbQ61aNw99Ad3aEfJELRhovcIhRQNDLgEq90QFIY/s1600/Samurai+monster+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY56vEFwQ1PJXlABNv-VP6zYxuyM85sVhtWd3nofraR6anL0wfcYiCGJxv_CaQkK19F5ZwYOMuvxfDSqSwLqDtpAeflPtrtiTU3YMYbQ61aNw99Ad3aEfJELRhovcIhRQNDLgEq90QFIY/s400/Samurai+monster+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Thanks to Kerry for sharing her simply stunning tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br />  <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

Kerry Unveils Some Masterpieces

A couple weeks ago, I felt like I had won the Tattoosday lottery. In my own neighborhood, I ran into Kerry, who had a bit of a tattoo peekin...

I spotted Gary standing at the top of some escalators in Penn Station. As I passed him, I noticed he had knuckle tattoos so I stopped to ask him about them:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHUz1JPLT_Yye9_wPINh056VoK5kUzlYw7CCOxSPnXIgufTsQfIz5P6sRweMTzfLaz9nnofA0DDuHv0X7fbI-NOz8B7rDa1wfjL3YCZlm_18kFeZ4TVW4pm6dJMOkvE7khtmzqogf/s1600/striking+hand+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHUz1JPLT_Yye9_wPINh056VoK5kUzlYw7CCOxSPnXIgufTsQfIz5P6sRweMTzfLaz9nnofA0DDuHv0X7fbI-NOz8B7rDa1wfjL3YCZlm_18kFeZ4TVW4pm6dJMOkvE7khtmzqogf/s320/striking+hand+wm.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><br />Gary explained that they are Korean characters<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDau2s1GIem1ytWwgmTJWic14eO1x7IaRUJjb6JY1nwJbOMmsip5VDIfcKWRD8ME-rUVHiRF35xVbbLkyTtMxkDCwptAK91W0eRoEJSNZPyrP3CDWQhvVoea-bLyfczhVTfjT3EMeb/s1600/SooBahkDoHangul.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDau2s1GIem1ytWwgmTJWic14eO1x7IaRUJjb6JY1nwJbOMmsip5VDIfcKWRD8ME-rUVHiRF35xVbbLkyTtMxkDCwptAK91W0eRoEJSNZPyrP3CDWQhvVoea-bLyfczhVTfjT3EMeb/s1600/SooBahkDoHangul.png" /></a></div><br />that translate to "Soo Bahk Do," or "The Way of the Striking Hand".<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soo_Bahk_Do">Soo Bahk Do</a> is a form of martial arts that originated in Korea.<br /><br />This unassuming gentleman has studied the form for seventeen years and is a third degree black belt. Gary studied at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/eastwindskarate">East Winds Karate</a> in Port St. John, Florida.<br /><br />The tattoo was inked at a shop on Eight Avenue in Bayonne, New Jersey.<br /><br />Thanks to Gary for sharing his "striking" tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Gary's Three Knuckles Speak Volumes

I spotted Gary standing at the top of some escalators in Penn Station. As I passed him, I noticed he had knuckle tattoos so I stopped to ask...

Cute Tattoo Designs

Kerry Unveils Some Masterpieces

Gary's Three Knuckles Speak Volumes

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