[ Hei's never been an enthusiast of body-art. For his profession, he's honed every point of his musculature into a weapon, not a decoration piece. The symbolism, the safeguarding powers, the storytelling behind the tattoos -- all that is lost to him. In the past, his training catered more to the grapple-and-grunts mindset: kickboxing, krav maga and the full-contact martial arts such as judo and jiu-jitsu. Very little of it dealt with abstractia: choreographed forms -- dancelike katas -- intent only on perfecting the technique, and in understanding the spiritual history behind the motions. The same went for the supernatural elements associated with the arts. ]
[ Still, he has a basic knowledge of the sak yant. ]
The idea is that the tattoos offer the fighters protection. Good luck. Success. All that. Traditionally they're done by monks using bamboo needles. It's considered bad luck to get a tattoo from someone who doesn't grasp their significance. [ A beat, before he amends, ] Those fighters would know more about it than me.
no subject
[ Hei's never been an enthusiast of body-art. For his profession, he's honed every point of his musculature into a weapon, not a decoration piece. The symbolism, the safeguarding powers, the storytelling behind the tattoos -- all that is lost to him. In the past, his training catered more to the grapple-and-grunts mindset: kickboxing, krav maga and the full-contact martial arts such as judo and jiu-jitsu. Very little of it dealt with abstractia: choreographed forms -- dancelike katas -- intent only on perfecting the technique, and in understanding the spiritual history behind the motions. The same went for the supernatural elements associated with the arts. ]
[ Still, he has a basic knowledge of the sak yant. ]
The idea is that the tattoos offer the fighters protection. Good luck. Success. All that. Traditionally they're done by monks using bamboo needles. It's considered bad luck to get a tattoo from someone who doesn't grasp their significance. [ A beat, before he amends, ] Those fighters would know more about it than me.