Kata Tattoo

[muaythaimma]

Hi all. I am new to the forum, i will be travellling to thailand next month to do some muay thai training out there and travel the island to take in some of the cultre. before i go i am thinking of having another tattoo i have bein searching around and getting ideas and then i discoverd the work by ajarn noo think thats how you spell it lol. and i really like his design and what i no of the meaing of the yan-suea-koo but i dont no what the text says underneath appartnley it has been muddled so you can not copy it? is this true? if so does any one know what it should say? i would really appreciate the help as i want to get it done at home because i can not afford the prices of Ajarn and dont think i like the sound of how they tattoo. hope this dosent offend anyone and will it if i have it done in england and not thailand? i have uploaded the design below

many thanks brad

[lemel]

you dont have to pay Arjaan Noo prices, my friend had it done for 6000 on Koh Samet and I was quoted last week 4500 in Koh Chang to have it done.

[rgs2001uk]

http://www.arjannoo.com/

I suggest you check out the homepage of ajarn noo, the design isnt particularly good, the english links are on the left hand side of the page, but you may struggle to find them they are in red and not easily visible.

The text underneath is written in Khymer script, it would need to be a good tattooist in England who can tattoo the script exactly as it is written, otherwise it may look ok to the untrained eye, but to anyone who knows about these designs any flaws would be easily visible.

Getting this work done anywhere else makes the sak yant meaningless, all you will have is a pretty design.

Those who have been tattoed in this method tell me it is less painful than normal tattoo procedures, cant comment as I have never been tattooed this way.

Ask yourself what is it you want, a sak yant and all that is involved with sak yants, their design and the beliefs that go with them, or do you just want something that you think looks cool, but have no understanding of, and would be at a loss to explain the tattoos significance to anyone who asked.

From what I understand, if its done correctly, you dont choose the design, the design is based on a number of factors such as your date of birth etc, and the tattoos are done to reflect the wearers own personailty, so what may suit one person may not suit another.

As another poster mentioned you dont have to pay these prices, I dont know how much it would cost in

England to have this done, a couple of hours work probably about £150 to £200, just guessing here so excuse me if I am out.

There are other "temples" that offer the same service, and their prices are nowhere near what is being charged elsewhere, the normal Thai rate is usually a couple of hundred baht, or what you feel you can afford, these places havent been commercialized, although probably arent as hip amongst westerners, wrong name wrong temple.

I dont want to be drawn into a discussion about certain "temples", but what I will say is, I was having a talk with someone about this very subject recently and we both came to the same conclusions, isnt it strange how two people who have never met, come from different backgrounds can be in agreement.

I would advise you to take your time and research further, try the search function and type in sak yant and read what has been written, or google sak yant.

http://www.sak-yant.com/ is a site that may interest you.

http://www.poodumtattoo.com/ is another.

Among the Thais who believe in the power of these sak yants they have special significance, the beach bum and ksr farangs who wear these tattoos as nothing more than some trendy fashion accessory that goes with the cargo pants and dread locks are, at best frowned upon, sorry if thats not what you want to hear, but its a fact.

Looking forward to hear the views of others on this subject, my own views may be some what influenced by the Thai people I know who have sak yants, always good to hear things from another perspective.

[muaythaimma]

wow thanks for your input. i agree with what you are saying. i only like tattos that have a meaing and i would want to fully understand it before i get it done incase i dont agree with its meaing. i will do some more reasearch and if am not satisfied i may just wait till i go out and have it done traditionaly at one of the temples and see what the thai peoples view is and what suits me etc.

Many thanks

[farseer]

Thais say the bamboo stick method of tattooing really hurts, strange as it never bothered me. The only problem is that this method is very slow and will take a long time to complete a tattoo.

Also, I don't think the tattoo you have shown, the pair of tigers with Cambodian script is appropriate for a white man. Leave out the script and the magical symbols, just have the two tigers with some bamboo trees in the background I think would be better for you. make use of colour as this type of Thai tattoo that you have shown, only uses black ink, no other color.

[justanothercybertosser]

Thais say the bamboo stick method of tattooing really hurts, strange as it never bothered me. The only problem is that this method is very slow and will take a long time to complete a tattoo.

Also, I don't think the tattoo you have shown, the pair of tigers with Cambodian script is appropriate for a white man. Leave out the script and the magical symbols, just have the two tigers with some bamboo trees in the background I think would be better for you. make use of colour as this type of Thai tattoo that you have shown, only uses black ink, no other color.

It actually is not a bamboo stick, but a long iron rod with a pointed tip, and it really hurts a lot more than tattoos by machine (or three sewing needles attached to a bamboo stick). But it heals up much faster than machine tattoos, because the tattoo consists only of single points and not large spaces of skin.

Anyhow, in todays global village, there is not much that is not "appropriate for white man" anymore as we have left the colonial era a long time ago. Nevertheless, people who aspire to get traditional tattoos should learn about them before, and the culture out of which the emerged. Getting such tattoos in western countries, or even by untrained tattooist specialized in machine tattoos here is not appropriate. They are religious/magical tattoos, and are done by monks, or ajarns. Such tattoos in the wrong place, or with the wrong inscription can lead to problems (i knew a westerner once who had a tattoo on the leg, which was supposed to be only on the higher back, and he go into serious problems).

As to ajarn noo, there are countless temples and ajarns who are not celebreties, and still perform these tattoo ceremonies for prescribed donations, which are neglible amounts of money. The original poster should ask fellow Thais in the boxing camp, and he will be introduced to one or the other place.

[j0hnga1t]

go to Wat Bang Pra...and receive one from a Monk.  total cost about 200 baht for the donation (flower/candle/cigarettes/25baht cash) Plus about 1800 baht for a car and driver from Bangkok to get you out there...I was my first tattoo and it was VERY painful, but well worth it for the experience.

[muaythaimma]

wow that looks great. i have taken some notes and i will do a bit more research but i have decided to wait and have it done at the temple by the monk to get the hole traditional exsperience. no pain no gain i guess. thanks everyone

[EvilDrSomkid]

wow that looks great. i have taken some notes and i will do a bit more research but i have decided to wait and have it done at the temple by the monk to get the hole traditional exsperience. no pain no gain i guess. thanks everyone

Brad, please let me give you some advice too.

If you really want a traditional Khmer magic protection tattoo, you need to think about a few things first. I don't know (this is how you spell it) how old you are, but considering you wish to go to Thailand to train, I will assume you are in your early 20s. I would urge you to first train very hard at camp BEFORE you get a san yant tat. How far are you now?

The muay thai boys take this sh*t VERY serious. If you suck at muay thai and you get this tat before camp, you will not be respected.

As someone else said, do not get it done in the UK. Someone that can read and write this language should place the tat.

Speaking of writing, it would be a good idea to learn to spell correctly.

You mentioned traveling on THE island. Which one? No matter. On most islands there is really no culture left, except beach, food, piss and pussy. Samui and Phangan do have good training camps.

If you want to get of the beaten track, go to the northeast (Isaan). That's where the Khmer magic guys come from. That is also where most of the best fighters of Thailand come from.

Spend some time learning the basic Thai needed for muay thai. Counting from one to 20, left, right, punch, knee, kick and most important: Khruu. Look it up.

Chohk dee khap

[muaythaimma]

Hi thank you for your input. Yep i am 20. Yeh i will train before i get it done. like you said the last thing i want is to be made to look a fool. i have been doing muay thai for about 6 months now and picking it up pretty well i am no exspert but i got the basics i am mainley going to thailand for a adventure holiday and something different. okay yeh i will check those places out you have mentioned, as i want to get a bit of cultre the last thing i want is a piss up holiday i could just go to ibiza for that.

cheers