It is a Karen pattern I was told about by the guy I learned (just a little) Karen sword fighting from. The design is a tiger on one arm and a naga on the other. I forget which arm is which. I need to pull out that video and watch it again. Anyway, it isn't just the pattern, but also what material is used and how it is done. You collect the blood of all sorts of strong, dangerous animals like tigers, pythons, elephants etc, and mix them together; that is your ink. Then you heat the tattooing needle red hot, dip it in the blood mix and then stick it in the skin. I don't know if it would actually stop sword cuts, but anyone willing submit to, and endure the proccess necessary to get that tattoo (and survive the likely infections following) is one tough guy. After enduring that, anything short of nuclear war has got to seem like a picnic.
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