Lower Providence Aikido

You don't need a Martial Arts Study to know that guys with tattoos look like they are pretty tough customers. When some tattooed thug, with all the attitude and little of the brains, sashays down the sidewalk, most people step aside. All that ink, those big biceps, he's just got to be one tough hombre, right?

According to one study this may not be the case. In fact, it appears that many of these large, tattooed thugs may be creampuffs! Well, perhaps not total creampuffs, but according to one survey martial artists with more ink on their skin lose more MMA matches!

To be sure, this is less than a highly scientific survey. It was more of an observation after watching several UFC contests on the tube. The fighters with more ink on their skin just seemed to lose more matches than the uninked ones.

One reason for this odd fact may be that inked flesh is not able to ingest oxygen as well as uninked flesh. This may be true, especially when considered in light of the fact that Yakuza criminals (those guys with full body tattoos), die of liver failure (if they live to old age at all). Apparently the liver needs oxygen, which inked surfaces are not capable of passing through the skin.

Another factor that seems to weigh in is the type of symbol adorning the fighter's body. This one was hard to pin down, as the fighters are moving about, but people with religious symbols adorning their bodies seemed to lose more than the less religious tattooed martial artists. One must admit, there is a certain oxymoronic value to a UFC fighter trying to spin kick the head of somebody while adorned with figures preaching eternal peace.

That said, however, one must take note of the fact that the reason for tattoos in the first place is one of how cool one can look. People do tend to get their bodies inked solely because 'it looks so good!' Thus, fighters with tattoos may be more concerned with appearances than actually learning to fight and train as martial artists.

There were a few factors that did tend to slant this study. One item was that sometimes both fighters in a contest were decorated with tattoos. One then had to adjust for the amount of flesh tattooed, and that this was not a fight between an inked fighter and an untattoed martial artist.

In summary, while this was very unscientific, there does seem to be evidence supporting the thesis that the more tattoos a martial artist has, the worse he does in the ring. There is at least sufficient evidence to indicate that a more scientific Martial Arts Study should be done. Or perhaps you could just get a tattoo, jump in the ring, and see how you do.