Jump to content

Sak Yant - Recommendation and Basic Questions


Recommended Posts

Hi Sylvie. I enjoyed your recent post about receiving your sak yant. Your tattoo is great, by the way, and your post was enlightening and very interesting.

I'm heading to Thailand in a couple months and have every intent of trying to find a place that will do this for me. I'm very preliminary in my research so far, I just know I want one - so any light you can shed on receiving a sak yant would be helpful. You mentioned you got yours from Arjan Pi in Bangkok, is this a place that you would suggest I go? Do I pre-book an appointment or something?

As well, from other people I know that have gotten sak yants before, they have mentioned that some places will choose it for you? Any truth to that? You mentioned that he had a book that you looked through, is this typically how someone would pick which one they wanted?

And lastly, is the aftercare similar to a regular tattoo? I will be in Thailand for 3 weeks and am not too sure if I should get it at the start of my trip or at the tail end of it.

Anyways, I appreciate your time and thank you.

Anyone who has any helpful advice, feel free to chime in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 You mentioned you got yours from Arjan Pi in Bangkok, is this a place that you would suggest I go? Do I pre-book an appointment or something?

As well, from other people I know that have gotten sak yants before, they have mentioned that some places will choose it for you? Any truth to that? You mentioned that he had a book that you looked through, is this typically how someone would pick which one they wanted?

And lastly, is the aftercare similar to a regular tattoo? I will be in Thailand for 3 weeks and am not too sure if I should get it at the start of my trip or at the tail end of it.

Anyone who has any helpful advice, feel free to chime in.

Howdy. Arjan Pi Bangkrating is on a cycle between his office in Chiang Mai, Rangsit (Bangkok), and Taiwan. So it's best to go to his FB page and check his schedule and if that's hard to find just private message him. You don't have to book an appointment so much as let him know what day you're coming, or ask him, or whatever. His English is very limited in person, but he has assistants and Google translate and whatever else that makes messaging in English possible. But do be prepared for your face-to-face interaction to not have a lot of English exchange.

My friend Robyn was tattooed by Arjan Neng On Nut in Bangkok because Arjan Pi was away. He's a very well established Arjan with over 10 years experience and a large following. His process is a bit different from Arjan Pi's but only in the details, and their work looks different to my eye because - well, of course it would, they're different artists. All Sak Yant are the same at a glance and all are highly unique in the details, literally what kata are inscribed, etc.

Both Arjan Pi and Arjan Neng allow you to choose your own Yant. Arjan Pi has two binder's full of Sak Yant (combined they do not come close to exhausting the wide range of Yant options though) - you don't have to choose from the book though. You can show him a photo of any of his work as well (look on Facebook), and it should acceptable. If it's very large or in a position that is uncommon he may question you, or advise a change. Arjan Neng has a big book of photos of his own work, like the tattoo portfolios you'd see in the west. Arjan Neng uses a stamp to get the outline and then freehands the spells; Arjan Pi uses a stencil for some parts and freehands a lot.  I have heard that some Arjan choose your Yant for you, but I think this is far less common. If you go to a monk, however, it might be more likely that he chooses the Yant for you. (Arjans are unordained and practice out of their own homes; Monks look like monks, won't tattoo women and tattoo out of the monastery, generally).

Aftercare is similar to a gun tattoo. You won't be sent home with plastic wrap taped over it, but keeping it clean and occasionally putting Vaseline or A&D to keep it moisturized is good. It heals much faster than a gun tattoo - I went back to training after a day with all of mine - and it doesn't "scab" or flake like gun tattoos. It will itch though, after a few days and for a few days.

Given your handle, I don't think this is an issue, but as a general rule just be very polite when you interact with whomever you end up receiving your Yant from. Be polite according your own culture and that generally carries over across the language and cultural differences.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. You were very helpful and I appreciate it.

Another query - Can you give me a range of what I should expect for a cost? And, as well, what would the cultural manner be regarding gratuities and if they are expected or accepted?

 

Thank you again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Most Recent Topics

  • Latest Comments

    • Hi Warren  It was very quiet when I was there. A few local guys and 2-4 foreigners but that can change and I'm sure this gym has got more popular. You can schedule privates for whenever you want. The attention to detail here is unbelievable and I highly recommend you train at this gym. In my experience, everyone was really good training partners and I learnt loads everyday.  
    • To all the MuayThai enthusiasts who have travelled to Thailand and trained in Muay thai- I would urge you to pls fill this form to share your interests and journey insights. This will help us explore possible ways to improve muay thai gym/training program search experience for the community https://forms.gle/39pBz4wHQ2CXPWNS8 Feel free to DM me if there is any feedback or query.
    • You can look through my various articles which sometimes focuses on this: https://8limbsus.com/muay-thai-forum/forum/23-kevins-corner-muay-thai-philosophy-ethics/ especially the article on Muay Thai as a Rite. The general thought is that Thailand's traditional Muay Thai offers the world an important understanding of self-control in an era which is increasingly oriented towards abject violence for entertainment. There are also arguments which connect Muay Thai to environmental concerns.
  • The Latest From Open Topics Forum

    • Hi, this might be out of the normal topic, but I thought you all might be interested in a book-- Children of the Neon Bamboo-- that has a really cool Martial Arts instructor character who set up an early Muy Thai gym south of Miami in the 1980s. He's a really cool character who drives the plot, and there historically accurate allusions to 1980s martial arts culture. However, the main thrust is more about nostalgia and friendships.    Can we do links? Childrenoftheneonbamboo.com Children of the Neon Bamboo: B. Glynn Kimmey: 9798988054115: Amazon.com: Movies & TV      
    • Davince Resolve is a great place to start. 
    • I see that this thread is from three years ago, and I hope your journey with Muay Thai and mental health has evolved positively during this time. It's fascinating to revisit these discussions and reflect on how our understanding of such topics can grow. The connection between training and mental health is intricate, as you've pointed out. Finding the right balance between pushing yourself and self-care is a continuous learning process. If you've been exploring various avenues for managing mood-related issues over these years, you might want to revisit the topic of mental health resources. One such resource is The UK Medical Cannabis Card, which can provide insights into alternative treatments.
    • Phetjeeja fought Anissa Meksen for a ONE FC interim atomweight kickboxing title 12/22/2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu92S6-V5y0&ab_channel=ONEChampionship Fight starts at 45:08 Phetjeeja won on points. Not being able to clinch really handicapped her. I was afraid the ref was going to start deducting points for clinch fouls.   
    • Earlier this year I wrote a couple of sociology essays that dealt directly with Muay Thai, drawing on Sylvie's journalism and discussions on the podcast to do so. I thought I'd put them up here in case they were of any interest, rather than locking them away with the intention to perfectly rewrite them 'some day'. There's not really many novel insights of my own, rather it's more just pulling together existing literature with some of the von Duuglus-Ittu's work, which I think is criminally underutilised in academic discussions of MT. The first, 'Some meanings of muay' was written for an ideology/sosciology of knowledge paper, and is an overly long, somewhat grindy attempt to give a combined historical, institutional, and situated study of major cultural meanings of Muay Thai as a form of strength. The second paper, 'the fighter's heart' was written for a qualitative analysis course, and makes extensive use of interviews and podcast discussions to talk about some ways in which the gendered/sexed body is described/deployed within Muay Thai. There's plenty of issues with both, and they're not what I'd write today, and I'm learning to realise that's fine! some meanings of muay.docx The fighter's heart.docx
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      1.3k
    • Total Posts
      11k
×
×
  • Create New...