Jiu-Jitsu attracts people from all walks of life. On a BJJ academy mat, you will find doctors rolling with construction workers, computer programers rolling with gangsters. They all share the same passion for Jiu-Jitsu.
At a recent BJJ competition in Japan, we saw a BJJ black belt competitor proudly showing off his traditional Japanese tattoos. In Japan, tattoos are still taboo especially for Japanese individuals.
For a local Japanese person to wear traditional Japanese tattoos all over their body can meet just one thing: they are Yakuza… You do have Japanese people that have tattoos but they are not these type of gang tattoos. It’s similar to Russian gang tattoos which consist of stars on the shoulders and knees.. He proudly showed off his tattoos after winning his black belt match which is quite surprising since organized crime in Japan is part of a secret society…
Yakuza are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The English equivalent for the term yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization. Members are often described as males, wearing “sharp suits” with heavily tattooed bodies and slicked hair.
