Paul Doherty of Australia with tatoo against Timothy Mareke of Solomon Island during the men's 75kg class at the Sydney International Invitation Boxing held at the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia.
Cast member Shu Qi poses during a photocall for the film “The Assassin” (Nie yin niang) in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 21, 2015. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)
A man holds his umbrella during snowfall on the Areopagitou pedestrian street beneath the Acropolis hill during snowfall in Athens, Greece, January 10, 2017. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)
A man climbs up a wooden pole to get a prize during celebration of Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, near Rumyantsevo, Moscow region, Russia, February 26, 2017. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)
A historical re-enactor poses for a photograph in a living history camp as he prepares to take part in an anniversary event for the Battle of Bosworth near Market Bosworth in central Britain August 22, 2015. The Battle of Bosworth took place in 1485 during the War of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and the House of York. King Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor marking the end of Plantagenet rule and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)
Tattoos are commonly used among criminals to show gang membership and record the wearer's personal history—such as his or her skills, specialties, accomplishments and convictions. They are also used as a means of personal expression. Certain designs have developed recognized coded meanings. The code systems can be quite complex and because of the nature of what they encode, the tattoo designs are not widely recognized.