The tattoo shows the Japanese kanji 柔術 (pronounced jūjutsu in Japanese, often romanized as jujutsu, jiu-jitsu, or ju-jitsu in English).
It translates to jujutsu / jiu-jitsu — the name of a classical Japanese martial art.
•柔 (jū) means gentle, soft, yielding, flexible, or supple.
•術 (jutsu) means art, technique, skill, or method.
Literally, it means “gentle art”, “yielding technique”, or “the art of flexibility/softness”.
This refers to the principle of using an opponent’s force against them (redirecting rather than clashing head-on), rather than brute strength. It’s the traditional Japanese grappling and close-combat system that later gave rise to modern arts like judo, aikido, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
Very common tattoo choice for martial artists, especially in BJJ/grappling communities, as a symbol of the style or philosophy. Nice clean vertical placement too!