A common Japanese gesture when preparing to take on a difficult task is to "make a muscle" and rub one's bicep, emphasizing strength. "Yoshi!" ("OK!", or"Alright!") is frequently said with a determined expression when doing this, whereas Westerners usually just grunt. Compare to the "Rosie the Riveter" image from World War II.

The gesture is frequently misinterpreted in other places, as it looks very similar to the rude "up yours" gesture, equivalent toFlipping the Bird, used in Eastern Europe and Mexico, among other places.

See alsoFlexing Those Non-Biceps,Gloved Fist of Doom.

Anime and Manga

• Sailor Moon
• Marmalade Boy
• Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl
• Kanna does this frequently in theSakura TaisenOVAs and TV series.
• Fumio Usui inKarin does this in job interviews, declaring that she has faith in her body. Given that she is aHot Mom that suffers fromSo Beautiful It's a Curse, this is definitely a mistake.
• Armstrong inFullmetal Alchemist.
  • Ed also does it occasionally when showing off his mechanical arm.
• Random crowd memberBruce Ironstaunch (not his real name) inTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. He was most likely doing it for the original Japanese meaning, butother parties figured he was just giving Rossiu an up-yours when he announcedhe was executing Simon. His dour expression, on the other hand, doesn't really looks all that supportive, which is why his gesture was interpreted as "Up Yours!" in the first place.
• Koizumi does this in theHaruhi Suzumiya episode where the SOS Brigade logo causes a breakdown of reality.
• Naruto
• Agitodoes one as a proxy for Signum during theMagical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS "After Days" manga special. Probably because havingSignum herself do one would look really weird.
• Ryouga tends to do the "up yours" variety inRanma 1/2. One time, in theOVAs, he combined itwith a middle-finger.
• This is a signature pose for Monkey D. Luffy ofOne Piece
• Shirley and Milly does this from time to time inCode Geass.
• A lot of pics inBio-Meat: Nectar shows Banba-kun doing this.

Film

• In theStreet Fighter live action movie, Guile does it to Bison on camera. The jury's out on whether he intended this in its Western interpretation or its Japanese interpretation, but given Guile's general animosity toward Bison...
• InBig Tits Zombie, two female characters sumo wrestle one another. The main character can be briefly seen making this gesture, although she does so while facing her opponent which could easily be interpreted as the Western version since both girls did not get along.

Live Action TV

• Worked its way into an episode ofCSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 'Crow's Feet'. Only, Nick did it because Catherine asked him to.

Catherine: Make a muscle, Nicky.

Professional Wrestling

• TNAwrestlerScott Steiner is obsessed with his biceps, often polishing and even kissing them.

Video Games

• Bowser had this as his victory pose inSuper Mario RPG, but it was altered in the North American release since it looked too close to an extended middle finger for comfort.
• Similar to Bowser, theMighty Morphin Power Rangers fighting game for theSega Genesis has the Green Ranger doing this as his victory pose.
• Frog fromChrono Trigger rubs his (surprisingly huge) bicep and grins smugly as his post-battle victory pose.
• Kanji fromPersona 4 does this in his victory pose. The way he executes it gives the impression he hasboth meanings in mind.
• Gene fromGod Hand does this as a taunt.
• Dan fromStreet Fighter. Becomes more apparent in IV.
  • Ken sometimes does it too as first round victory pose.
• Both Marina and Theo do this during the intro toMischief Makers

• Trope
• Body Language
• Stock Poses
• Useful Notes/Japan
• Hand Tropes
• Bicep-Polishing Gesture