lbouchet

Yup, thanks, I just found that out myself!!

In ninjutsu we are taught how to attack with and defend from knife, longstaff, shortstaff, rope (chain), net, and sword, right from day one. No katas involved, just one-on-one combat situation. We also focus on empty-hand techniques at the same time. Cheers

Hi all; Just got me a beautiful 6-ft bamboo staff from the local greenhouse (for $5!!!), and was wondering how to keep it from cracking over time. Just keep it moist with water? Use linseed oil like for other woods? Help! L.

[Stepping inside the hook is like being in the eye of the storm. However, you can't step in passively. ] This is definitely how a ninjutsu practitioner would deal with a wild hook. Not by blocking, but by moving and striking. If you step in right away and cut the angle, you can knife-hand with your left hand (with fingers bent, like for drinking water) his bicep as it comes around (try it! It KILLS!!) then with your right hand you can backfist his temple or knife-hand his throat. Done deal. Another favorite technique is to step inside diagonally away from the punch, while at the same time grabbing the swinging arm with your left and slamming the guy's ear with your right open hand, all while pivoting to use his energy against him. This will give him with a busted eardrum and a quick ride to the floor. Another favorite technique (last one I promise!) is to get in close, drop your body on one knee (preferably on the guy's foot -- top of foot is very sensitive and easy to break) letting the swing pass over you, and again slamming the bicep with a palm strike as it passes over you. That'll stun him. Split second after you do that, you can break his pelvis with a quick forearm thrust through the groin area (which will collapse him real fast), or you can be nicer and give him two powerful punches to the floating ribs (they're right in front of you! Can't miss). Then, if you're a good ninja, your knee is still on his foot, and when he collapses you'll end up ripping his ankle out. This is also why there are no competitions in ninjutsu.

Our dojo has the belt system, and personally I don't like it. In Japan, I was told the ninjutsu classes differentiate rank by simple, hardly-noticeable changes in the crests they wear (i.e., one crest will have a black border, another a white border). If I could, I'd wear a white belt forever, as a constant reminder that my "cup is always empty".

Although I like what you wrote, I disagree with this one sentence. There is a big difference between empty-handed techniques against a knife-wielding opponent, and techniques to defend against an empty-handed opponent when YOU have a knife! Knowing one does not mean you'll necessarily know the other. They are separate arts.

Sorry guys, I posted this originally in the General discussion, then it got moved here and then I saw this has already been talked about. Please disregard. Cheers

In Ninjutsu we do not block at all, rather we simply move out of the way. The secret in this art lies in the legs. Very fluid, and you end up either right close to the opponent (which limits his reaction possibilities) with a fist slamming his floating ribs, or off to one side which forces him to shift his center of balance to meet you again by which time you can do some serious damage to him. Avoidance probably takes less practice to become good at than blocking.

Hi all What are your thoughts on high kicks? Are they effective, or mainly for show? In ninjutsu our kicks are mainly aimed at the hip and below, sometimes sternum. We find that high kicks are easy to avoid, and leave the opponent open to extremely hard groin shots or to getting knocked off balance. Just curious.

Wow, that sounds great. When I was in kung-fu, the instructor gave me a canvas sand bag and, of course, the liquid concoction to put on my hands (rumoured to contain donkey urine!). I'd spend a half hour every day in horse-stance position, letting my hands fall on the bag, slapping it with palm and backside. This was a while ago, but you know I never did notice any callouses or nerve damage. I did however notice incredible force whenever I gave someone a casual high-five! Their entire arm shot back and their palm turned beet red. Imagine slapping someone across the face with that? Or blowing an ear drum with a slap to the side of the head? In ninjutsu there's a similar sort of training, though I haven't encountered mention of it at the dojo. One old ninja master was known to be able to tear the bark off a tree with a casual swipe of his fingers.

Ok, the first post of this message didn't work , so instead of re-typing everything, I'll keep it short! I've noticed from reading messages on this board that some think that training with weapons is not very useful because after all, when are you going to have a sword on you if you get into a sticky situation? In ninjutsu, along with empty-hand combat we fight mostly with knife, sword, 6-foot staff, and 3-foot staff. The usefulness of knowing how to knife-fight is indisputable -- just a couple days ago 6 people got stabbed at a local bar here! But what about sword and staffs? A bit anachronistic some might say. There are two good reasons to train with these weapons, however. The first is that, in our art, these weapons are treated as an extension of our bodies. Using sword or staff totally amplifies (and cleans up) mistakes in form and movement. Improved form and movement increases overall empty-hand combat effectiveness. On a more direct level, even though you might not get attacked by a sword anymore these days, you might get attacked by a baseball bat or a crowbar or a hockey-stick (if you're Canadian!). If you've trained against sword, you'll be able to handle any of those long swinging-type weapons mentioned. As for staff -- well, ok, unless you're a shepherd you're probably not going to use 6-foot staff at all. But again -- it improves body movement. 3-foot staff is a different story. If you can handle a 3-foot staff, you can handle a cane, a walking stick, an umbrella, etc. Lots of everyday things can be substituted for it and turned into deadly defense weapons. So please don't thing that facing a sword or knife or stick in class isn't useful, it might in fact be the best part of your training. Any thoughts on this from others? Peace. ps -- not a white belt!

Hi all; I already posted this somewhere here, but I don't know where it went so here goes again! I've been practising Ninjutsu for a while now, and from my (limited) experience with other martial arts I know it is an effective combat-oriented street fighting art. To answer questions on previous posts, there is no competition aspect in Ninjutsu because it's too dangerous -- there are no rules. When someone comes at you with a knife or a baseball bat, it's not "dirty" to break his knee or crush his windpipe...! Anyway, from what I've read about Krav Maga, these two styles seem very similar. For example lots of eye-gouging and ball-busting in both, no katas to memorize, an emphasis on a core group of movements that you then can use to adapt and improvise with in any given fight situation (because no one fight is the same). My question -- were the Israelis who came up with Krav Maga in any way influenced by Ninjutsu or any other combat-oriented "jutsu" martial art? Sorry if this has already been discussed on this board, maybe I should check the archives first before asking! Cheers all Luc