Ninjas

[a_ninja]

Where do ninjas come from. what is nijitsu like what is the history of ninjas. this is what im looking for but im haveing trouble finding it. Do you guys know anything about this or some sites i could go to to see.

[bushido_man96]

Ninjas were a class of bujutsu in fuedal Japan that focused a lot on espionage, infiltration, and assassination. There were some specializations of ninjitsu at the time, relating to these fields.

I am not so sure if the art that exists today can be accurately linked to what it used to be.

[learning kempo-karate]

Hello, Most likely they still exist...like many other martial arts that are kept in the families or clan. (will most likely never been known).

We will never know of those who keeps it secret.

In the USA...there are many ninja schools. I think there is someone name Hayes that is a ninja and teaches his style of ninja.

Most labor unions claims to have no GOON squads? (the guys that do the dirty work for them) do not exist! Yet....many people are quietly gone or lots of harassment. (Here in Hawaii-there is...just hard to prove.) The air condition labor union.

Ninja do exist...most rather be quiet.....shhhhhhhhh.........Aloha

PS: Ninja's : Came from the Japanese. (hire spys and assassin's)

Edited February 27, 2007 by learning kempo-karate

[NightOwl]

Where do ninjas come from. what is nijitsu like what is the history of ninjas. this is what im looking for but im haveing trouble finding it. Do you guys know anything about this or some sites i could go to to see.

While there is some debate on whether or not they even existed as a special unit or group, the general agreement is that they probably came from the Iga and Koga regions of Japan and were used by the Daimyo (warlords) during the warring states period for mostly espionage purposes (as opposed to assassinations...despite what you see in popular culture). Since there is very little as far as historical records on the Ninja, not too much else can be reliably taken as fact.

Regardless, the stereotypical ninja garb is actually based off of stagehand wear in traditional Japanese plays (since they would often be on stage during performance and were treated as being 'invisible' by the audience). It wasn't until MUCH MUCH later that when ninja roles were needed for entertainment that somebody decided to dress them in black like the stagehands since Ninja were supposed to be 'invisible' assassins. I guess the idea caught on because ninja have been shown wearing black ever since. Of course if you were an actual ninja, this would have been a very stupid idea since the wearing of a special garb would automatically label you 'NINJA' and would be detrimental to spying efforts.

Also, there is not much to show that ninja were particularly martially skilled, as if your job was to gather information without being seen (and to bump off the occasional official or two), than you wouldn't want to engage someone in combat (it'd be best to just stab them from behind).

As for ninjitsu, there are so many frauds out there that it is almost impossible to find something legitimate (see this thread: http://www.karateforums.com/ashida-kim-video-of-the-ninja-master-in-action-vt30026.html)

There is only one school that may actually teach ninjitsu, and that is Budo Taijutsu started by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi in Japan. He supposedly is recognized by the Japanese government as having historical backing (or something like that if memory serves) but due to his background in Judo, Boxing, and karate, Jujitsu, and other arts (he if nothing else is a real martial artist), he could just have easily created his own style based off what he already knew from these. Regardless it is supposed to be a collection of 9 schools of jujitsu used by the ninja all united under one art, and outside of the Bujinkan organization (although you could argue for an offshoot school started by Stephen Hayes), there is no other ninjitsu. Instructors are supposed to regularly come to Japan for curriculum updates, and Dr. Hatsumi still teaches in Japan today (whether he is the real deal or not). I have been to one Budo Taijutsu dojo before and have a friend who did it for a couple of years. There are only three ranks: White, green (red for women), and black. Of course, gi's are a nice shade of ninja black as well . Techniques consist of soft trapping/some standup grappling, a lot of palm strikes, and weapons work (from what I have seen). Practice is done by applying a technique slowly at frist, then speeding up with proficiency. Unfortunately, Hatsumi expressly does not support sparring, and likewise the vast majority of dojos do not as well (although I have seen exceptions). Higher levels do sometimes do 'free flow drills', but that is pretty much it. Thus you have a 'haymaker harry' problem where you get too used to a certain type of attack, but the techniques could definitely be applied realistically if need be. Play sparring with my friend (after they offered to demonstrate some taijutsu), I found that they were unused to more or less trained striking, but they did manage to get a couple of nice strikes in (including a painful palm strike to the face that I didn't avoid in time). [and to be more fair, they hadn't done taijitsu for over 1 1/2 years). Here are some videos that I posted on a previous thread showing a whole range of taijitsu...some fine and some VERY corny: (I love youtube!!!!)

Here is taijutsu in a 'sparring' situation (that's what they say at least...I personally think that it is more or less of a set up situation):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBJb3YG5Ktc&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3YppGm4qQc&mode=user&search=

And here are training segments, etc. My problem is that it is way too choreographed...you can start off like that but you need to practice against someone actually hitting back/resisting. Also notice the weapon 'tricks' rolling, basic throws, the totally sweet ninja taking out an armed attacker with confetti, and the varying speeds of the different classes:

http://taijutsu.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=77

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPd4FEKASJQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpCb1dkk40

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45vOvs3X7eQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujiCwM23ZM8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TieBJRH-lTE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0jOMc9R4Ak&mode=related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N0jOMc9R4Ak

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WhhkgMu7adk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ggjqjgs2yP0&mode=related&search=

[learning kempo-karate]

Hello, Good article , NIGHT OWL...I just finish reading a book about a Japanese puppet master...and they do dress in all black. The audience is suppose to not see these men.

Some puppets require more than one person to operate.

In the book (fable)...the puppet masters were (Ninji's) stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (like Robin Hood).

I try finding the book....must have misplaced it.....Oh well ...Aloha

PS: Thank-you for your insights

[NightOwl]

Hello, Good article , NIGHT OWL...I just finish reading a book about a Japanese puppet master...and they do dress in all black. The audience is suppose to not see these men.

Some puppets require more than one person to operate.

In the book (fable)...the puppet masters were (Ninji's) stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (like Robin Hood).

I try finding the book....must have misplaced it.....Oh well ...Aloha

PS: Thank-you for your insights

Yep, those were what the 'ninja' we see today were based off of. Minus the props and puppets of course. Also another myth, the 'Ninja Swords' you see being sold on martial art sites (straight as opposed to the curved blade of the katana) have no historical evidence to back the up. Ninja most like used the same swords as everyone else.

[username8517]

I remember seeing a documentary on Ninjas about three years ago on The Discovery Channel (it might have been the National Geographic Channel). It was basically a history of ninjas and then an interview with Stephen Hayes about how ninja's train in a modern setting.

In the interviews, Hayes mainly focused on a few things. First was that ninjas were mainly used as spies over assassins and that the black garb was a misrepresentation of traditonal ninjas. One example he gave was that if a ninja was sent to spy on a neighboring emperor, the ninja would most likely dress as a palace worker and attempt to extract information that way. Second was hand-to-hand tactics, traditional weapons & tools of the ninja, and evasion techniques to avoid conflict with potential threats. And the last main point was a meditation principle that is part of zen aspect of ninjutsu. Hayes was claiming that he could effectively meditate to a state that would allow him to obtain ESP.

The last bit of the show was Hayes showing how to use ninja skills in a modern setting via a little game. The game was that he had to get past two trained armed body guards and snatch the hat of the target (representing an assassination). In the end, using diversionary tactics, trickery, and misinformation, he was able to succeed. Of course he ended up going down moments after he took the hat.

Overall it was an interesting show.

[WudangDragon]

The Omnitsu Ninjas (the infiltration, espionage and assassination sections) tended to use swords made of sharpened bamboo and cane, so that they could be easily disposed of without looking suspicious - who thinks twice about a broken stick ??

The Oniwabanshu Ninjas protected castles and important people.

[Neo Dragon]

I would like to train in Ninjutsu; but I can't find any schools. Theyre hidden...like the ninja.

[boyo1991]

thx bushido_man96 i was wondering the same thing... you cleared it up fast!