BBC News: Japanese ninjas headed for extinction

[DWx]

News report speaking to the head of the Ban family of the Koka Ninja clan and to Masaaki Hatsumi of the Togacure clan, founder of Bujinkan.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20135674

[tallgeese]

Interesting article. Seeing what will happen after the deaths of the heads of the groups will be interesting. Even if someone takes up the reigns, the struggle for legitimacy that ninjitsu has had will not be made any easier by a bunch of splinter organizations.

[JusticeZero]

I don't think it will affect that, actually. Ninjutsu is considered legitimate my many people - it's a Japanese art with some history, and there are a couple practitioners who teach what they remember of it. It is not considered legitimate by others. I haven't seen any shift whatsoever between those groups in a long time, and having the lineage come apart isn't going to affect any of that. If people keep their ego in their pockets and downshift their claims to grandeur into a bunch of equal high level sub-lines, it might even help because the claims will be faintly more humble.

[Himokiri Karate]

I dont see this as anything tragic, the ninja culture did get its fair share of recognation and as a martial artist, I admire the mastery of there body and the physcial prowess they posses.

I have done some excercise and stances of the ninjitsu/tai jutsu and it helped me be more agile and improved my out-boxing/counter punching when it came to boxing.

That being said, I dont really care for the violent and sneaky nature of the ninja but they have AMAZING physical abilities!

[JusticeZero]

Sure, but whether or not you "approve of" the methods of a historical group is more or less irrelevant. That's a little bit like the question of whether or not anyone today "approves of" trench warfare tactics in WWI while discussing combat techniques developed for trench warfare. Unless you wouldn't approve of capoeira, either?

[sensei8]

I think that the former days of Ninjitsu are dying away, but the usefulness and effectiveness of its MA favor is still alive and well today...imho.

[JusticeZero]

Oh, I agree. I have never understood the "but they're eeeeevil.." angle to the objections to their legitimacy. Nor the "but they didn't just fight people" angle, since it hasn't really been sold as anything other than a few pieces of a whole.

[sensei8]

I agree Justice!! Practitioners of Ninjitsu today, still have quite a lot, imho, to contribute to the MA across the board.

If faced against one, I wouldn't just say...sheech...whatever, NO! I'd treat him/her with respect because they've enough to give reason to pause for the cause and to not treat their skills as inferior across the board, that's when I'm a dead duck.

[Zaine]

I find the whole "they're evil" approach odd. First off, there are so many competing opinions about their goodness/evilness. If this article gives anything to that debate however, it's that ninja were widely neutral.

[bushido_man96]

Oh, I agree. I have never understood the "but they're eeeeevil.." angle to the objections to their legitimacy. Nor the "but they didn't just fight people" angle, since it hasn't really been sold as anything other than a few pieces of a whole.

I think that probably came from not really knowing if they had a side they stood on or not. It sounds to me like their skills may have been for hire in some cases, like a mercenary. Some people hold viewpoints of what an "honorable warrior" is, and if the ideals or methods of the Ninja didn't fit that ideal, then I can see where the "eviiil" connotation comes from.

For the record, I don't agree with it, either.