How can there be ninjas? Where do these people learn this art from? Is it not supposed to be secret? for assassination and subterfuge? Why is it so readily available to everyone? I always heard it was jujutsu with fancier clothes and weapons. Please please clarify its legitimacy!!

From what I understand..

 

There are NO ninjas anymore. Not as they meant to be at least.

 

What survived for this time was the Art of Ninjutsu which is practiced as a martial art part of the Japanese culture. The same way We have Kendo/aikido/kyudo/aikijujitsu but, we don't have Samurais.

 

Even the Ninjustu practitioners aren't called Ninjas but Ninjutsukas.

I purchased a book in 1986's called "The Art Of The Invisible Worrior". It was neet reading for a 14 year old kid and in fact put me in a path to start taking Karate classes the same week. It was written by a man by the name of Steven K Hayes

 

I read somewhere else that he was one of the few americans that trainied in the art of Ninjutsu.

 

Here is a link to an article of the history of Ninjutsu since 1950.

 

Happy reading...

 

http://shell.world-net.co.nz/~jimgould/mhistory.html

good author there campiatt, well i can tell you this, the way of the ninja has changed since feudal japan, where i live, misawa japan, there is a style called ninpo budo taijutsu, it is a 900 yr style of the classic ninja, yet it has been modified for our day and age, alot of the training is the same, yet now they have incorporated guns into their trainings for self defense and how to properly use all their weapons to kill and kill quickly, the 34thgrandmaster of ninjutsu, known as the only true living ninja, recognized by the emperor and government of japan, Masaaki Hatsumi, is here in tokyo, my instructor in this style is robert fraser, 10th degree, or a judan, and a shihan, senior member instrutor is here at the base, steven hayes, is the first american to bring ninjutsu to the US, and trained with my instructor. Hope that helps some.

Yes, true ninjutsu is taught but only to few. The curricula like Bujinkan and Gengukan teach several old Japanese systems as a modern mixture, and some of these systems are ninjutsu. But in both curricula, the other systems (the "samurai" jujutsu) are taught first and you have to get up to the higher dan ranks until you start learning stuff from the ninjutsu systems in the curriculum.

Well I have the stealth of a ninja.... maybe I should look into this a little more.... kind of amazing that at 240+ pounds (or 110 Kilos) that I have any stealth at all, but I sneak up on people all the time and give them the fright of their lives cause when they turn around they really dont expect to see me standing there!

For todays world climate I think the ninja's of today are the special ops and covert agents.

I would agree, as far as the definition of stealth and Modus Operandi is concerned.

Well I have the stealth of a ninja.... maybe I should look into this a little more.... kind of amazing that at 240+ pounds (or 110 Kilos) that I have any stealth at all, but I sneak up on people all the time and give them the fright of their lives cause when they turn around they really dont expect to see me standing there!

 

I'm the opposite I leave stealtily with out saying goodbye, my friends say they turn around to talk to me and find that I've gone, I do it on purpose now just to tease them .

I guess a Ninja would be someone who does Ninja type acts. I don't think Ninjutsu practitioners call themselves Ninjas these days. I don't believe Hatsumi refers to himself as a Ninja either. I study Budo Taijutsu which used to be called Ninpo Taijutsu. It's really cool and very very fun. I highly recommend it. It is also very effective once you understand it a bit.