Are you serious about learning Ninjutsu, the martial art of the Ninja? If so, I am sure your reason is due to the amount and level of skills the Ninja possesses compared to other martial arts.
In fact, for most people, including other martial artists, the Ninja is at the top of the proverbial “food chain” when it comes to martial arts training. And yet to look around the world at the way most students and teachers are practicing the art, the way most practitioners limit their training to Ninpo / Budo-taijutsu, armed self-defense skills. and unarmed, it would appear that Ninjutsu is simply a martial arts choice, among martial arts options.
And nothing could be further from the truth.
If this were so, if ninjutsu were simply another “style” of fighting and were limited to the same blocks, punches, kicks, and other techniques possessed and used by others, the art would have long since become extinct. And yet here we are, more than 10 centuries from the art’s “recorded” origins, and the art of the Ninja is still going strong in the 21st century! So why is Ninjutsu more than just a martial art? What gives you the ability to withstand the winds of time to be as strong today as you were before?
In a word: “options”.
The art of Ninjutsu is simply more complete, it has more sets of skills, strategies and tools, to handle the many faces of conflict that can arise.
Unlike conventional martial systems, which seem to focus strictly on hand-to-hand combat, as if that were the only face of war (the word martial means “war”), the Ninja understands that danger, strength and Damage may come. from many different sources and in many different ways. Not only is there the conflict inherent in conventional self-defense against a criminal attacker, but there is also …
- Deception, manipulation, and control of family, co-workers, and adversaries.
- Stress from work, school and family obligations.
- The flood of manipulative messages from advertising, the media, special interest groups
- Natural and man-made hazards such as accidents, terrorism, and natural disasters
- And others
And often these are more insidious and dangerous than the attacker on the street trying to hit, stab or shoot you! These are the hazards that require more than one ichimonji no kamae (‘defensive posture’), or some old kata to survive.
To be a Ninja is to be a “durable person”, a human being capable of adapting and dealing with anything that can cause harm. It is the ability to “ride the storm,” physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, knowing when to act and when to hide until the time to act is appropriate and advantageous.
