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Everyone has heard of the ninja who come out of Japan, murders dressed in black who work for the highest bidder. Actually, this is not true; this is in fact what the movie industry has created out of its imagination. The ninja were and are peace-loving people who fought for their right to live in peace. Every country has its resistance fighters, it only depends on which vantage point you are looking from. The revolutionary soldiers of the United States used some of the same tactics that the ninja used and were loathed by the English but loved by their fellow freedom fighters. Now they are heroes, but what if the English won. In Japan, the Samurai came out on top; so the ninja are seen as the bad guys. Ninjutsu is an ancient martial art with a thousand-year tradition, a martial tradition that is surrounded by myths and legends. As with most legends, there is much controversy as to the actual ability and skills attributed to the ninja. However, contrary to popular belief, it was not any “supernatural” abilities which made the ninja invincible, rather the ability to unite his physical, mental and spiritual side in harmony according to the laws of nature. Along with the physical skills, the ninja also developed a deep and accurate knowledge of himself, his strengths and weaknesses, his commitments and his personal |
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Ninjutsu |
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motivations in life, until he eventually evolved into a “warrior philosopher”. Seishin teki kyoyo, or spiritual refinement was vital, and considered one of the eighteen levels of training that the ninja had to master. The origins of ninjutsu (or Ninpo in its higher order) is difficult to pinpoint exactly. According to ancient records, ninjutsu slowly developed in a remote mountainous region of Japan where Chinese military leaders who escaped their homelands, and defeated samurai fled to seek refuge. It was through constant contact with nature and the influence of mountain priests, combined with the ancient samurai combat skills that ninjutsu was formed. The ninja’s beliefs were originally based on holding all life as sacred, and valuing personal freedom and family loyalty before that of the local ruling magistrate. This stood in sharp contrast to the rigid samurai code which taught absolute loyalty to the ruling |
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government. It is because ninjutsu evolved counter to the ruling samurai class, that the origins of the art are shrouded in mystery and secrecy. How does ninjutsu compare to other martial arts? Well, to be brief, it is a difficult comparison as the historical and cultural development was considerably different. Most martial arts that we are familiar with today are rather new, and were developed either during or after the Meiji Period (1867-1912) to be enjoyed as sports or for spiritual refinement. And, even though they are oriented towards actual fighting or combat, they are not quite sufficient - but then, that was not the goal. It is important to remember that Kano developed judo as a sport to introduce to the schools, Funakoshi did the same with karate, and Ueshiba developed aikido as a means of self-improvement and spiritual enlightenment. Having said that, this does not mean that these arts are ineffective, merely that they were refined from ancient Samurai combat systems to have a different and sometimes very specific focus. Ninjutsu, in contrast, is a broad-based ancient martial art that developed through a thousand years of actual combat experience. Ninjutsu and the other bujutsu schools taught in the Bujinkan system are with us today because they survived in the midst of actual fighting and did not die out on the battlefield. The techniques did not go through a period of change to make the art more “sport-like”. Because ninjutsu as it is taught today maintains the combat-effective techniques, it is often said to be the art of survival, the art of winning. |
