« Ninja vs. Samurai: A Historical Perspective
Don’t Eat This On Thanksgiving: Amigurumi Turkey »

Ninjutsu, the bread and butter of the ninja repertoire. Without it, a ninja just wouldn’t be much of a ninja. But how much do you know about Ninjutsu? Whether you don’t now your Bōjutsu from a Sōjutsu (like me) or you’re a ninjutsu novice, allow this article to fill some gaps in for you.

Ninjutsu, also referred to as simply ninpo, is the martial art and strategy of unconventional/guerilla warfare. Originally developed as a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques during feudal Japan, ninjutsu also includes disguise, escape, concealment, medicine, poison, and explosive training.

The practice of ninpo back then was seen as very dishonorable so it was common practice for Japanese warriors to hire people referred to as “non-humans”, people below Japan’s social class, to perform these assigned tasks. As the years passed, the collective skills of espionage and assassination became to be known as ninjutsu and the people that practiced it - shinobi (or ninja to us).

There are eighteen disciplines for ninjutsu which a shinobi studied. They are listed below:
1. Seishin-teki kyōkō (spiritual refinement)
2. Bōjutsu (stick and staff fighting)
3. Shurikenjutsu (throwing shuriken)
4. Sōjutsu (spear fighting)
5. Naginatajutsu (naginata fighting)
6. Kusarigamajutsu (kusarigama fighting)
7. Kayakujutsu (pyrotechnics and explosives)
8. Hensōjutsu (disguise and impersonation)
9. Shinobi-iri (stealth and entering methods)
10. Bajutsu (horsemanship)
11. Sui-ren (water training)
12. Bōryaku (tactics)
13. Chōhō (espionage)
14. Intonjutsu (escaping and concealment)
15. Tenmon (meteorology)
16. Chi-mon (geography)
17. Taijutsu (Unarmed Combat)
18. Kenjutsu (sword fighting)

As you can see, ninjas really had to know their stuff. It was a strict training regimen with little opportunity of cutting corners and playing hooky from class. I think if we’ve learned anything from this short but sweet article, it’s that ninjas could seriously own pirates. I mean come on, it was smooth sailing (pardon the pun) for pirates. Ninjas, on the other hand, had so much to study and master. It’s no wonder ninjutsu is still practiced to this day.


Rating:
(Avg: Need 5 votes)
 

 

« Ninja vs. Samurai: A Historical Perspective
Don’t Eat This On Thanksgiving: Amigurumi Turkey »

This blog post is popular on:

google.com

 

47 Comments »

Dear Guest, please login to comment

Login

You can use your Mixr, Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Yahoo account to comment

Create New Account | Forgot password?


Please keep the comments clean by not posting advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks. Terms of Use.

Having trouble registering? Try our non-javascript registration page.

 

Why Only One Form Gets Flack: A Comparison Between Ninja Assassin and Controversial Violent Video Games article:
Sorry, I would help our cause, but I’m too busy eating yellow pills, super growth mushrooms and shooting terrorists in the middle east. Cant you see how much video games have changed me?? -sarcasm


I don’t even know how some ppl think pirates can beat ninjas…


@JinraIlustrisimo:  Yes, Ninjatown is very very cute!


@DannyTruong:  Yeah, in my research I found a lot of different theories regarding the origins of ninjas and I have to say the peasant one makes the most sense.


sh0kr0k - 11/24/09 7:09 am

Wow, this is going to be terrific!  I’m looking forward to so many of these articles/pieces!  Thanks!

lol, hopefully we can keep up.. xD


Oh geez Ninja Town is tooooo cute.


Wow, this is going to be terrific!  I’m looking forward to so many of these articles/pieces!  Thanks!


I’m pretty glad this week is based on Ninjas. It’s a proud thing for this website to grow XD!

I’m definitely a ninja!


Origins of the Ninja:

Of all the origins I’ve studied, the most popular reason why Ninjas existed, was because The Samurai took away the small farms and land that they had to live off of. Being that they were poor and had only farming tools, they had to come up with some way to take back what was theirs. Then the trade of the Ninjutsu, was handed down from some ancient practitioners in China, where it finally landed in Japan and taught in secret. Thus led a Koga and Iga ninja clan. The Ninja turned their farming tools into weapons, and they assassinated the Samurai leader to take back their land. This lead to hatred of the Ninja, and they were forced to continue fighting as Ninja.

So thats the lore that I have. Ninjutsu schools actually exist down in my area and are true to functionality of it, down to the acrobatic movement and hand to hand combat.


Yes! Ninja it all week!!!


LOL.
I wish I was a ninja. . . :(


Oh yes. This week is ALL about ninjas.


WOAH, looks like an extremely busy week!


^ haha nice, i was wondering what the gin part meant XD JK


Hoc - 11/24/09 12:10 am

heh, I mentioned multiple time that it has raspberry

Ninjas drunk on gin! (FTW)


heh, I mentioned multiple time that it has raspberry


Hoc - 11/23/09 10:12 pm

hmm, I’m more Ninja then I thought…

I’m thinking to myself, maybe the word Ningin was derived from the word Ninja raspberry


^ i know right, so much ninja lovin <3


Wow, this is awesome.

NINJA GALORE!


yep. im definitely ninja.


Hoc - 11/23/09 10:12 pm

hmm, I’m more Ninja then I thought…

I agree! Just when I thought I didn’t have an identity crisis…


hmm, I’m more Ninja then I thought…


<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

 

Follow Us


suggest a link

PopularBlogPosts

Categories


Archives