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.