Are you serious about learning Ninjutsu, the martial art of the Ninja? If so, I’m sure your reason is due to the number 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, looking around the world at the way most students and teachers practice the art, the way most practitioners limit their training to Ninpo/Budo-taijutsu, self-defense skills with and without weapons, it would seem that Ninjutsu is simply a choice of martial arts, among the options of martial arts.

And, nothing could be further from the truth.

If this were so, if ninjutsu were just another “style” of fighting and limited to the same blocks, punches, kicks, and other techniques that others possess and use, the art would have died out long ago. And yet here we are, over 10 centuries since 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 another martial art? What gives you the ability to weather the winds of time to be as strong today as ever?

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 close combat, as if that were the only face of war (the word martial means “war”), the Ninja understands that danger, strength and damage can arise. from many different sources, and in many different forms. Not only is there the conflict inherent in conventional self-defense against a criminal attacker, but there is also…

• Deception, manipulation, and control by family, co-workers, and adversaries
• Stress from work, school and family obligations.
• The avalanche 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 ancient katas to survive.

To be a Ninja is to be an “enduring person”, a human being able to adapt and deal 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.