Ninja (literally - hiding, one who hides, suffers, endures difficulties) - scout-saboteur, spy, hired killer or bodyguard in Japan of the Middle Ages. Ninjutsu (the art of stealth) is a Japanese martial art. This type of Japanese hand-to-hand fighting and the people who wield it is surrounded by many historical and modern myths, and we would like to bring some clarity to this matter, concept, art, way of life.
The prevailing qualities of ninja (those heroes that we so often see in anime) were considered cunning, ingenuity and perseverance. The main subjects they had were horse riding, stick fighting, military strategy, the art of stealth and disguise, escape and disappearance, pyrotechnics and explosives, possession of a combat sword, kusarigama (a chain weapon consisting of a 2.5 m chain with a load at one end and with a sickle on the other), spiritual cleansing, the art of infiltration, the spear, water training, unarmed combat, meteorology, espionage, and geography.
MYTH # 1: REAL NINJA IS A MYTH
This type of wrestling and its fighters began to appear in Japan 800 years ago. This means of defense was necessary for the peasants to defend themselves against samurai and other armed soldiers. Ninjutsu is considered a unique and purely defensive type of combat martial arts. Its main principle is to avoid battle if you can, and if you cannot, kill the enemy. Ninja first tries to avoid any conflict: throws sand in the eyes of the enemy to blind him, and hides. But if the battle has started, then the ninja are merciless. No wonder the Japanese emperors used them as bodyguards, spies and assassins.
MYTH # 2: THE NINJA CAN PREVENT THE SHOCK OF A SHARP SWORD WITH BARE HANDS
Ninjutsu Master Hatsumi is the patriarch and founder of the Bujinkan school. He professed the Takamatsu school and served as the personal bodyguard of the last Chinese emperor. He shows his students the techniques and says: "Try to avoid all contact and fight." He shows them how to deflect blows with a sword, although, in fact, he just avoids them. And he does it very cleverly, sometimes using special means (metal claws).
Promotional video:
Dexterity and quick wits help ninja fight off attacks of melee weapons. Everything happens with lightning speed, and therefore it seems that the ninja are fighting off a sharp sword with their bare hands.
MYTH # 3: NINJA WEAR MASKS AND BLACK CLOTHES
Modern ninjas who serve as bodyguards wear the most common clothes and casual suits. And 800 years ago, ninjas wore simple peasant dresses without black masks on their faces.
MYTH # 4: NINJA CAN VAPOR IN AIR
This is a consequence of the main rule of the ninja: hide, run, disappear. At the slightest opportunity to avoid a fight, a real ninja will not miss it. He will do everything possible to evade the war (fight, fight), using dodges, withdrawal, threatening (deterrent) throwing of shuriken (throwing weapon in the form of a star with sharp ends). To hide from the enemy, they used smoke bombs or threw sand in the eyes of the opponent, confusing the enemy in order to disappear from sight.
MYTH # 5: NINJA KILL WITH ONE TOUCH OF THE HAND
Ninja High School has techniques that allow fighters to close off an attacker's arteries with a touch of their fingers. There are in the arsenal of ninja blows to the temple, causing death, but such techniques are taught only to those students who will never use them.
Such techniques are studied for theory rather than practice. Although the main pain points for touching ninja are studied at the very beginning of their studies (this is the basis). These points are located on the neck near the eyeballs. Ninja use this knowledge only in extreme cases, when there is no other way out to neutralize the enemy.
MYTH # 6: SHURIKEN IS A SPECIAL WEAPON OF KILLING
In fact, shuriken were used as a secondary weapon in order to inflict wounds on enemies, distracting them from the fight. Shurikens were of two types. The hira-shuriken is a household item of peasants - its tips were sharpened and sharpened to inflict wounds. Bo-shuriken is an improved military weapon with sharp spikes up to 20 cm, but it was also created not to kill, but to intimidate rivals.
Shuriken (literal translation: blade hidden in hand) - hidden Japanese weapons designed for throwing; although it was sometimes used for strikes.
MYTH # 7: NINJAS ONLY USE ANCIENT JAPANESE WEAPONS
The new ninjas have adopted modern types of weapons, but before they used only their own and not necessarily the ancient ones. Instead of shurikens, for example, coins sharpened along the edges were used for throwing. They often resorted to using gunpowder and various homemade bombs.
The ninja students had a special subject - kayakujutsu, where they studied various powder mixtures, taught how to make and install smoke and explosive bombs and bombs on the ground. Ninja were among the first to use smoke screens and bomb explosions to distract enemies.
MYTH # 8: NINJA MUST BE STRONG
Ninjutsu masters point out that this is not the point. Ninjutsu teaches a person to use his body skillfully and effectively, and it doesn't matter here whether you are fat or thin, tall or small. You need such a quality as anticipation of the opponent's actions and the ability to outwit him. Thanks to smooth and verified movements, the fighter gains control over the actions of the opponent and over the course of the fight itself.
Ninjutsu teaches natural positions and the fluidity of all movements. The movement and position of the legs (support of the whole body) are of paramount importance here. The balance of your movements and the judicious use of techniques familiar to the fighter are important. A true master is always relaxed and focused. It takes a fraction of a second to complete a hitting move.
MYTH # 9: THE PIRATE (BANDIT) WILL OUTLET NINJA
If we talk about a fair fight, then without a shadow of a doubt the ninja will win. But pirates and bandits are not used to obeying a code of honor. Using all available means and methods, they can outwit the master of ninjutsu, using a pistol at the most unexpected moment. In this case, the ninja will be defeated. Due to the cunning and lack of any noble canons of the pirate, the rogue will outplay the naive and noble ninja.
Unlike the pirate, the ninja will look for a peaceful solution to the problem to the last and use every mistake of the opponent in cold blood. The pirate, of course, looks more menacing, but the ninja acts more intelligently.
Alexander Wolf