Popular Western culture often reduces ninja to cartoon characters. In fact, the original disciplined operatives who practiced ninjutsu were highly trained and skilled spies and assassins in feudal Japan, according to Ninja expert Stephen K. Hayes' article in John Corcoran's and Emil Farkas's reference book "Martial Arts, Traditions, History, People."
Origin
Warrior monks are believed to have trained in ninjutsu-like arts in the mountainous regions of Japan as early as the seventh century. In the 12th century, Daisuke Nishina left the Togakure region where he had been training and moved to Inga province. According to Chris Crudelli, author of "The Way of the Warrior, Martial Arts and Fighting Systems from Around the World," Daisuke expanded his espionage and fighting skills in his new setting with the help of a new mentor, warrior and mystic monk Kain Boshi. Between the 13th and early 17th centuries, both the Iga and Koga secret organizations trained ninja from childhood in the many arts needed to be effective intelligence agents and special forces operatives.
Weapons Training
Ninja were trained to use the same weapons their Samurai opponents used, including swords, knives and bows and arrows. In addition, they mastered many other weapons that were not part of the typical Samurai arsenal. Some were lethal, but others were used to stun or distract the enemy. Female ninja were known to use bladed rings dipped in poison, for example. Ninja leaned to accurately throw star- or rod-shaped, palm-sized, spiked metal weapons called shuriken while their explosives training covered use of smoke screens, bombs, mines and incendiary devices.
Equipment Training
Traditional ninja training included developing climbing skills with the aid of devices like the hooked shuko worn on the wrist and palm, and the kumade, a collapsible climbing pole made of bamboo and rope and equipped with a hook at the top end. Swimming training included instruction in the use of the kyobacko-fune, a waterproof device used to cross bodies of water. Mizukaki served the same function as modern day flippers for swimmers while bamboo mizuzutsu or snorkel tube allowed ninja to hide under water.
Other Occupational Skills
Because practitioners of ninjutsu were born and raised in the art, they developed formidable skills that intimidated their enemies. Because spying required ninja to operate behind enemy lines in many different types of environments, they were trained in ten-mon, the study of weather patterns and in chi-mon, the study of geography. Like modern day special forces members, ninja were trained in the arts of camouflage, concealment, disguise, and escape and evasion techniques. Of course, mastering horsemanship and all the ways to fight on horseback was also included in the secret training ninja received.
References
- "Martial Arts, Traditions, History, People"; John Corcoran and Emil Farkas; 1983
- "The Way of the Warrior, Martial Arts and Fighting Systems from Around the World"; Chris Crudelli; 2008
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