Ninjutsu, or ninpo as it sometimes known, is the martial art of the ninja warriors, who specialized in espionage and secret missions. Some forms of Japanese ninjutsu are hard to find, preserved as a secret tradition within one of the most ancient schools of martial arts. However, ninjutsu can also be found within an organization called the Bujinkan.
Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu
The Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu is an ancient Japanese school of battlefield weapons such as the sword and spear. The techniques of the Katori Shinto-ryu come down from the samurai warriors, but the school also maintains an oral tradition of ninjutsu instruction. Because the ninjutsu techniques of the Katori Shinto-ryu are never shown outside the school, the only way to learn them is to go to Japan and study this art for many years until you are introduced to the ninjutsu techniques when your teachers think you are ready. While the ancient ninjutsu techniques of this school are not widely available, the teachings of the Bujinkan ninjutsu organization are taught all over the world.
The Bujinkan
The Bujinkan is a worldwide organization headed by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, who learned a variety of Japanese martial arts from his own instructors before synthesizing them into the Bujinkan curriculum. Among the techniques taught in the Bujinkan are taijutsu, or the body movement skills of the ninja; ninki, or ninja weapons such as the sword, knife, claw hands and spear; and heiho, or ninja strategic concepts. Not all the arts taught by the Bujinkan are of ninja origin, but the Bujinkan is popularly thought of as a ninjutsu school and is one of the only publicly available sources for genuine martial skills with a ninjutsu aspect.
Bujinkan Curriculum
Because different schools of Japanese martial arts were combined to create the Bujinkan, there are many techniques and exercises. Even a list of the basic techniques would have dozens of items. Categories of technique in the Bujinkan include ukemi, or the art of falling safely; hoken ju roppo, or striking techniques; sanshin no kata, or techniques based on the Asian five elements system; muto dori, or techniques for an unarmed man to disarm and defeat a swordsman; shime waza, or strangulation techniques; and nage waza, or throwing skills.
Ninjutsu Stances
Kamae, or fighting stances, are among the most fundamental techniques in the Bujinkan ninjutsu system. There are eight basic kamae in the system, including the leaping bird stance, the angry tiger, the bear, the figure one and cross, the flat and natural stances and the attacking stance. All these kamae are positions from which a ninja warrior could apply any of the techniques of the system in combat with an enemy.
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