Overview of Ninjutsu
Two Interesting Viewpoints
I have found two different variations of Ninjutsu throughout my long life in martial arts training. I don't mean schools like the Iga or Koga, but rather outlooks. The first, I like to call the Shinobi or Ninjitsu people. The other I call the Shinobu or Ninjutsu people.
What vision I have created in my mind of these two outlooks are quite different. Is one wrong and the other right? Who is to say. I don't think one could exist without the other eventually mustering itself up. Who can say what came first, the chicken or the egg.
The Shinobi people, on one hand, have this outlook of ninjas as secret assassins. Defeating their enemy through guerilla warfare. Thousands of troops of dark clad men trained to cheat and stay unseen; the lives of those men and women, like their own swords, expendable; simple tools of the Jonin (High Man of the Clan) at his disposal. Ninjitsu is flare and fancy, taijutsu and invisibility. This view is what, I think gets most people intrigued in ninja stuff. So, perhaps it is necessary.
Then there are the Shinobu people. The people who have delved in to the history of this way of life and found ninjas to be, not assassins, but highly disciplined warriors who follow a righteous heart. Ninjutsu, is a life-long undertaking of body, mind, and spirit. It is the study of building a Budo Spirit that guides thought, word, and deed through awareness of its presence. It was once explained to me through a simple story:
A ninja was out with his friends at a bar, having sake while they drank their bud light beers. Little did the ninja know that his friends had informed the bouncer of the ninjas world renowned ninja training. As the ninja sipped his sake, another round of drinks was on its way to the bar for delivery. Meanwhile, the bouncer had decided to have a bit of fun on the guy's behalf. The waitress had just set down the two bud light beers for his comrades and had retrieved the warm bottle of sake to refill the ninja's cup. As the waitress poured the sake, the bottle slipped from her hand and sent the small dish that held the ninja's cup flying off of the bar. In, nothing but a natural motion the ninja side stepped on his barstool leaning low to snatch the small dish before it would shatter on the floor. At the exact same moment, the bouncer tripped over the legs of the stool which were now sideways as the ninja had moved to grab the saucer, and the bouncer (who had just attempted to grab the ninja from behind) toppled into the bar, knocking the ninja's cup of sake off the other side of the shelf and breaking the bottle that the bartender had accidentally dropped. The buffoon tried grabbing for the scattering glassware, to save it but was unsuccessful as he in no way expected the ninja to know he was coming. Now the bartender was hollering at the bouncer for being such a bumbling idiot, the friends were clapping, and the ninja was handing the saucer to the bouncer while his other hand rested gently on the man's shoulder. "At least we saved this one." the ninja said.
As the bouncer saw it, the ninja evaded his attack, and saved a piece of glassware that he had made a mess of, which was enough for him to leave good enough alone. The ninja, on the other hand, had simply saved the dish from breaking on the ground. There was no negative thought from the ninja. Both men got what they wanted, and the ninja continued his sake. It wasn't until later that his friends would inform him of their loose lips.
In this example you can see that many coincidences led to many different viewpoints. Is it not the righteous who should lead a life of blissful ignorance?
The Shinobi people, are not wrong, per se, they simply have a different 'why that they train'.
But Shinobu people know that the strongest 'why' to do anything is in the purpose of righteousness.
Ask yourself 'why' am I taking up this life-long endeavor, and you will surely know which one you are.