Page 53 - All About History - Issue 34-16

Training

1 2 3 Ninja were trained from an
early age to master the skills to
become expert shinobi
Ninja spent their entire lives honing the skills, disciplines
and abilities they needed to become masters of ninjutsu.
The skills and traditions of the ninja were passed on
from father to son or sensei to pupil, creating ninja
dynasties. Training began at a very early age – like
samurai they began almost as soon as they could walk,
learning the 18 Disciplines including how to fight with a
vast array of weapons, from katanas to throwing stars.
In addition to the 18 Disciplines, they also learned the
4 5 6 ‘Bugei Jūhappan’, or the 18 Martial Arts. A ninja would
also learn how to make poisons and explosives, use
disguises, evade capture, break into buildings and use
guns. They were extremely fit and capable of impressive
physical feats such as running for a long period of
time, scaling castle walls, leaping great distances and
fighting multiple opponents without weapons. Ninja
also developed psychological skills, learning not to
fear death and building on the samurai’s tradition of
loyalty – while serving their lord they acted clandestinely
without expectation of public reward. Unlike the samurai,
ninja specialised in covert warfare; their task was to
infiltrate and weaken their enemies by assassinations and
disrupting their ability to fight. Formal training of ninja
7 8 9 began in the 1460s and continued through to the 18th
century; today, a handful of schools keep the skills alive.
The 18 Disciplines
Seishinteki Kyōyō Suijutsu
1 Spiritual refinement 11Swimming and
water-crossing techniques
Ninpō Taijutsu
2 Athletic and hand-to- Hensōjutsu
hand combat techniques 12The art of disguise
Kenpō Ongyōjutsu
3 Sword fighting 13Concealment and
10 11 12 disappearing techniques
Sōjutsu
4 Fighting with spears Kakushi Bukijutsu
14The use of
Naginatajutsu concealed weapons
5 Glaive fighting
techniques Ninki
15Mastering tools
Bōjutsu
used to climb and break
6 Fighting with a staff
into houses
Kayakujutsu Ninyakujutsu
7 Using firearms, 16Herbal medicines
gunpowder and and first-aid skills
13 14 15 explosives Gunryaku Heihō
Kusarigamajutsu 17Intelligence
8 Fighting with sickle gathering, covert
and chain
techniques and
Shurikenjutsu unorthodox strategies
9 Throwing weapons
Tenmon
techniques
18Astrology,
Kyūjutsu astronomy, meteorology,
10Archery geography and
topography
16 17 18

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