Educación y compasión: un ejercicio de distancia

by William Durbin Myths and misconceptions abound in the martial arts, especially when dealing with the mysterious Japanese. system ninjutsu. There are three popular fallacies about this combat style which often prevent it from being a positive influence in the martial arts community. Some of these misconceptions have been perpetuated, surprisingly enough, by those who promote and teach the art. Such

individuals feel they benefit

more if ninjutsu is kept from proceeding out of the shadows from which it originated.

The three main misconceptions regarding ninjutsu are: 1) that ancient ninjutsu was practiced only by members of the ninja clans; 2) that ninjutsu was created and developed by followers of Mikkyo Buddhism; and 3) that ninjutsu is an art which encompasses many fighting systems. By examining each of these

fallacies closely, it is possible to debunk them and discover the truth about this centuries-old martial art.

First, ninjutsu originated hundreds of years ago in the. Buddhist temples of Japan. When

Buddhism first appeared in Japan, some people were afraid of this foreign religion. Most of these individuals followed the indigenous faith, which came to be called Shinto, and they began to persecute the believers of Buddhism. In response to this harassment, the Buddhist monks began to develop martial skills for the purpose of defending their temples and their faith.

These warrior monks, who were referred to as sohei, became noted for their martial arts skills.

Kempo was the primary art practiced at the temples, form ing the foundation upon which all of the other forms of fighting were based. The monks were particularly known for their skill with weapons such as the naginata (halberd), yari (spear) and ono (battleax). The monks only resorted to fighting when there was no other recourse. More often, they employed subtle tactics, using a specialized art based on a religious concept called ninpo, the "principle of patience." Sitting in meditation or studying the scriptures for hours developed in the monks great patience, a quality they were able to apply to their martial arts training.

One of the most highly valued abilities among the monks was "body lightening," an

alightening,"rt that came to be called karumijutsu. It was thought that by uplifting his spirit, a monk could lighten his I)ody. To develop this skill, the monks tirelessly and patiently practiced techniques of leaping and climbing.

The monks discovered that the subtle body-lightening skills, and the patience they developed, were qualities which could be easily applied to clandestine movement, and thus the sohei began to use these abilities to spy on their persecutors. The information the warrior monks gained was used to help protect their temples, their followers and themselves. Many times, their intelligence gathering alerted them to assassination plots or temple assault plans, enabling them to take appropriate countermeasures.

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Because their religious beliefs did not permit them to carry out certain forms of

espionage-including undercover work of a sexual nature-it was necessary for the Buddhist monks to befriend and teach martial arts to some of the local farmers, who were called on to act as warriors when necessary. These jisamurai (farmer warriors) took it as a great honor to be taught ninjutsu-the art of patience or stealth based on the principle of ninpo. Some jisamurai,

particularly those who were highly skilled, later became professional warriors called samurai or bushi.

Thus, it is apparent that ninjutsu was developed by Buddhist monks in Japan, primarily for reasons of religious freedom.

The art was later shared with jisamurai, and was eventually part of the combat arsenal used by professional warriors to protect their lords. Nearly every

comprehensive ryu (martial arts system) that developed before the Tokugawa era (1600-1868) included ninjutsu in its

curriculum.

Who, then, comprised the ninja? The ninja were outsiders who held no loyalty to any Buddhist temple or samurai clan. It is believed that some masterless samurai (ronin) decided to become mercenaries and sell their skills to the highest bidder. Some of these individuals established organizations designed solely for mercenary activities. Generally, jonin-the leaders of ninja organizations-were ronin, as were the chunin, or middlemen, who arranged missions and acted as go-betweens when dealing with a client.

The agents who actually performed the missions were genin, or

"lower men," who were taught only those skills considered necessary for a particular assignment. Genin were trained as scouts, trackers, assassins and/or fighters, depending on their mission. Because their training was limited to specialized skills, they were not nearly as thoroughly trained as their samurai or sohei counterparts.

While it is true that many ninja ryu evolved from those of the Mikkyo Buddhist faith, others developed from other sects. It seems that Mikkyo Buddhism was central to the Iga ninjutsu clans, while Zen Buddhism was the faith of choice of the

warriors of the Koga area of Japan. Most ninja actually had little religious training, instead maintaining a basic indigenous faith, or possibly remaining loosely tied to their jonin's religion. This vague connection allowed them the freedom to perform missions against any sohei temple or samurai clan.

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Modern-day ninjutsu practitioners still practice many of the skills their forebears did, including wall scaling (1 2), rappeling (3) and underwater breathing (4), as well as training with weapons such as blowguns (5) and shuriken (6).

Today's ninjutsu stylists often gather at special camps to conduct exercises (1) and classical

weapons drills (2).

Samurai and sohei skilled in ninjutsu and trained to perform clandestine missions always held to a code of honor that would not allow them to be unfaithful to their religion or disloyal to their lord or temple.

The ninja, however, were not

similarly bound by a code of honor.

In dealing with the final false assumption-that ninjutsu encompasses a number of fighting systems-it should be noted that when the late martial arts scholar, Seiko Fujita, categorized the bugei (martial arts) of Japan, he listed ninjutsu as simply one of the 34 combat styles he recognized. It should be pointed out, however, that Fujita was the headmaster of koga ha sato ryu, which included both ninjutsu and kempo.

Ninjutsu is a very specialized art which taught practitioners how to covertly enter and exist in all types of places. In feudal Japan, it was the art of espionage and counterespionage. It was often applied to guerrilla warfare, helping a small force gain entry to a castle or province for the purpose of raiding the occupants.

Included in the list of bugei are: bojutsu (stick art); kenjutsu (sword art); kumiuchi (grappling and striking); naginatajutsu (halberd art); ninjutsu (stealth art); sojutsu (spear art); suieijutsu (swimming art), and many more. From a historical point of view, the terms "ninja kenjutsu" or "ninja bojutsu" are meaningless.

Each ryu had its own special way of performing techniques or handling weapons. To be historically accurate, it would be proper to use the name of the ryu and then the art-the tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu kenjutsu, for example, or the tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu ninjutsu. While certain elements overlap in all martial arts, kenjutsu is kenjutsu, whether practiced by a samurai, sohei or ninja.

There is one final ninjutsu fallacy that should be addressed.

Although there are still people today who refer to themselves as ninja, the fact is, in the classical, historical sense of the word, ninja no longer exist. When the Japanese feudal system fell in 1868, and the emperor formally abolished the class system, all titles relating to it died as well. There are no more samurai, no more sohei, and no more ninja. These titles, apart from their historical significance, mean nothing anymore. There are, however, still bugeisha and

budoka-i.e., martial artists. There are karateka, kempoka, judoka, aikidoka, etc. The ka suffix means "house." Thus, an aikidoka is one who belongs to he "house of aikido."

Ninjutsu needs to take its place among the honored martial arts of the Orient. lit needs to be viewed for what it was-an art created to protect religious freedom and practiced first by monks, then by warriors. There was a time it was perverted by mercenaries who practiced the style without honor, and those who were called ninja never understood the true art as founded by the sohei and practiced by the samurai. Even the most famous ninjutsu system today,

togakure-ryu-actually evolved from the samurai tradition.

Ninjutsu is a wonderful martial art, but to be truly appreciated in an honorable light, it needs to disassociate itself from the terrorists and assassins of the ancient ninja organizations.

About the author: William Durbin is a Frankfort, Kentucky-based martial artist and freelance

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writer.

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