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Today's Ninjutsu

By: Andrew Thomas When you learn Ninjutsu, you learn how to be a warrior and learn how to take a conflict and resolve it. If these conflicts were to have taken place 900 years ago, they would be resolved on the battle. But there is more to Ninjutsu than just learning how to fight. They were also skilled at Shinobi Iri, or espionage. They also employed other methods to help them gather information in secret. These two things were also a key part of how the Ninja warriors and their clans used strategy to win the conflict. The Ninjutsu elders knew that in order to win, the battle needed to be more than just using brute force. Even though the battlefield itself has changed, the ideas behind how the Ninjutsu resolve conflict have not changed

The warrior arts of Ninjutsu aims to resolve conflict - conflicts that nine hundred years ago would of been decide on the battlefield. However, unlike other conventional forms of bujutsu of the time, the concepts of espionage (shinobi iri) and information gathering through clandestine means were also key to strategy of the ninjutsu clans. Through the ages, the former guardians of ninjutsu understood that fighting was rarely a question of meeting force-on-force. While the shape of the battlefield has changed over the past millennia, the core concept of dealing with the conflict contained within has not.

In the 21st century as in previous centuries, battlefields are not just physical or political but also emotional and sociological. While the majority of us are not serving in the military, physical battles exist in the form of our own personal security or in our personal lives or the civilian occupations we have selected. However, we are frequently exposed to conflict in many other guises such as business and financial negotiations, anti-social behaviour and personal interactions.

As is presented in the quote from Sun Tzu, understanding of one's self is vital to the successful resolution to conflict. The quote listed above by Sun Tzu indicates that if we have a knowledge and understanding of our inner selves, this will help us resolve any conflicts or battles we may encounter. When you understand your own strengths and weakness you will be able to use your own strengths and avoid showing weakness. Furthermore, utilising the principles of bo ryaku (strategy) and kyojitsu (truths and falsehoods) we are able to manipulate the opponent's concepts of our strengths and weaknesses to our advantage. As Sun Tzu states:

"When weak, appear strong and when strong, appear weak"

Like is seen in the animal kingdom, aggressors (of whatever form) appear to be driven to attack on two main stimuli - the appearance of especially weak individuals or occasionally, the presence of especially 'strong' individuals. By targeting the weakest individual (or an individual that has made themselves weak by nature of their current state), an easy victory can be achieved and the object of the aggressors desire is obtained. Alternatively (and seemingly more rare) there is the occasion where the 'strongest' appearing member of a group or situation may be targeted, presumably for the effect a victory over such an individual will have on the aggressors status with others or their own self-worth. Using skills of observation (kyoman) and awareness that are promoted in ninjutsu and our understanding of an attacker's motivations, we as practitioners should be able to prevent ourselves being targeted by not only preventing our exposure to such dangers but also appearing neither too weak nor too strong. These ideas are modern versions of concealment and invisibility (inton no jutsu).

Should avoidance fail, or be inappropriate, and a conflict is initiated by another, we as ninjutsu practioners then have several options: To appear meek, even insignificant (henso jutsu), control our own ego and thereby facilitate our escape; to posture, appear fearless and cause capitulation in our aggressor; or as a last resort, to engage the adversary, but on our own terms. These options of course are not mutually exclusive, and it is sometimes inevitable that one course of action must evolve into another in order to regain control over the adversary in the same way that one physical technique may flow into another (nagare). The ability to make these choices, I believe, places us in a unique and privileged position among others who may be restricted to only one course of action or another.

Self-protection, from the perspective of the protection of our physical 'self' in particular, like the protection of others, truly falls under the guise of Jihan no kokoro as it reflects the ability to prevent the emotional distress in those around us that may be caused by our own distress or injury. Physical self-protection is one of the most important facets of my own ninjutsu training for it is through this, that the confidence and skills to attempt other forms of conflict resolution is gained.

Once our own strengths are truly understood and we are confident of our victory in whatever battle is presented to us, we can ask ourself, what do we gain by engaging in this conflict? Truly there are some instances where we (or those around us) are in physical danger or risk being put at some other disadvantage. In these instances, we should have the skills to act and be victorious and more importantly the will and self-belief to place ourselves in this precarious position. However we should also know where we or those around us are not in real danger (or disadvantage) and not feel the need to be pulled unnecessarily into a conflict.

It is possible that the approach to conflict that we should undertake is contained within the 'nin' kanji itself. This is generally translated as the ability to endure or persevere. In my opinion this is not just telling us to 'put up with it' rather to weather the storm, keep going and be prepared to push longer and further than the opponent is prepared to go.

Ninjutsu is an art that allows you the strength to step up and engage if necessarily but also provides the strength to step back and let nature takes its course. This idea is the same as it was in the Japan that existed under the feudal system many years ago.