I’ve experienced many different martial arts in my now almost two decades of training, but I’ve never experienced the level of politics and elitism quite like I have in the Ninpo community. Unlike the politics of Jujutsu for example, Ninpo politics do not typically surround the efficacy of practitioners or systems. Rather, they often involve judgments and condemnations based on a person’s system, teacher, or rank. In this article, I’ll logically demonstrate the fallacies of such attacks, and show that politics and training do not mix.

“You call that Ninjutsu?”

Probably the single biggest issue most Ninpo practitioners take with others is with the legitimacy of their systems of Ninjutsu. Before I address this, let’s get some historical background.

Let’s rewind nine hundred years and meet a man named Daisuke Nishina. Following a defeat in battle, Daisuke retreated to the mountains of Iga and met a warrior monk named Kain Doshi. Kain introduced Daisuke to ideas and concepts that would later be called Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu.

About four hundred years later, a man who assumed the name Hoshi Kumogakure created his own style of Ninjutsu. He took advantage of the ninja myth, and employed the tactic of wearing demon masks to capitalize on his adversaries’ superstitions. His system lived on as Kumogakure Ryu Ninjutsu.

Around the same time, Goemon Sasaki was adapting his skills from Gyokko Ryu into a system of Ninjutsu. Goemon certainly proved to be a true ninja, as his system would eventually best be known for the mystery surrounding it. His now obscure school is Gyokushin Ryu Ninjutsu.

Two important observations can be made about the above stories; the first being that none of them are historically verifiable. More often than not, practitioners will attack each other based on the historical legitimacy of their respective systems. News flash for those people: this is ninja history we’re talking about. With the exception of the small amount of Koryu-verified Ninjutsu contained in various Jujutsu scrolls, virtually every practitioner in every system is on shaky ground when it comes to the history of Ninjutsu. Unless a system is an obvious fake, or someone is making outrageous or unbelievable historical claims, no one in their right mind should be attacking another system’s history. So if you are trying to gain legitimacy over someone by pulling the history card, you should probably reconsider. Without solid independent verification on your side, it is neither wise nor good etiquette to engage in history debates on classical Ninjutsu.

The second observation of note is that all of the above founders acquired their knowledge from an outside source to create their systems of Ninjutsu. Countless times now I’ve seen practitioners come under attack from others because they’ve “changed” the art, or even created their own system of Ninjutsu. The one question that begs to be answered by the people making those attacks, however, is this: What gives license to the men in the above stories to create or modify a system of Ninjutsu, and no one else? I’ve seen this question posed to such attackers, and gone completely ignored. Of course, the obvious reason for that is because there is no special license given to create or modify a system of Ninjutsu. Unlike most other martial arts, Ninjutsu is not just a collection of specific fighting techniques –it’s a philosophy to live by. It is about enduring and persevering, and because of that core philosophy, it should be expected to change to fit someone’s given environment or circumstances. I find it extremely strange when a person gets attacked for adapting an art that is based on adaptation. As long as a person is being honest about their training and the history behind their system, they have every right to create or modify as they see fit. Some might still object and say, “You’re not Japanese, don’t call it Ninjutsu!” It should be considered that the Japanese Daisuke Togakure took Chinese principles to form his system, as did Goemon Sasaki (Gyokko Ryu has Chinese roots). Honest practitioners must recognize that Ninjutsu is a system of universal principles that supersede time or nationality, and that no one holds a patent on these principles. It was the ninja of Japan that made these principles famous, and anyone sincerely upholding them may pay respect by proudly calling what they do Ninjutsu. With that said, if you are one of these people, use the name Ninjutsu carefully –understand it, and do not misrepresent it.

“Who’s your teacher?”

In an effort to weaken someone’s legitimacy, I regularly see this question pop up during various online arguments, almost always off-topic. In most cases, the answer to this one is easy: It doesn’t matter.

Take a second and think back to when you were in school. Did everyone always receive the same grades in their classes? Probably not. Was that the teacher’s fault or the student’s fault? Probably the student’s. Now change the teacher to a martial arts instructor and the classroom to a dojo and you’ll see where I’m going with this. What I’m saying is that it’s very possible for a great teacher to produce a lousy practitioner. The saying “a student is a reflection of the teacher” does not always apply. For whatever reason, whether due to a lack of natural talent or just general laziness, some students just don’t always ‘get it.’ The inverse can be true as well; lousy teachers can sometimes produce good practitioners. In that case, maybe the student was more diligent and worked harder to take ownership of his or her training. Whatever the case may be, any outcome is possible, so gauging an individual’s knowledge or skill based on who their teacher was is ultimately pointless. Granted, having a good teacher is very helpful and the chances of him or her producing good practitioners are higher, but in the end it comes down to how hard each individual practitioner works. Remember, not everyone you graduated high school with went on to work for NASA, nor did everyone end up working fast food –but you did have the same teachers.

Let’s take a different approach. Here’s a trivia question: Who was Randy Couture’s teacher? Exactly. Suppose for a minute that Randy Couture had no teachers; that he was totally and completely one-hundred percent self-trained. Would that affect how you hold his opinions on unarmed training? It certainly wouldn’t affect mine, and it shouldn’t affect yours either. Randy’s skill and abilities speak for him, as every martial artist’s should. Whether his teacher was a Koryu-recognized Soke, a videotape, or the kid who mows his lawn, it shouldn’t and doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s a force to be reckoned with in unarmed combat, and that he’s an incredible resource of knowledge. To deny that would be absurd. A good Ninjutsu practitioner would be open to absorbing that knowledge, regardless of where it came from. If something works, then it is valid. Period.

“What’s your rank?”

This is another cheap ploy often used to weaken a person’s legitimacy. Like the previous question, this one is often just as irrelevant.

In today’s day and age, numerous Ninjutsu-based systems and organizations exist, each with their own curriculum, rank structure, and standards. They give out rank based on skill, time in grade, money spent, heart or dedication, service to the organization, time spent teaching, and the list goes on. If you are neither a part of nor have experience in another organization, you should not judge someone in that organization based on their rank. If you do, you are doing so in ignorance, as you probably don’t have a good idea of what that rank represents. An example of this was the aftermath that followed the Human Weapon episode that featured Ninjutsu. The prevailing attitude in the Ninjutsu community was that the two very high-ranking Budo Taijutsu practitioners fared rather poorly against the show’s hosts. While in all actuality they did fare poorly, the general consensus in their own organization was that they did extremely well. So how does one explain the huge difference of opinion? Their teacher, Dr. Hatsumi, primarily awards rank based on heart and dedication, not skill and ability. That is why it is unfair to harshly judge those practitioners based on their ranks. They are accurate representations of their respective rank levels in their organization, and should not be compared to someone of similar ranking in any other organization.

Let’s use another example with Randy Couture. Here’s some more trivia: What is his rank? Exactly. Most people don’t know, and even more people don’t care. That’s because he’s Randy Couture, and his skill speaks louder than any belt. Whatever his rank is (I actually don’t know that he has any), he doesn’t need to announce it constantly, use it for leverage in arguments, or throw it around to be taken more seriously. What about Bruce Lee, Chuck Liddell, or Muhammad Ali? What are their ranks? It’s irrelevant, because they all have proven skills, and at the end of the day skill is what matters. I’ve seen 10th Kyu practitioners I wouldn’t want to tangle with, and 15th Dan practitioners that couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Rank can sometimes be a good indicator of technical knowledge, but it is certainly not a reliable indicator of applied knowledge. If there is no ranking standard at all, then nothing can be derived from it. Also, don’t fail to consider that a practitioner may have experience in other arts, and is only new to Ninjutsu –not martial arts as a whole. The moral here is to be very careful of judging practitioners based on their rank, especially those in other organizations. It may not represent what you think it does.

Conclusion

Imagine you are watching TV, and the president is addressing a group of reporters in a press conference. A reporter raises his hand and asks a legitimate question about the president’s approach in dealing with another country. The president arrogantly responds, “What do you know about foreign policy?” Ignoring the reporter’s question, he proceeds to change the subject.

That would be some rude and cowardly behavior, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, that scenario plays out in principle every day in the Ninpo community. In this article, we’ve analyzed three of the most common political ploys used between Ninpo practitioners in attempts to gain legitimacy over one another. I think honest readers and logical minds will recognize that they are ultimately hollow issues, and only suitable for playing politics. There exists a horrible and rather disturbing habit among Ninpo practitioners to cut each other down for dominance by using uneducated and illogical arguments, and it must stop. Legitimate questions need answers, and valid points need to be recognized. I think it’s time for everyone in the Ninpo community to step up and start answering the tough questions, and to lose the egos in the process. At some point the ego crept back into the art, and a casual read across any Ninjutsu internet forum will make that clear. If you are a practitioner of Ninjutsu, then there are some things you simply must come to terms with if you wish to remain honest. You need to accept that your Ninjutsu is not the only Ninjutsu out there, that a talented teacher doesn’t always produce a talented student, and that rank does not equal skill. Keep in mind that if someone is legitimate, it is usually self-evident. There’s no need to fall into the political trap. Ninjutsu was designed to be a living art, and the only way to keep it alive is to ask the tough questions, answer them honestly, and adapt accordingly. To sidestep these questions because of political motivation kills the art and its legitimacy in the modern world. Practice the art, not politics.