Thank you for watching everyone. Please support me by getting a copy of my new book, the Book of Bushido www.amazon.com/Book-Bushido-Complete-Samurai-Chivalry/dp/1786786052/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655209486&sr=8-1
I'm still in denial, but hopefully in a world that embraces a lot of the accomplishments and lessons learnt from the past we might enjoy the companionship that is in a shared world when a bird lands on your shoulder and both you and the bird agree, that 1 I might not want you to land on my shoulder and 2 the bird might not want to land on my shoulder, mutual respect is achieved. And have you seen how big the Oman birds eyes are? Putting a bird in a cage might give you anomaly like when one escapes and rips out the letter from the computer keyboard specificaly J a i l, (this is probably not mutual respect), humans so advanced in this world yet blind by our arrogance, Tho I would hate to see a world where your best friend butterfly needs documents and money to travel over waters and sustain them selves with food. Yin and Yang.
Of course, bcoz people can't handle the truth. It would be like telling an average american joe that the U.S of A that they believe in so passionately have never existed.
I remember when I was in my early 20s I was reading Eiji Yoshikawa's "Musashi", in one of the chapters, Musashi was being persecuted by some bandits who were searching for vengeance against him, and Otsu was in danger of being caught by them when she crossed paths with this guy who was "what people call a 'shinobi'". I thought great! A ninja fight in the middle of a samurai novel! How cool is that? And I was completely puzzled when this guy went and faced these bandits and did what ninjas do best: he talked to them, he deceived them, he made them confused and completely lose track of their prey and single-handedly saved Otsu without so much as breaking a sweat. I was left there scratching my head and only much later realized that was an amazing bit inside the whole story. A masterful demonstration of Sun Tzu's principle of winning the battle without fighting.
I've been following Anthony Cummin's (AC's) work for a few years now and own several of his books. I also lived in Japan for a few years (Okinawa to be exact) and studied both Okinawan Karate and Bujinkan Taijutsu. Now after 30 years I still train in these arts and personally know and train with Stephen K Hayes in Dayton OH to this day. I see no reason to stop training in the martial arts and/or see any contention with AC's work. In fact, I embrace it and add the historical Ninjutsu elements to my studies to enrich my overall journey. I find a common ground of both worlds and it works wonderfully. I believe Stephen Hayes to be a brilliant martial artist, mentor and pioneer to those who have benefited the many tangible and intangible benefits of his art. And from AC's work I've gained a wealth of information on the original Shinobi Samurais that again - makes things all the more worth while. To Anthony I say this: Bravo - great work, passion and dedication. You may feel as if things aren't exactly going a specific route, but in all ways the Shinobi path - perseverance will eventually find its place in history and many more hybrids like myself stand to benefit greatly from it. Thank you and God Speed.
It seems like your a supporter of both the Bujinkan and Antony's work. I was thinking, just how do you reconcile what Antony says about ninjutsu not being a martial arts and bujinkan being fake compared to what Bujinkan Ninjutsu teaches, i.e. a ninja specific martial arts form?
If only Ninjutsu could be learned and mastered by merely scrutinizing ancient scrolls (supposedly), there would have existed, tons of Ninjutsu experts by now. As in any other, traditional martial arts, you don't learn by simply reading, skimming, translating or researching ancient texts. You learn and appreciate the system of martial arts by actually immersing yourself in it. And, as odd as this may sound, Ninjutsu practitioners train not to become Ninjas per se. They learn because they are sincerely interested in the martial knowledge that is collectively referred to as Ninjutsu. Finally, Hatsumi Sensei himself had stated years ago: "Of course, there are people who have come to us, wanting to learn our art of Ninjutsu. Many have done so over the years. But, wanting to learn doesn't mean that they will get what they're seeking after. There are people with idle curiosities whose only motivations to learn are self-serving. We don't exist to pander to these people. Most often than not, when they couldn't get what they came for, they would leave us alone soon after." Conclusion: If you think you could easily have the learned Senseis all figured out and analyzed, perhaps you might want to reconsider your basic assumptions and underlying thought processes.
The moment Kim Ashida appeared, crying cause Hayes stole his part of the cake "and he was better"... and the idea of "I buy a lineage from a family in japan to make my own bussiness" tore apart mi idea of the benevolence about translating and sharing. As I saw, this is just another: I'm more ninja than you.
So having been a part of that world since the Hayes years, my thoughts on this all are this: Has anyone stopped to think about why Hatsumi drifted away from the Kihon and Kata to “play”? The answer is simply this: Anyone in the world was willing to give him all of their money just to be in his presence for a photo. It didn’t matter what he taught… it didn’t matter if you were good enough for your mega-dan. If you bought into it and paid, that was that. Classic kyojitsu tenkan, if you ask me. True ninjutsu. He did what he had to do to survive.
I am here not because I am a martial artist, but because I am reading the Book of Ninja and I am created a game world Dungeons & Dragons. All I have found from the historic truth here is that is actually makes the Ninja better and more interesting. As the world I am creating is a fantasy world, I could totally just used the modern ninja, but the intrigue created from the historic ninja has so many more roleplaying opportunities. Keep up the great work!
Fantastic doc Antony! Here in Brazil, as a military historian, I also make videos debunking those historical myths. And by the way, one of my most succesfull videos is about 5 Myths of the Ninja. And to make it, I bought all your 3 books about the ninja and ninjutsu, and I also received plenty of hate from students and teachers: This Bujinkan is famous around here as well. Anyway, lets keep on fighting for the truth. Just wanna tell you how essential your work is.
Is this an actual documentary or a commercial FOR a documentary? It just seems like there's a ton of distracting product placement but not much actual content.
Oh it's a documentary. And it has substance to it. He's describing what he's doing, some misconceptions about the ninja, where it came from, etc Is this an all encompassing documentary? No it is not. He could make another documentary about other subjects. Like the Samurai and Ninja, weapons, tactics, mindset, principles. But that's what his books are about.
I remember your discussion about the Iga ninja museum. It's basically the equivalent of some wild west dude ranches or romanticised cowboy shows and museums.
I trained under a student of Robert Bussey ( RBWI ) and later Bujinkan. RBWI was Bujinkan with the punches and kicks swapped out for karate style punches and kicks with pressure testing of technique and more aggressive sparring. It was my favorite out of everything. It basically ended when Pat Smith decimated his student on UFC II, which was the Gracie plan.
@@AntonyCummins they was never called ninja they was called shinobi, shinobi was samurai that didn't do ninjitsu, the idea of ninja was made up to sell to people that wanted to believe
@@joeyfatone6494 or you can do your own research, there's UA-cam channels that would explain it better than me, just type in "real ninja" or "real history of the ninja" the ninja was people that lived in the forests that practiced guerrilla warfare and they didn't throw ninja stars and assassinate on covered missions, that's just made up for the movies because it made money, they just lived differently than the samurai and was called shinobi at one point, ninjitsu wasn't even practiced in the time of the samurai, they was just a nuisance and was easily defeated with a army of samurai that hunted them down, did you watch Netflix samurai: battles of Japan, the idea of "the ninja" is wishful thinking.
This is a great documentary that you guys put together. As stated in the film, it has been a long road, but to truly get everything historically correct takes time. Keep soldiering onward Antony! It takes someone with your enthusiasm and dedication to correct the historical inaccuracies that have been created by modern culture, and I’m sure I don’t stand alone in saying, “We are with you till the end my friend!” Kind regards, -M Horn
Just read your book (Bansenshukai). I've done Karate for many years and had been fascinated with the pop culture version of the Ninja for many years as well. All I want want to say is, thank you so much for the book. You burst my fantasy bubble but you also got me interested in the real life of the Ninjas which I think is far more interesting than the fantasy version. Would love to read more of your work on warrior societies and spies of different cultures as well. Respect and love from India. 🙏
I'm digging the cuts of Anthony doing (presumably) research using the books the he himself wrote. That's just too awesome. I'm not happy about being lied to by Nintendo and the people behind Ninja Gaiden. Someone is going to be getting a strongly worded letter. Thanks for the video, brother.
I am slowly but surely collecting a copy of each of your books! Me and my fiance are so excited to study from you and to teach our son the proper ways of shinobi-no-jutsu once he is ready after he is born in March!!! Thank you for everything you and your team does Mr. Antony!!! God bless you all!!! 💙
Hatsumi was poor until the mid eighties. Feeling the pangs of old age he got greedy to have a retirement. The costly video tapes were part of that. The name went from ninjutsu to ninpo taijutsu to budo taijutsu because he had to know the truth would come out. Great work.
Strange that Ashida Kim talks about Stephen Hayes the way he does. When one then shall look at what it is that he can do that he says Stephen Hayes cannot, it is tricks taken from circus. And I would say that it is much better presented and performed in circus.
Oh no. Leave it in. Because it’s proof that this guy has to reach that far to attack Hayes. Sorry I’ve purchased Cummins books at this point. Ashida Kim. Really?
Phil Blevins >>> The martial tides must certainly have changed in an unexpected and unforeseen direction since Ashida Kim seems to get a renaissance. Is the future of martial arts an artform called Circusjutsu? If it is so then we must all cry...
I'm about half way through this documentary and a sudden thought hit me... All this time, we in the West have been fascinated by the martial arts that the Shinobi and by extension the Samurai used but when you really look at these figures, they were soldiers. Sure they had a system of hand to hand combat, swordsmanship and other weapons expertise (to a point) but their lives were simply that of a soldier, the Shinobi a little more specialized but a soldier nonetheless. Imagine 300 years in our future and we found some lost documents explaining just the rifle marksmanship part of the American Army training or British Army training and the future people assumed that it's some mystical information on how soldiers in the 20-21st centuries could magically kill anything within a kilometer with a rifle but the actual reality is that being a soldier encompassed literally everything: how to make two man shelters and fighting positions, use of grenades, first aid and self care in the field, setting up logistics in the field etc, etc.... I'm starting to think that what WE the general public focused on about Ninja activities was such a small part of their lives, training and experience. In the American Army hand to hand combat is such a small part of what you learn and sometimes you go over refresher classes, but the total experience of an army soldier is so much more than just that one little part of training.
Ashida Kim is an influential person heavily involved in the modern western Ninja trend. He's an expert on that era, as he lived it. Nobody here's claiming he's really a ninja expert.
Ashida Kim is there because they contacted nearly everyone and he was one of the few who agreed to participate. He is a joke, but he was willing to respond to the content of the video while many bigger names would not say anything. Ashida Kim may be crazy, but he was braver and believed more in himself than alot of ther people with better reputations.
I have a few of your books and appreciate the work you do. I think your film was very well done. I do not always agree with all of your conclusions but your position is always exceptionally well presented, researched, and logical. I think you do a great service to the martial arts community interested in the Ninja and their history. I look forward to your content in 2020. Thank you Antony, keep up the brutal honesty, it sometimes is difficult to see convention challenged but its necessary for growth in the future.
This is why I love the concept of ninja even more than I used to from pop culture misrepresentation. The idea of a commando spy, almost James Bond-like, infiltrating an opposing operation to gather intel in crazy ways during medieval Japan seems SO BLOODY COOL. This is one of my favourite areas of history and I have wanted to travel to Japan for so long to discover some historical sites and places of samurai and ninja tradition, but this stupid Covid has ruined it for so many. Thank you again Anthony for your incredible work in illustrating the true and awesome identity of the shinobi, we historians really do appreciate it. rin hyo to sha kai jin retzo zai zen AUN!
No...in japanese mediaval history,ninjas are hired spies to gather information and datas of enemies...well in a way,theyre like trained S-FORCES... to do the job...
So cool Anthony! I cherrish the days of the original HNRT facebook group, was a really good time there while it lasted and I'm very glad to see where this has taken you and all. Great video on the progress and evolution throughout the years. Good stuff and as always very respectful! Nice.
Yup. I read all of Stephen K Hayes' books. Watched Kage no Gundan obsessively. Lived in Japan. And after all that, became a relaxation therapist. Because sooner or later, it all comes back to what's in your head, not in your hand.
Magnificent material Antony!! You learn something new everyday. Just like some people didn't know that Hattori Hanzo was a ninja too and in charge of other ninjas for the Shogun home.
@@AntonyCummins mr cummins you are a saint giving us the real facts it is kinda heart breaking though that there is misinformation and that the ninja werent quite what we thought they where but history is awsome and amazing it would be great if there indeed where scrolls that do go into detail about techniques who knows hopefully we will get one ideally more like you said though theres many different schools there all different most certainly but again it would be cool
@@blakewangler230 Hello Blake. Just want to give you a heads up that Antony doesn't receive notifications for replies to his replies. He receives notifications for new comments.
Hello Antony I like this mini-documentary; in my case, in 2011 I come back to training in Bujinkan but in the 2012 I know part of your research, and many times my sensei in this art say "here not train ninjutsu any more". Then I began to wonder why I train something that does not teach what I wanted to learn, your research open the way for search other paths...today I train many japanese martial arts, some koryu, some modern, and shinobi no jutsu, and now I know what each thing is. The only bad thing about all this is that: "people are not really interested in shinobi no jutsu"---
Shaolin originated through India. when one of the Indian Monk travelled to China and stayed in a Village to cure a Pandemic incurable desease. He was instructor of the oldest martial arts or you can say mother of all martial arts Kaleri Payut and established the 1st shaolin temple in china. His name is bodhidharma alos know as Damu in China. Shaolin or kungfu was developed and originated from Kaleri payut.
A hahaha!! I’m lucky 100! By the way, Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Love your show, keep up the good work. The old scrolls (Funabashi sensei and Natori sensei) in particular. Domo arigato gozaimasu.
I am so glad to see the documentary has gotten attention and hope more people will be directed to it! Thank you Antony for telling us more truth about our favorite shadowy figures than everyone one who claims to be a master.
Thanks Antony for giving us the real historical background on Ninja. I know a lot of people got butt-hurt finding out the truth but I think it's actually a good thing. I still like the To shin-do and Akban styles and I would love to train with them, it doesn't mean I think their fighting style doesn't work, it just means I know they're a hybrid martial art and not an ancient fighting art from the feudal Japan era.
This is a very well presented documentary. I am one who have been certified by Professor Ronald Duncan. He honored me and my family of ninjutsu practitioners in 1988 when he granted me 3rd level black belt under the Koga Ryu family. I too am a writer and historian, particularly of the African American contributions to martial arts. I also have a strong interest in the historical facts of both Ninja and Samurai. I actually watched your entire documentary which says a lot. Keep up the good work.
Very interesting documentary, I had the pleasure to train in several ninjitsu societies, and threw them met my japanese ju jitsu instructor that I have been a student of for nearly 30 years, thankyou for sharing and inspiring everyone to seek the truth in every path they follow
great documentary. I wonder if The PinkMan has watched.Also Antony, do you have a similar interest in more modern systems like Aikikai Aikido and O-Sensei?
In another 10 years, kids will watch this video reposted to whatever new video streaming platform takes over from UA-cam, and ask their friends "what's a skype?"
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. And thank you to all your colleagues that were instrumental in bringing these facts to the light of the 20th century.
Thank you so much for sharing your passion AND your work on the history of the Shinobis AND bring this fresh AND sober perspective, it's refreshing and un my particular case, even More interesting! Can't way to get ay least one of your books
Very good presentation sir. Felt like there was too much negative emphasis regarding Stephen Hays, who would have been a great person to have interviewed. I am not surprised that many others refused to participate, which is kind of sad. I would loved to have heard from Hays, Van Donk, Don Roley, Christa Jacobson, and some others to share their points of view. You did your best to open it up to them, so it is what it is. Again, good presentation. We have not always agreed on everything, but I do respect you and what you are doing.
I'm Bujunkan but I support and admire Antony Cummins' work because it's serious, well researched. The search for truth is the most important thing. But I'm not sure if he has the martial ability and knowledge to properly "resuscitate" a samurai school, what he's doing, is like trying to learn how to swim by reading a book, when for that purpose, you need a personal trainer and time and effort under his guidance to learn swimming well.
First I'd heard of this - so I went and had a look, there is no chance he has the martial arts knowledge, in the taijutsu sense, not denying he might know a lot of history..
It is absolutely 100% not well researched. I love the ego of this guy who spent a couple of years doing Bunjinkan and spent a little time in Japan but is proclaiming himself an expert. I could only get through watching a small portion of this before I began to gag by how self important and self centered this guy is. He claims he is the first guy researching historical ninjutsu, right in the beginning of this "documentary" that is really a tool to sell himself and make money like all of the books he publishes that are utter nonsense for the gullible. There are literally hundreds of real actual scholars-- not a make believe historian like this Antony-- that have written about ninjutsu history. Think about the ego of this guy? Self proclaimed "Man who killed the ninja". I mean, can you get more Ego than that? he also bought a scroll to claim he is the a soke of a Japanese MA lineage so he could sell people on his martial arts, but the bottom line is, he couldn't LARP his way out of a wet paper bag and he is making money off of wannabe ninjers that will believe his complete nonsense. Get a set of critical looking glasses-- there is no more of a fake than this guy. No real research, and loads of motive to sell you on his ideas. Ugh, this stuff makes me sick.
It’s not that he read books. It’s that he and his Japanese co-author TRANSLATED and published in English works that had never been completely translated before. That in and of itself is worth its weight in gold.
I've always heard that it's a lifestyle, and with this definitions becomes like breathing. Waking up, and living this element in action, not thinking, but doing without thought
The funny thing is that all these revelations i knew them from 1992. In Greece. Our karate sensei was also occuping with Ninjutsu (Ninpo Taizutsu was called back then and Hatsumi was head of the organization and our sensei had a friend that had the chance to get deep into this Hatsumi teachings and that man was named Kostas Dervenis and well he pretty much found out the very same things you are describing and informed our sensei of karate (kiokushin) and so i learned about it in some unofficial backstage discussion in my sensei's office. In the little town of Ioannina Greece back at 1992. That in fact there is no Takamatsu and the whole thing was invented by Hatsumi. So that made Kostas Dervenis actually take distance from all that.
But i am not saying all these to claim anything. For me was not so important. Just another knowledge of mine etc. That doesn't replace the enormous work you guys did on the subject. I just had the knowledge of these facts from back then. That's all. And i can confirm that what you saying is true. I just learnt it from other sources. And the fact that ninjas were like undercover commandos and that they were also samurai's yeah i knew it from back then. Seems that the vast majority had no idea so it is good you guys clarified it out also for the masses.
@@murilohumbertocmcb Hello Humberto. Antony doesn't receive notifications for replies to his replies so if you would like to ensure he gets your follow up statement write it in a new comment either here or on his newest videos to increase the chances of getting a reply from him.
Brilliant documentary Antony and team you saved me a lot of money and help me clarify what I want from the physical and mental side of martial arts , which is just truth. Not MMA sport or mythical
Hey, Antony, big fan! I have a question that I’m having a surprisingly hard time getting an answer to. With regards to unarmed fighting techniques prior to the 20th century that we might genuinely call Samurai or ninja, I’ve only heard the term jujitsu applied in a very general sense. But I cannot find anybody who trains in what traditional jujitsu might have looked like in the Sengoku period, Edo period, or even Meiji restoration era. Are there any good sources you would recommend for looking into this? I would really like to know what those arts looked like. I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t Straight judo or BJJ.
Thank you for this, Anthony. I really liked how you repeatedly emphasized Ninjutsu's non-combat skills, because those are the only parts that have ever been of any use to me. Why? Because as an avid lifelong elk and deer hunter here in Montana, I have no use for the combat aspects: punching and kicking, and even the swordplay and shuriken attacks. Imagine trying to bring down a 300 to 650 pound animal that can (and will) run 40mph that way! It would be more likely that I would be the one killed. No: the ability to remain undetected by a large animal that not only has 2 times the vision you do, 4 times the hearing, and 50 times the olfactory senses is what matters. The only weapons that work on them are high-powered rifles, compound bows, and compound crossbows; and even then it's exceedingly difficult to consistently get within 100 yards of such an amazingly powerful animal. That's why I focus only on the stealth, stillness, patience, woodcraft, and especially the concentration and perception-enhancing aspects of the Art, which your books have greatly helped with. Keep up the good work!
24:08 "It's not some person who just stands there and does these fighting moves, it's someone who gets a job done in amazing ways". Anyone who played Tenchu already knows this
The real ninjutsu is like a real illusionist knowledge it's really impressive when you see it, but it's a little bit disappointing when you learn how is done (or isn't it?). imo that does not make it less fascinating. I really would like to know how the ancient ninjas did their job.
i just finished your book "Shinobi Soldiers' and have only become familiar with who you are for a couple months now.Ive always felt like anyone who truly researched Ninjutsu in the early years should have already came to the conclusions this documentary is trying to get across.Ronald Duncan,Stephen Hayes,Robert Bussey,Yoshiaki Hatsumi,Harunaka Hoshino,Jack Hoban,Bo Munthe and the list goes on and on and on.Common sense along with a true passion for the truth should show you that when theres money to be made everything is going to be watered down.If not immediately,eventually.As someone whos devoted about 35 years to the ninja arts i have personally taken information from everyone involved in making a buck or two{including yourself) with a grain of salt ,Ashida Kim hating on losing the fortune Hayes beat him to,Bussey and his Christian Values, Yoshiaki Hatsumi sporting purple hair.People in the US made a joke of ninjutsu since the day it arrived and its something that will continue long after im gone.Theres an arrogance to the subject that triggers a defensive approach from anyone whos spent time wanting to understand it and when you combine that with some ego or a point to prove it makes EVERYONE involved who try to justify themselves look quite ridiculous.I mean you already have people saying youre a fraud so really,its pointless.
To be fair to Bussey, he always acknowledged that what he was teaching was an American modification--it was in fact an early version of a mixed martial art on the hand-to-hand side--and he eventually strayed away from the "ninjutsu" label altogether.
So I just purchased your book off from Amazon how to be a modern Samurai and found your channel from there I'm just looking for a Higher Living I'm a 46 year-old recovering alcoholic and addict sober 6 years just interested in new things can't wait to dig into the book
Well, maybe Bujinkan and Genbukan and all the rest ARE actually teaching ninjutsu (the invisible art of survival), they give you nothing and you pay them hefty sums for it. The art is invisible (it does not exist). And the teacher gets to survive (cause you paid him).
My is Tim Anderson. Mentioned Mr. Yamashita's Ninpo Book a Style: Nanban-Ryu Ninjutsu. Nanban Satto-Ryu is a Ninjutsu Fighting Style passed down from Hasshimotto Ipussai to Fujita Seiko. Fujita Seiko passed the Satsu-Ryu Ninja Scrolls down to Kenwa Mabuni and Imanzo Iwatta. The Satsu-Ryu is based of the 5 Elements of NInja Fighting from the Gorinto. Shitō-ryū is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shitō-ryū has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryū and Shotokan (松涛館); on the other hand, Shitō-ryū also has the circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, and hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te styles such as Uechi-ryū and Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流). Shitō-ryū is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shitō-ryū formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni, and known as Uke no go gensoku (受けの五原則), Uke no go genri (受けの五原理), or Uke no go ho (受けの五法):[8] 落花 (rakka, "falling petals"). The art of blocking with such force and precision as to completely destroy the opponent's attacking motion. Examples of rakka are the most well-known blocks, such as gedan-barai (下段払い) or soto-uke (外受け). 流水 (ryūsui, "running water"). The art of flowing around the attacker's motion, and through it, soft blocking. Examples are nagashi-uke (流し受け) and osae-uke (押さえ受け). 屈伸 (kusshin, "elasticity"). This is the art of bouncing back, storing energy while recoiling from the opponent's attack, changing or lowering stance only to immediately unwind and counterattack. Classic examples are stance transitions zenkutsu (前屈立ち) to kōkutsu (後屈立ち) and moto-dachi (基立ち) to nekoashi-dachi (猫足立ち). 転位 (ten'i, "transposition"). Ten'i is the utilization of all eight directions of movement, most importantly stepping away from the line of attack. 反撃 (hangeki, "counterattack"). A hangeki defense is an attack which at the same time deflects the opponent's attack before it can reach the defender. Examples of this are various kinds of tsuki-uke (突き受け), including yama-tsuki (山突き). When, practing this Nanban Satto-Ryu the Five Element Ninja Fighting Stlye you practice Fighting in with Silent foot steps on Rice Paper. The 5 Elelments are practiced on your 5 Toes. This is a very small section of Shito-Ryu that has a Ninja Fighting System based off of the Five Elements and there are Scrolls owned by, Genzo Iwatta and all of the Scrolls passed from Fujita Seiko to the Shito Masters are known as the Koka Flow. I have an Ancient Document that talks about how the Gorinto Five Elements were used in the NInja way for as well as Women to Seduce Men by wearing Five Element of Make up and the Seasons. As well in Fujita Seikos Tora No Maki it makes the Requriment of the Godai No Heiho use of the 5 Elements can be used in Fighting and in Stealth. I also, previously own if not the last Copy of the Book Nanban Satto-Ryu Jujtsu by, Ippusai Hashimoto. The Book Mentions he was a Spy and an Assassin and was a Soldier during the Boshin War and was captured during the War and sent to Prison wear he exscaped and became a hired Assassin and Killed an attacker with a Shuto a Sword Hand. I have a rare Magazine Article that was Published in 2013 where the Ninja Scrolls known as the Koka Flow were passed down to the present day to Genzo Iwatta and there are photos of them and Fujita Seiko. I started Shito-Ryu in 1984. I have studied Ninjutsu extensively and focus my training arounf the 5 Elements of Ninjutsu and I also, train in the Toyama Batto-Jutsu that was that with Nanban Killing Southern Barbarian Style was taught to the Nakano Shadow Warriors. In 1936 Mr. Fujita founded the Kobudo Research Society. Okinawan Kobudo in Okinawa did not practice the skill of using twho farm toools as weapons only one. Such as one Jitte or One Sai not Two. Mr, Seiko changed that according to Koga-Ryu Weapons and tools were used by Two Hands. So, the Manji Sai was also, from the Manji Symbol of a Koga Samurai Caln known as the Manji Clan. Mr. Seiko gave a Menkyo Kaiden to Motokatsu Inoue. There were no 2 Handed Weapons Kata in Okinawa so, with the Koga influence of using two weapons instead of one were implementented by Inoue,Sensei and he learned of Shotokan from Gichin Funakoshi and added Two Handed Weapons Kata from Shotokan-Ryu. I have a Rare Book from Japan called Koga-Ryu Combat Ninjutsu. In the Book it speaks of that there were Ninja Clans that did indeed have a their own Ninja Fighting Styles. It goes on to say because, of the influx of Guns coming in from Spain this would hurt many Ninja Clan Families that had their own Ninja Fighting Hand to Hand Combat Systems. Infact, it mentions the names of a few of those Ninja Clans who practiced Red Hands in the Ancient Shrine Temples of Japan Secretly.
Great Video!!! i trained in the Bujinkan for 12 years along with many other arts, but have moved on to other pursuits. i find your homestead lifestyle very interesting and would be interested in seeing how that all ties into how you perceive life. I assume much of it comes from your research into the historical ninja clans.. there's a lot going on there, that i don't think the average person would pick up on. 😉 those are my goals now as i work to improve my off-grid backwoods homestead and become as self-sufficient as possible. best wishes.
Dude.....that house. Wow, that is an incredible place you've got there it looks very cozy and intricate with the wood in the walls i have never seen a house like that before.
I totally understand where your coming from when your a person that teaches or explain the true traditional martial arts but the majority of human society fail to understand and appreciate the spiritual nuggets of old world martial arts that one's self is trying to share with humanity in which humanity usually only wants to learn martial arts for fighting purposes.
So Jason Bourne and others who were operatives in projects TREADSTONE, BLACK BRIAR, and OUTCOME in the Bourne Novels & Films are much, much closer to historical Ninjas than what's in most "Ninja Films"........ Is it weird that Im actually more interested in them now?
Just came across this, its been years since i have studied this, actually came across some of my notes in storage a few weeks ago. You made it more interesting for me.
I am not ready to believe that Hayes teacher and his teacher just made up their ninjitsu lineage. You need to make the case for that if you want people to buy it. Someone can just as easily say that you are only making these claims to sell your books.
In the USA less then 0.5% of it's citizens join the military and less then 1% of these people join and pass to become special operations. Special operations follows this similar path as the ninja. It's shrouded in mystery, un-realistically portrayed in the media, Hollywood makes them out to be one man killing machines, countless fictitious books written and much more. Yet with all these terrible miss representation the military still turns out special operations soldier every year. They are also able to do this in a realistic time frame 6-12 months. The same time frame the department of Homeland security, CIA, NSA, FBI and many other soup agencies turn out new federal agents. These federal agencies have about the same pass fail rate as the special operations has in dropout rates roughly 60%. Each one of these agencies along with the military special operations groups have similar training tho they each have their own areas of expertise and serve different functions. For instance both the special operations and federal agents learn weapons and tactics. Both have a level of physical fitness and intelligence. However federal agents fall under more of the law enforcement whereas special operations serve in a military for war. Something most people don't know is that most of these special operations groups and teams support and work hand in hand with federal law enforcement agencies. And most of these federal agencies have their own special operations communities embedded within the agency. On top of this most special operations guys make up a huge part of these special operations groups within these agencies. For instance DHS (department of Homeland security) has border patrol but within border patrol there is a special operations group called BORTAC. Many of my friends from special operations have gone on to make very successful UA-cam channels, training courses, and even have actual schools throughout the country. Teaching and training people from all walks of life. So let me get back to the reason for the post. Why is the "ninja" failing? And why is it failing if it offers the same type of training? Here is a few examples of the similar training found in both special operations and the ninja. covert operations clandestine operations Counter-proliferation Psychological warfare Unconventional warfare Recognizance Intelligence gathering Survival Weapons and tactics asymmetrical Warfare camouflage and stealth Diet and exercise espionage explosives medicine first aid and combat life saving including CPR and trauma care hostage retrieval and rescue Diplomacy And many many more. The answer is simple, its the individual that is setting forth the training program. No one joins the special operations community then questions it's truthfulness or it's effectiveness. Every special operations school has it's system and standards laid out. And each of these special operations schools have qualified and experienced instructors. Not one of these schools are taught or organized by a historical researcher. Certainly not by some guy that post videos on UA-cam and writes books having spent zero time in any military or federa service. What makes a school or class stand the test of time is it's legitimacy. legitimacy through it's teachers, coaches, trainers along with the legitimacy of the subject. Qualifications are everything when running a school or class. Any real college has to be accredited. Now having spent 15 years in the military in combat arms along with my time with special operations and the fact that I'm 6 months away from being a federal agent I have offered Antony for free to bring in not only myself but others from the special operations community in order to help legitimize and build a true curriculum and training outline. To this day (6 years later) Antony hasn't even considered this option or opportunity. He hasn't even acknowledge the offer. Anyone that is willing to turn down free help from experts in the field with real world knowledge and experience is either a complete fraud with hidden agendas ie control, power, or money or he is a complete fool. And since to this day he has yet taken up the offer nor has he even tried to contact me should outline to you just what he is truly after and what he truly is a about.
I have 2 words for anyone who does not believe in The Ninja, Ashida Kim! The man the legend! He catches virtual bullets in his teeth, levitates over a little girl's lost hula-hoop, prowls around using stealth mode in his momma's backyard, and even took on the famous Disability NinJa Sensei Broussard with REAL laser swords. So dont ever tell me Ninjas are not real!
I have looked into ninja from channels such as Shadiversity, Metatron, and Gaijin Goombah. They tend to be very honest, though Gaijin Goombah does talk about the fictional elements of it as well. I like the idea that ninja's are "mythological" shinobi and mercenary ronin, technically a "slang word" idea of the combination of shinobi and ronin. I learned that the word "ninja" simply means "spy," thus no different form the US CIA, not assassins or warriors. This still interests me, because there's elements of intelligence and survivalist specialization there than is different from other ancient warriors. Spies always existed in different cultures, but while it's because of the old fandom that anchored me, there's a lot of history about how people of ancient times participated in such occupations.
I recently came by your book The True Path of the Ninja and was really happy to have found it. I've always wanted to know this stuff, hence my original interest in Bujinkan, like yourself. I think it would be really cool to try to resurrect ninjutsu with all we know today - I imagine it would be a complex system that would include both the ancient japanese martial arts and a mixture of today best MA and self defense systems with all the spy and strategy teachings - I think today ninja school would include stuff like hacking, social engineering, acting, learning languages (well I guess all that is spy stuff) So yeah, I thin kit would be really cool to try and clear up the name and the image of ninja. Don't think all of the bujinkan is useless in this regarad - after all the ninja martial arts were samurai martial arts pretty much. But I guess it would be a bit too dangerous and would be outlawed :D But perhaps some milder version... that would be more self defense and self preservation oriented (MMA meets Bear Grylls and some meditation... sounds good to me :) Anyways - thank you for your work!!! I'm glad somebody found out how things really were (as much as it is possible from what we still have)
@@echelon2k8 It was more of Goemon reference. Hatori Hanzo helped fake Goemons execution . As in Shinobi no mono to preserve Shinobi and also keep him in a job with Leyasu
Hmmm …. I read Stephen K Hayes books in the 80s and the one I paid particular attention to was the Warrior Path of Togakure and I remember that he downplayed the image of the Ninja and made pretty much the same points about the historical ninja- particularly about being invisible in the sense that they blended in like spies etc. I have studied multiple martial arts (Shotokan, Aikido, Western styles etc) and have made much use of those skills IRL but the "glue" that binds them together are the concepts of using the elements I learned from that book. When I need to fight like "Air" I use Crane style or Wing Chun style techniques, when I am "Fire" I am attacking full on Shotokan, when I need "Water" I use Aikido etc … I can give dozens of examples of using these ideas in real life but one or two makes the point clearly … I once defended myself against a strong-arm mugger in a bathroom by rooting myself like "Earth" and when he tried to repeatedly shove me, I stood my ground and effortlessly swept his arms so that he stumbled into me. Finally he went for the punch, and when he hit my chest, HE stumbled backwards … this startled him so much that he fled. I weighed 140 pounds. A friend of mine who had been cowering in a stall came out and said "I've never seen anything like that in my life" - After one "fight" I had in a bar using "Fire" and "Air" techniques to spin a guy like a top and throw him, the bouncer came up to me and said .... "I worked as a guard at Lorton [Penitentiary] for three years and I've never seen someone manhandle a man the way you did" - Ninja is a state of mind.
Thank you for watching everyone. Please support me by getting a copy of my new book, the Book of Bushido
www.amazon.com/Book-Bushido-Complete-Samurai-Chivalry/dp/1786786052/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655209486&sr=8-1
"He who says the truth, is always the most hated."
Like the way MGTOW is exposing female nature. Those guys have gotten a lot of hate.
I'm still in denial, but hopefully in a world that embraces a lot of the accomplishments and lessons learnt from the past we might enjoy the companionship that is in a shared world when a bird lands on your shoulder and both you and the bird agree, that 1 I might not want you to land on my shoulder and 2 the bird might not want to land on my shoulder, mutual respect is achieved. And have you seen how big the Oman birds eyes are? Putting a bird in a cage might give you anomaly like when one escapes and rips out the letter from the computer keyboard specificaly J a i l, (this is probably not mutual respect), humans so advanced in this world yet blind by our arrogance, Tho I would hate to see a world where your best friend butterfly needs documents and money to travel over waters and sustain them selves with food.
Yin and Yang.
Of course, bcoz people can't handle the truth. It would be like telling an average american joe that the U.S of A that they believe in so passionately have never existed.
Very few people will understand what these sentences mean.
Very true,a bit like the world today..
I remember when I was in my early 20s I was reading Eiji Yoshikawa's "Musashi", in one of the chapters, Musashi was being persecuted by some bandits who were searching for vengeance against him, and Otsu was in danger of being caught by them when she crossed paths with this guy who was "what people call a 'shinobi'". I thought great! A ninja fight in the middle of a samurai novel! How cool is that? And I was completely puzzled when this guy went and faced these bandits and did what ninjas do best: he talked to them, he deceived them, he made them confused and completely lose track of their prey and single-handedly saved Otsu without so much as breaking a sweat. I was left there scratching my head and only much later realized that was an amazing bit inside the whole story. A masterful demonstration of Sun Tzu's principle of winning the battle without fighting.
That's so clever and totally in agreement with what I have learned about ninjutsu.
English teacher uses japanese students to translate ninja scrolls to fuel his ninja obsession.
Exactly how I would've done.
I've been following Anthony Cummin's (AC's) work for a few years now and own several of his books. I also lived in Japan for a few years (Okinawa to be exact) and studied both Okinawan Karate and Bujinkan Taijutsu. Now after 30 years I still train in these arts and personally know and train with Stephen K Hayes in Dayton OH to this day. I see no reason to stop training in the martial arts and/or see any contention with AC's work. In fact, I embrace it and add the historical Ninjutsu elements to my studies to enrich my overall journey. I find a common ground of both worlds and it works wonderfully. I believe Stephen Hayes to be a brilliant martial artist, mentor and pioneer to those who have benefited the many tangible and intangible benefits of his art. And from AC's work I've gained a wealth of information on the original Shinobi Samurais that again - makes things all the more worth while. To Anthony I say this: Bravo - great work, passion and dedication. You may feel as if things aren't exactly going a specific route, but in all ways the Shinobi path - perseverance will eventually find its place in history and many more hybrids like myself stand to benefit greatly from it. Thank you and God Speed.
Amen
@ikungfuyou2 👍👍
It seems like your a supporter of both the Bujinkan and Antony's work. I was thinking, just how do you reconcile what Antony says about ninjutsu not being a martial arts and bujinkan being fake compared to what Bujinkan Ninjutsu teaches, i.e. a ninja specific martial arts form?
If only Ninjutsu could be learned and mastered by merely scrutinizing ancient scrolls (supposedly), there would have existed, tons of Ninjutsu experts by now.
As in any other, traditional martial arts, you don't learn by simply reading, skimming, translating or researching ancient texts. You learn and appreciate the system of martial arts by actually immersing yourself in it.
And, as odd as this may sound, Ninjutsu practitioners train not to become Ninjas per se. They learn because they are sincerely interested in the martial knowledge that is collectively referred to as Ninjutsu.
Finally, Hatsumi Sensei himself had stated years ago: "Of course, there are people who have come to us, wanting to learn our art of Ninjutsu. Many have done so over the years. But, wanting to learn doesn't mean that they will get what they're seeking after. There are people with idle curiosities whose only motivations to learn are self-serving. We don't exist to pander to these people. Most often than not, when they couldn't get what they came for, they would leave us alone soon after."
Conclusion: If you think you could easily have the learned Senseis all figured out and analyzed, perhaps you might want to reconsider your basic assumptions and underlying thought processes.
Stephen Hayes is in Dayton ? Dang I went to school around there
The moment Kim Ashida appeared, crying cause Hayes stole his part of the cake "and he was better"... and the idea of "I buy a lineage from a family in japan to make my own bussiness" tore apart mi idea of the benevolence about translating and sharing. As I saw, this is just another: I'm more ninja than you.
So having been a part of that world since the Hayes years, my thoughts on this all are this:
Has anyone stopped to think about why Hatsumi drifted away from the Kihon and Kata to “play”? The answer is simply this: Anyone in the world was willing to give him all of their money just to be in his presence for a photo. It didn’t matter what he taught… it didn’t matter if you were good enough for your mega-dan. If you bought into it and paid, that was that.
Classic kyojitsu tenkan, if you ask me. True ninjutsu. He did what he had to do to survive.
I am here not because I am a martial artist, but because I am reading the Book of Ninja and I am created a game world Dungeons & Dragons. All I have found from the historic truth here is that is actually makes the Ninja better and more interesting. As the world I am creating is a fantasy world, I could totally just used the modern ninja, but the intrigue created from the historic ninja has so many more roleplaying opportunities. Keep up the great work!
Try and get me on a podcast for d and d. I would love that. Please pass my videos around that community. It would really help.
Fantastic doc Antony! Here in Brazil, as a military historian, I also make videos debunking those historical myths. And by the way, one of my most succesfull videos is about 5 Myths of the Ninja. And to make it, I bought all your 3 books about the ninja and ninjutsu, and I also received plenty of hate from students and teachers: This Bujinkan is famous around here as well. Anyway, lets keep on fighting for the truth. Just wanna tell you how essential your work is.
Can you email me a link antonyjcummins@yahoo.Co.uk
I studied Ashida Kim in the early 80's, when I was about 11 years old. You think you killed the Ninja??? Mate, you will never even find me.
Is this an actual documentary or a commercial FOR a documentary? It just seems like there's a ton of distracting product placement but not much actual content.
Its an infomercial designed to sell a new, equally fake system of Ninja martial arts.
Oh it's a documentary. And it has substance to it. He's describing what he's doing, some misconceptions about the ninja, where it came from, etc
Is this an all encompassing documentary? No it is not.
He could make another documentary about other subjects. Like the Samurai and Ninja, weapons, tactics, mindset, principles. But that's what his books are about.
I remember your discussion about the Iga ninja museum. It's basically the equivalent of some wild west dude ranches or romanticised cowboy shows and museums.
I trained under a student of Robert Bussey ( RBWI ) and later Bujinkan. RBWI was Bujinkan with the punches and kicks swapped out for karate style punches and kicks with pressure testing of technique and more aggressive sparring. It was my favorite out of everything. It basically ended when Pat Smith decimated his student on UFC II, which was the Gracie plan.
The man who actually saved the ninja. That should be the title of this.
Thank you
@@AntonyCummins they was never called ninja they was called shinobi, shinobi was samurai that didn't do ninjitsu, the idea of ninja was made up to sell to people that wanted to believe
@@Gojira_Prime I'm sure your an expert in the subject. I would love to check out the books you've written about it. What are the names of them again?
@@joeyfatone6494 or you can do your own research, there's UA-cam channels that would explain it better than me, just type in "real ninja" or "real history of the ninja" the ninja was people that lived in the forests that practiced guerrilla warfare and they didn't throw ninja stars and assassinate on covered missions, that's just made up for the movies because it made money, they just lived differently than the samurai and was called shinobi at one point, ninjitsu wasn't even practiced in the time of the samurai, they was just a nuisance and was easily defeated with a army of samurai that hunted them down, did you watch Netflix samurai: battles of Japan, the idea of "the ninja" is wishful thinking.
Say “was” some more 😂
This is a great documentary that you guys put together. As stated in the film, it has been a long road, but to truly get everything historically correct takes time. Keep soldiering onward Antony! It takes someone with your enthusiasm and dedication to correct the historical inaccuracies that have been created by modern culture, and I’m sure I don’t stand alone in saying, “We are with you till the end my friend!”
Kind regards, -M Horn
Just read your book (Bansenshukai). I've done Karate for many years and had been fascinated with the pop culture version of the Ninja for many years as well. All I want want to say is, thank you so much for the book. You burst my fantasy bubble but you also got me interested in the real life of the Ninjas which I think is far more interesting than the fantasy version. Would love to read more of your work on warrior societies and spies of different cultures as well. Respect and love from India. 🙏
I'm digging the cuts of Anthony doing (presumably) research using the books the he himself wrote. That's just too awesome.
I'm not happy about being lied to by Nintendo and the people behind Ninja Gaiden. Someone is going to be getting a strongly worded letter.
Thanks for the video, brother.
Haha send it
I am slowly but surely collecting a copy of each of your books! Me and my fiance are so excited to study from you and to teach our son the proper ways of shinobi-no-jutsu once he is ready after he is born in March!!! Thank you for everything you and your team does Mr. Antony!!! God bless you all!!! 💙
Hatsumi was poor until the mid eighties. Feeling the pangs of old age he got greedy to have a retirement. The costly video tapes were part of that. The name went from ninjutsu to ninpo taijutsu to budo taijutsu because he had to know the truth would come out. Great work.
Seriously, this video should be re-edited to omit the lunatic Ashida Kim. He literally has NOTHING to do with Ninja OR martial arts.
Strange that Ashida Kim talks about Stephen Hayes the way he does. When one then shall look at what it is that he can do that he says Stephen Hayes cannot, it is tricks taken from circus. And I would say that it is much better presented and performed in circus.
Oh no. Leave it in. Because it’s proof that this guy has to reach that far to attack Hayes. Sorry I’ve purchased Cummins books at this point. Ashida Kim. Really?
Phil Blevins >>> The martial tides must certainly have changed in an unexpected and unforeseen direction since Ashida Kim seems to get a renaissance. Is the future of martial arts an artform called Circusjutsu? If it is so then we must all cry...
Slappy McPunchy Right. 😂
I'm about half way through this documentary and a sudden thought hit me... All this time, we in the West have been fascinated by the martial arts that the Shinobi and by extension the Samurai used but when you really look at these figures, they were soldiers. Sure they had a system of hand to hand combat, swordsmanship and other weapons expertise (to a point) but their lives were simply that of a soldier, the Shinobi a little more specialized but a soldier nonetheless. Imagine 300 years in our future and we found some lost documents explaining just the rifle marksmanship part of the American Army training or British Army training and the future people assumed that it's some mystical information on how soldiers in the 20-21st centuries could magically kill anything within a kilometer with a rifle but the actual reality is that being a soldier encompassed literally everything: how to make two man shelters and fighting positions, use of grenades, first aid and self care in the field, setting up logistics in the field etc, etc.... I'm starting to think that what WE the general public focused on about Ninja activities was such a small part of their lives, training and experience. In the American Army hand to hand combat is such a small part of what you learn and sometimes you go over refresher classes, but the total experience of an army soldier is so much more than just that one little part of training.
It’s way way more man
I would find it fascinating, and somewhat true. However the Americans cant shoot for shit haha, so that would eventually be disproven
My one criticism would be that if you making a documentary about credible ninja research, don't include an interview from Ashida Kim..
Ashida Kim is an influential person heavily involved in the modern western Ninja trend. He's an expert on that era, as he lived it. Nobody here's claiming he's really a ninja expert.
Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day.
Ashida Kim is there because they contacted nearly everyone and he was one of the few who agreed to participate. He is a joke, but he was willing to respond to the content of the video while many bigger names would not say anything. Ashida Kim may be crazy, but he was braver and believed more in himself than alot of ther people with better reputations.
Ashida Kim is not different from Masaaki Hatsumi. Both are scammers.
@@aluisiofsjr Hatsumi never had a pro-wrestling match wearing a backpack
I have a few of your books and appreciate the work you do. I think your film was very well done. I do not always agree with all of your conclusions but your position is always exceptionally well presented, researched, and logical. I think you do a great service to the martial arts community interested in the Ninja and their history. I look forward to your content in 2020. Thank you Antony, keep up the brutal honesty, it sometimes is difficult to see convention challenged but its necessary for growth in the future.
Thank you Antony. Your work has absolutely changed my world view.
This is the most entertaining and exciting documentary or even just video content I've watched all year! Bravo. Sir.
This is why I love the concept of ninja even more than I used to from pop culture misrepresentation. The idea of a commando spy, almost James Bond-like, infiltrating an opposing operation to gather intel in crazy ways during medieval Japan seems SO BLOODY COOL.
This is one of my favourite areas of history and I have wanted to travel to Japan for so long to discover some historical sites and places of samurai and ninja tradition, but this stupid Covid has ruined it for so many.
Thank you again Anthony for your incredible work in illustrating the true and awesome identity of the shinobi, we historians really do appreciate it.
rin hyo to sha kai jin retzo zai zen AUN!
Thank you! this is really good enjoyed this alot and thank you for not bashing a 80 year old man. You made quality and I would be proud.
What I gather from this is the ninja where ancient special forces Seals, delta, etc
No they weren’t not even close. They were just samurai who had a second job to pay the bills
@@TheInfantry98 dont try to be funny..do some research and study b4 making ignorant comments...
No...in japanese mediaval history,ninjas are hired spies to gather information and datas of enemies...well in a way,theyre like trained S-FORCES... to do the job...
Ninja myths are like overrated,blown up,romanticized stories popularies by local japanes early movies followed up in Hollywood movie industry...
Peasant families who originally honed their skills to defend themselves, later they became hired hands.
So cool Anthony! I cherrish the days of the original HNRT facebook group, was a really good time there while it lasted and I'm very glad to see where this has taken you and all. Great video on the progress and evolution throughout the years. Good stuff and as always very respectful! Nice.
Yup. I read all of Stephen K Hayes' books. Watched Kage no Gundan obsessively. Lived in Japan. And after all that, became a relaxation therapist. Because sooner or later, it all comes back to what's in your head, not in your hand.
WELL said, Sir
Magnificent material Antony!! You learn something new everyday. Just like some people didn't know that Hattori Hanzo was a ninja too and in charge of other ninjas for the Shogun home.
Great stuff! My passion for the Bujinkan has evolved into a passion for the history thanks to you.
I love this documentary about The Ninja and Samurai thank you for putting this video Keep up the Good work Antony.
Antony Cummins please make another one, there are not many high quality ninja documentary's on youtube
I want to get back in to TV stuff. But its a good idea.
@@AntonyCummins mr cummins you are a saint giving us the real facts it is kinda heart breaking though that there is misinformation and that the ninja werent quite what we thought they where but history is awsome and amazing it would be great if there indeed where scrolls that do go into detail about techniques who knows hopefully we will get one ideally more like you said though theres many different schools there all different most certainly but again it would be cool
@@blakewangler230 Hello Blake. Just want to give you a heads up that Antony doesn't receive notifications for replies to his replies. He receives notifications for new comments.
Hello Antony I like this mini-documentary; in my case, in 2011 I come back to training in Bujinkan but in the 2012 I know part of your research, and many times my sensei in this art say "here not train ninjutsu any more". Then I began to wonder why I train something that does not teach what I wanted to learn, your research open the way for search other paths...today I train many japanese martial arts, some koryu, some modern, and shinobi no jutsu, and now I know what each thing is. The only bad thing about all this is that: "people are not really interested in shinobi no jutsu"---
Mr Cummins can you do a book dispelling myths about Shaolin and then the chivalrous honorable knights of Europe.
Shaolin originated through India. when one of the Indian Monk travelled to China and stayed in a Village to cure a Pandemic incurable desease.
He was instructor of the oldest martial arts or you can say mother of all martial arts Kaleri Payut and established the 1st shaolin temple in china.
His name is bodhidharma alos know as Damu in China.
Shaolin or kungfu was developed and originated from Kaleri payut.
@@delhikickersvampiresoffoot5148
Stay away from the koolaid, buddy.
Ashida Kim ?....Seriously ? Surprised you didn't have Chris Jacobson and Red Spider Ninja in this . SAD.
It seems that slots of people who think they Know , but they don't know who he is , there are a few of us that do .
A hahaha!! I’m lucky 100! By the way, Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Love your show, keep up the good work. The old scrolls (Funabashi sensei and Natori sensei) in particular. Domo arigato gozaimasu.
I am so glad to see the documentary has gotten attention and hope more people will be directed to it! Thank you Antony for telling us more truth about our favorite shadowy figures than everyone one who claims to be a master.
Excellent documentary. Love what you have done.
The documentary spelled Robert Bussey‘s name wrong. And he wasn’t in Indiana he was in Nebraska.
An absolutely amazing doc, Antony! Nicely made. Very satisfying to watch.
truly a vast undertaking, and I commend your effort and all you have brought to light. this is a topic shrouded in mystery.
Thanks Antony for giving us the real historical background on Ninja. I know a lot of people got butt-hurt finding out the truth but I think it's actually a good thing. I still like the To shin-do and Akban styles and I would love to train with them, it doesn't mean I think their fighting style doesn't work, it just means I know they're a hybrid martial art and not an ancient fighting art from the feudal Japan era.
This is a very well presented documentary. I am one who have been certified by Professor Ronald Duncan. He honored me and my family of ninjutsu practitioners in 1988 when he granted me 3rd level black belt under the Koga Ryu family. I too am a writer and historian, particularly of the African American contributions to martial arts. I also have a strong interest in the historical facts of both Ninja and Samurai. I actually watched your entire documentary which says a lot. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for your work! It didn't detour me, if anything I'm way more hooked on this history. Thank you for the truth!
Very interesting documentary, I had the pleasure to train in several ninjitsu societies, and threw them met my japanese ju jitsu instructor that I have been a student of for nearly 30 years, thankyou for sharing and inspiring everyone to seek the truth in every path they follow
All modern MA are basically historical LARP
Ninja - Samurai- Shaolin-
Have fun with it but don’t make it a religion
They didnt... they made it a way of Life.
*Shredder disliked this video!*
Thank you Anthony for your efforts in historical research. Thank you Yoshie for your translation and Japnese culture perspective.
great documentary. I wonder if The PinkMan has watched.Also Antony, do you have a similar interest in more modern systems like Aikikai Aikido and O-Sensei?
No just old ways. I love them best
In another 10 years, kids will watch this video reposted to whatever new video streaming platform takes over from UA-cam, and ask their friends "what's a skype?"
U r the real mccoy, thank u for sweating out n spending so much energy on the history of the real ninja. Pls keep up the good work.
You are welcome
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. And thank you to all your colleagues that were instrumental in bringing these facts to the light of the 20th century.
This is a great documentary, i hope you make more like this
I*
Thank you so much for sharing your passion AND your work on the history of the Shinobis AND bring this fresh AND sober perspective, it's refreshing and un my particular case, even More interesting! Can't way to get ay least one of your books
Very good presentation sir. Felt like there was too much negative emphasis regarding Stephen Hays, who would have been a great person to have interviewed. I am not surprised that many others refused to participate, which is kind of sad. I would loved to have heard from Hays, Van Donk, Don Roley, Christa Jacobson, and some others to share their points of view. You did your best to open it up to them, so it is what it is. Again, good presentation. We have not always agreed on everything, but I do respect you and what you are doing.
Jeff Brown i ask Hayes and he was interested but nothing came of it.
I'm Bujunkan but I support and admire Antony Cummins' work because it's serious, well researched. The search for truth is the most important thing. But I'm not sure if he has the martial ability and knowledge to properly "resuscitate" a samurai school, what he's doing, is like trying to learn how to swim by reading a book, when for that purpose, you need a personal trainer and time and effort under his guidance to learn swimming well.
First I'd heard of this - so I went and had a look, there is no chance he has the martial arts knowledge, in the taijutsu sense, not denying he might know a lot of history..
It is absolutely 100% not well researched. I love the ego of this guy who spent a couple of years doing Bunjinkan and spent a little time in Japan but is proclaiming himself an expert. I could only get through watching a small portion of this before I began to gag by how self important and self centered this guy is. He claims he is the first guy researching historical ninjutsu, right in the beginning of this "documentary" that is really a tool to sell himself and make money like all of the books he publishes that are utter nonsense for the gullible. There are literally hundreds of real actual scholars-- not a make believe historian like this Antony-- that have written about ninjutsu history. Think about the ego of this guy? Self proclaimed "Man who killed the ninja". I mean, can you get more Ego than that? he also bought a scroll to claim he is the a soke of a Japanese MA lineage so he could sell people on his martial arts, but the bottom line is, he couldn't LARP his way out of a wet paper bag and he is making money off of wannabe ninjers that will believe his complete nonsense. Get a set of critical looking glasses-- there is no more of a fake than this guy. No real research, and loads of motive to sell you on his ideas. Ugh, this stuff makes me sick.
@@1tobia1 👍👍😊
It’s not that he read books. It’s that he and his Japanese co-author TRANSLATED and published in English works that had never been completely translated before. That in and of itself is worth its weight in gold.
@@RoyalFizzbin how?
Oh dear...the ninjers are gonna be so pissed. Good work Antony.
I've always heard that it's a lifestyle, and with this definitions becomes like breathing. Waking up, and living this element in action, not thinking, but doing without thought
The funny thing is that all these revelations i knew them from 1992. In Greece. Our karate sensei was also occuping with Ninjutsu (Ninpo Taizutsu was called back then and Hatsumi was head of the organization and our sensei had a friend that had the chance to get deep into this Hatsumi teachings and that man was named Kostas Dervenis and well he pretty much found out the very same things you are describing and informed our sensei of karate (kiokushin) and so i learned about it in some unofficial backstage discussion in my sensei's office. In the little town of Ioannina Greece back at 1992. That in fact there is no Takamatsu and the whole thing was invented by Hatsumi. So that made Kostas Dervenis actually take distance from all that.
But i am not saying all these to claim anything. For me was not so important. Just another knowledge of mine etc. That doesn't replace the enormous work you guys did on the subject. I just had the knowledge of these facts from back then. That's all. And i can confirm that what you saying is true. I just learnt it from other sources. And the fact that ninjas were like undercover commandos and that they were also samurai's yeah i knew it from back then. Seems that the vast majority had no idea so it is good you guys clarified it out also for the masses.
Yeah. People knew what the ninja was before Hatsumi came around
Thank you for your hard dedicated work Antony Cummins very much appreciated
Awesome video! How did they used to fight in hand to hand combat?
Like other samurai. No different. Most were samurai
@@AntonyCummins Thank You! I read in your site about the Daito-Ryu, very cool! Hope you make a video about it some day ❤
@@murilohumbertocmcb Hello Humberto. Antony doesn't receive notifications for replies to his replies so if you would like to ensure he gets your follow up statement write it in a new comment either here or on his newest videos to increase the chances of getting a reply from him.
Brilliant documentary Antony and team you saved me a lot of money and help me clarify what I want from the physical and mental side of martial arts , which is just truth. Not MMA sport or mythical
Hey, Antony, big fan! I have a question that I’m having a surprisingly hard time getting an answer to. With regards to unarmed fighting techniques prior to the 20th century that we might genuinely call Samurai or ninja, I’ve only heard the term jujitsu applied in a very general sense. But I cannot find anybody who trains in what traditional jujitsu might have looked like in the Sengoku period, Edo period, or even Meiji restoration era. Are there any good sources you would recommend for looking into this? I would really like to know what those arts looked like. I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t Straight judo or BJJ.
Me neither many claim it and of course many lineages are old but too me it all looks changed.
Fantastic film. Great work Antony and Jay.
Antony that was awesome buddy well done
Superb job here Antony! Cheers!
Thank you for this, Anthony. I really liked how you repeatedly emphasized Ninjutsu's non-combat skills, because those are the only parts that have ever been of any use to me. Why? Because as an avid lifelong elk and deer hunter here in Montana, I have no use for the combat aspects: punching and kicking, and even the swordplay and shuriken attacks. Imagine trying to bring down a 300 to 650 pound animal that can (and will) run 40mph that way! It would be more likely that I would be the one killed. No: the ability to remain undetected by a large animal that not only has 2 times the vision you do, 4 times the hearing, and 50 times the olfactory senses is what matters. The only weapons that work on them are high-powered rifles, compound bows, and compound crossbows; and even then it's exceedingly difficult to consistently get within 100 yards of such an amazingly powerful animal. That's why I focus only on the stealth, stillness, patience, woodcraft, and especially the concentration and perception-enhancing aspects of the Art, which your books have greatly helped with. Keep up the good work!
24:08 "It's not some person who just stands there and does these fighting moves, it's someone who gets a job done in amazing ways".
Anyone who played Tenchu already knows this
Absolutely 🥷☯️🥷
Fascinating film! I enjoyed it! Thanks for posting!
William
Thank you. This is a great documentary for people to get interested in.
The real ninjutsu is like a real illusionist knowledge it's really impressive when you see it, but it's a little bit disappointing when you learn how is done (or isn't it?). imo that does not make it less fascinating. I really would like to know how the ancient ninjas did their job.
i just finished your book "Shinobi Soldiers' and have only become familiar with who you are for a couple months now.Ive always felt like anyone who truly researched Ninjutsu in the early years should have already came to the conclusions this documentary is trying to get across.Ronald Duncan,Stephen Hayes,Robert Bussey,Yoshiaki Hatsumi,Harunaka Hoshino,Jack Hoban,Bo Munthe and the list goes on and on and on.Common sense along with a true passion for the truth should show you that when theres money to be made everything is going to be watered down.If not immediately,eventually.As someone whos devoted about 35 years to the ninja arts i have personally taken information from everyone involved in making a buck or two{including yourself) with a grain of salt ,Ashida Kim hating on losing the fortune Hayes beat him to,Bussey and his Christian Values, Yoshiaki Hatsumi sporting purple hair.People in the US made a joke of ninjutsu since the day it arrived and its something that will continue long after im gone.Theres an arrogance to the subject that triggers a defensive approach from anyone whos spent time wanting to understand it and when you combine that with some ego or a point to prove it makes EVERYONE involved who try to justify themselves look quite ridiculous.I mean you already have people saying youre a fraud so really,its pointless.
To be fair to Bussey, he always acknowledged that what he was teaching was an American modification--it was in fact an early version of a mixed martial art on the hand-to-hand side--and he eventually strayed away from the "ninjutsu" label altogether.
So I just purchased your book off from Amazon how to be a modern Samurai and found your channel from there I'm just looking for a Higher Living I'm a 46 year-old recovering alcoholic and addict sober 6 years just interested in new things can't wait to dig into the book
Think about joining Natori Ryu as well
i really enjoy amd love all your work books and video
Well, maybe Bujinkan and Genbukan and all the rest ARE actually teaching ninjutsu (the invisible art of survival), they give you nothing and you pay them hefty sums for it. The art is invisible (it does not exist). And the teacher gets to survive (cause you paid him).
Your obviously training at the wrong gym?
My is Tim Anderson. Mentioned Mr. Yamashita's Ninpo Book a Style: Nanban-Ryu Ninjutsu. Nanban Satto-Ryu is a Ninjutsu Fighting Style passed down from Hasshimotto Ipussai to Fujita Seiko. Fujita Seiko passed the Satsu-Ryu Ninja Scrolls down to Kenwa Mabuni and Imanzo Iwatta. The Satsu-Ryu is based of the 5 Elements of NInja Fighting from the Gorinto. Shitō-ryū is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shitō-ryū has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryū and Shotokan (松涛館); on the other hand, Shitō-ryū also has the circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, and hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te styles such as Uechi-ryū and Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流). Shitō-ryū is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shitō-ryū formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni, and known as Uke no go gensoku (受けの五原則), Uke no go genri (受けの五原理), or Uke no go ho (受けの五法):[8]
落花 (rakka, "falling petals"). The art of blocking with such force and precision as to completely destroy the opponent's attacking motion. Examples of rakka are the most well-known blocks, such as gedan-barai (下段払い) or soto-uke (外受け).
流水 (ryūsui, "running water"). The art of flowing around the attacker's motion, and through it, soft blocking. Examples are nagashi-uke (流し受け) and osae-uke (押さえ受け).
屈伸 (kusshin, "elasticity"). This is the art of bouncing back, storing energy while recoiling from the opponent's attack, changing or lowering stance only to immediately unwind and counterattack. Classic examples are stance transitions zenkutsu (前屈立ち) to kōkutsu (後屈立ち) and moto-dachi (基立ち) to nekoashi-dachi (猫足立ち).
転位 (ten'i, "transposition"). Ten'i is the utilization of all eight directions of movement, most importantly stepping away from the line of attack.
反撃 (hangeki, "counterattack"). A hangeki defense is an attack which at the same time deflects the opponent's attack before it can reach the defender. Examples of this are various kinds of tsuki-uke (突き受け), including yama-tsuki (山突き). When, practing this Nanban Satto-Ryu the Five Element Ninja Fighting Stlye you practice Fighting in with Silent foot steps on Rice Paper. The 5 Elelments are practiced on your 5 Toes. This is a very small section of Shito-Ryu that has a Ninja Fighting System based off of the Five Elements and there are Scrolls owned by, Genzo Iwatta and all of the Scrolls passed from Fujita Seiko to the Shito Masters are known as the Koka Flow. I have an Ancient Document that talks about how the Gorinto Five Elements were used in the NInja way for as well as Women to Seduce Men by wearing Five Element of Make up and the Seasons. As well in Fujita Seikos Tora No Maki it makes the Requriment of the Godai No Heiho use of the 5 Elements can be used in Fighting and in Stealth. I also, previously own if not the last Copy of the Book Nanban Satto-Ryu Jujtsu by, Ippusai Hashimoto. The Book Mentions he was a Spy and an Assassin and was a Soldier during the Boshin War and was captured during the War and sent to Prison wear he exscaped and became a hired Assassin and Killed an attacker with a Shuto a Sword Hand. I have a rare Magazine Article that was Published in 2013 where the Ninja Scrolls known as the Koka Flow were passed down to the present day to Genzo Iwatta and there are photos of them and Fujita Seiko. I started Shito-Ryu in 1984. I have studied Ninjutsu extensively and focus my training arounf the 5 Elements of Ninjutsu and I also, train in the Toyama Batto-Jutsu that was that with Nanban Killing Southern Barbarian Style was taught to the Nakano Shadow Warriors. In 1936 Mr. Fujita founded the Kobudo Research Society. Okinawan Kobudo in Okinawa did not practice the skill of using twho farm toools as weapons only one. Such as one Jitte or One Sai not Two. Mr, Seiko changed that according to Koga-Ryu Weapons and tools were used by Two Hands. So, the Manji Sai was also, from the Manji Symbol of a Koga Samurai Caln known as the Manji Clan. Mr. Seiko gave a Menkyo Kaiden to Motokatsu Inoue. There were no 2 Handed Weapons Kata in Okinawa so, with the Koga influence of using two weapons instead of one were implementented by Inoue,Sensei and he learned of Shotokan from Gichin Funakoshi and added Two Handed Weapons Kata from Shotokan-Ryu. I have a Rare Book from Japan called Koga-Ryu Combat Ninjutsu. In the Book it speaks of that there were Ninja Clans that did indeed have a their own Ninja Fighting Styles. It goes on to say because, of the influx of Guns coming in from Spain this would hurt many Ninja Clan Families that had their own Ninja Fighting Hand to Hand Combat Systems. Infact, it mentions the names of a few of those Ninja Clans who practiced Red Hands in the Ancient Shrine Temples of Japan Secretly.
This is my perrfect Christmas present.
Great Video!!! i trained in the Bujinkan for 12 years along with many other arts, but have moved on to other pursuits. i find your homestead lifestyle very interesting and would be interested in seeing how that all ties into how you perceive life. I assume much of it comes from your research into the historical ninja clans.. there's a lot going on there, that i don't think the average person would pick up on. 😉
those are my goals now as i work to improve my off-grid backwoods homestead and become as self-sufficient as possible.
best wishes.
Dude.....that house. Wow, that is an incredible place you've got there it looks very cozy and intricate with the wood in the walls i have never seen a house like that before.
n the Uk we have so many. But i did buy one like this because of the style. Thank you.
I totally understand where your coming from when your a person that teaches or explain the true traditional martial arts but the majority of human society fail to understand and appreciate the spiritual nuggets of old world martial arts that one's self is trying to share with humanity in which humanity usually only wants to learn martial arts for fighting purposes.
I joined Dux Ryu Ninjitsu after watching Blood Sports. Good times. I really enjoyed your documentary, well made and researched. Thank you.
Great documentary!! You just got me interested in ninjas again! Diolch!!
Great job! About time someone blew the lid of this topic
So Jason Bourne and others who were operatives in projects TREADSTONE, BLACK BRIAR, and OUTCOME in the Bourne Novels & Films are much, much closer to historical Ninjas than what's in most "Ninja Films"........
Is it weird that Im actually more interested in them now?
Just came across this, its been years since i have studied this, actually came across some of my notes in storage a few weeks ago. You made it more interesting for me.
I am not ready to believe that Hayes teacher and his teacher just made up their ninjitsu lineage. You need to make the case for that if you want people to buy it. Someone can just as easily say that you are only making these claims to sell your books.
Funny that Anthony sounds and looks more like Frodo than Hatori Hanzo
😉
I am Honored to become an Honorary Ninja after viewing this documentary.
In the USA less then 0.5% of it's citizens join the military and less then 1% of these people join and pass to become special operations. Special operations follows this similar path as the ninja. It's shrouded in mystery, un-realistically portrayed in the media, Hollywood makes them out to be one man killing machines, countless fictitious books written and much more. Yet with all these terrible miss representation the military still turns out special operations soldier every year. They are also able to do this in a realistic time frame 6-12 months. The same time frame the department of Homeland security, CIA, NSA, FBI and many other soup agencies turn out new federal agents. These federal agencies have about the same pass fail rate as the special operations has in dropout rates roughly 60%. Each one of these agencies along with the military special operations groups have similar training tho they each have their own areas of expertise and serve different functions. For instance both the special operations and federal agents learn weapons and tactics. Both have a level of physical fitness and intelligence. However federal agents fall under more of the law enforcement whereas special operations serve in a military for war. Something most people don't know is that most of these special operations groups and teams support and work hand in hand with federal law enforcement agencies. And most of these federal agencies have their own special operations communities embedded within the agency. On top of this most special operations guys make up a huge part of these special operations groups within these agencies. For instance DHS (department of Homeland security) has border patrol but within border patrol there is a special operations group called BORTAC. Many of my friends from special operations have gone on to make very successful UA-cam channels, training courses, and even have actual schools throughout the country. Teaching and training people from all walks of life. So let me get back to the reason for the post.
Why is the "ninja" failing? And why is it failing if it offers the same type of training?
Here is a few examples of the similar training found in both special operations and the ninja.
covert operations
clandestine operations
Counter-proliferation
Psychological warfare
Unconventional warfare
Recognizance
Intelligence gathering
Survival
Weapons and tactics
asymmetrical Warfare
camouflage and stealth
Diet and exercise
espionage
explosives
medicine first aid and combat life saving including CPR and trauma care
hostage retrieval and rescue
Diplomacy
And many many more.
The answer is simple, its the individual that is setting forth the training program. No one joins the special operations community then questions it's truthfulness or it's effectiveness. Every special operations school has it's system and standards laid out. And each of these special operations schools have qualified and experienced instructors. Not one of these schools are taught or organized by a historical researcher. Certainly not by some guy that post videos on UA-cam and writes books having spent zero time in any military or federa service. What makes a school or class stand the test of time is it's legitimacy. legitimacy through it's teachers, coaches, trainers along with the legitimacy of the subject. Qualifications are everything when running a school or class. Any real college has to be accredited.
Now having spent 15 years in the military in combat arms along with my time with special operations and the fact that I'm 6 months away from being a federal agent I have offered Antony for free to bring in not only myself but others from the special operations community in order to help legitimize and build a true curriculum and training outline. To this day (6 years later) Antony hasn't even considered this option or opportunity. He hasn't even acknowledge the offer.
Anyone that is willing to turn down free help from experts in the field with real world knowledge and experience is either a complete fraud with hidden agendas ie control, power, or money or he is a complete fool. And since to this day he has yet taken up the offer nor has he even tried to contact me should outline to you just what he is truly after and what he truly is a about.
@D'lish Donut ok boomer
I have 2 words for anyone who does not believe in The Ninja, Ashida Kim! The man the legend! He catches virtual bullets in his teeth, levitates over a little girl's lost hula-hoop, prowls around using stealth mode in his momma's backyard, and even took on the famous Disability NinJa Sensei Broussard with REAL laser swords. So dont ever tell me Ninjas are not real!
I believe ninjas are real and were real. Shinobi/Ninja
long live A-Shitty Kim 😂😂🤣🤣
hi antony i'm a fan from the Philippines where can i buy youre book in here?
I have looked into ninja from channels such as Shadiversity, Metatron, and Gaijin Goombah. They tend to be very honest, though Gaijin Goombah does talk about the fictional elements of it as well. I like the idea that ninja's are "mythological" shinobi and mercenary ronin, technically a "slang word" idea of the combination of shinobi and ronin. I learned that the word "ninja" simply means "spy," thus no different form the US CIA, not assassins or warriors. This still interests me, because there's elements of intelligence and survivalist specialization there than is different from other ancient warriors. Spies always existed in different cultures, but while it's because of the old fandom that anchored me, there's a lot of history about how people of ancient times participated in such occupations.
I recently came by your book The True Path of the Ninja and was really happy to have found it. I've always wanted to know this stuff, hence my original interest in Bujinkan, like yourself. I think it would be really cool to try to resurrect ninjutsu with all we know today - I imagine it would be a complex system that would include both the ancient japanese martial arts and a mixture of today best MA and self defense systems with all the spy and strategy teachings - I think today ninja school would include stuff like hacking, social engineering, acting, learning languages (well I guess all that is spy stuff) So yeah, I thin kit would be really cool to try and clear up the name and the image of ninja. Don't think all of the bujinkan is useless in this regarad - after all the ninja martial arts were samurai martial arts pretty much. But I guess it would be a bit too dangerous and would be outlawed :D But perhaps some milder version... that would be more self defense and self preservation oriented (MMA meets Bear Grylls and some meditation... sounds good to me :)
Anyways - thank you for your work!!! I'm glad somebody found out how things really were (as much as it is possible from what we still have)
Id title it "The Man who rediscovered ninjas" 👍
Thanks a ton, Antony.
By the way, great documentary. Currently reading war stories. I have a question to ask you. We need another interview and soon.
The greatest technique of the ninja, to let everyone think they are dead.
Sounds like the quote: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist.
@@echelon2k8 It was more of Goemon reference. Hatori Hanzo helped fake Goemons execution . As in Shinobi no mono to preserve Shinobi and also keep him in a job with Leyasu
This was really useful in helping me understand so much.
Thank you so much Antony.
Also, I mean... death threats? Crazy stuff.
Hmmm …. I read Stephen K Hayes books in the 80s and the one I paid particular attention to was the Warrior Path of Togakure and I remember that he downplayed the image of the Ninja and made pretty much the same points about the historical ninja- particularly about being invisible in the sense that they blended in like spies etc. I have studied multiple martial arts (Shotokan, Aikido, Western styles etc) and have made much use of those skills IRL but the "glue" that binds them together are the concepts of using the elements I learned from that book. When I need to fight like "Air" I use Crane style or Wing Chun style techniques, when I am "Fire" I am attacking full on Shotokan, when I need "Water" I use Aikido etc … I can give dozens of examples of using these ideas in real life but one or two makes the point clearly … I once defended myself against a strong-arm mugger in a bathroom by rooting myself like "Earth" and when he tried to repeatedly shove me, I stood my ground and effortlessly swept his arms so that he stumbled into me. Finally he went for the punch, and when he hit my chest, HE stumbled backwards … this startled him so much that he fled. I weighed 140 pounds. A friend of mine who had been cowering in a stall came out and said "I've never seen anything like that in my life" - After one "fight" I had in a bar using "Fire" and "Air" techniques to spin a guy like a top and throw him, the bouncer came up to me and said .... "I worked as a guard at Lorton [Penitentiary] for three years and I've never seen someone manhandle a man the way you did" - Ninja is a state of mind.