With this said, in order to answer the initial question — Ninjutsu is a Japanese martial art used over one thousand years ago by Ninjas. Ninja fighting styles are based upon the traditional martial art called Ninjutsu, and it is still practiced today by some.
Ninjas use the martial arts of kendo (sword-fighting), kyudo (archery), kumi-uchi (grappling), and naginata-do (pole-fighting). They were also competent boxers and trained themselves to move quickly and with agility. Ninja-specific skills they learned included concealment, weapon-throwing, and silent movement.
The Ninjitsu that you are familiar with today is actually quite different from the Ninjutsu Ninjas used to use. Ninjas were Japanese fighters, and their skills and way of life were focused on a traditional martial art known as Ninjutsu.
Ninjas striking arts were Taijutsu, Ninjas’ grappling arts were Kumi-uchi, and they practiced weapon arts kenjutsu, sojutsu, naginata-do, and Kyudo. Since the shinobi were mostly warriors, they were already trained in both melee combat and weapons combat (jujutsu, kenjutsu, etc. A typical shinobi will have trained in certain variations of Jujutsu, Kenjutsu (swordsmanship) and Iai (sword-drawn striking). The sword arts of ninjas would be older arts of kenjutsu, and they also had training in using spears, known as sojutsu, as well as in naginata-do.
What Ninjas Were Trained For
They were trained in intelligence gathering and sabotage arts, and fighting arts and weapons. It is widely accepted that Shinobi were highly trained in the arts of espionage, martial arts both striking and grappling, weapons arts, poisons, explosives, riding horses, the bow and arrow, and had a great deal of conditioning training to enhance stamina and physical fitness.
There is some dispute about whether or not the martial arts known as Ninjitsu are genuine, and there is little real-life documentation and historical accounts of the training of Shinobi. For the sake of historical accuracy, this article will differentiate between ninjutsu and the martial arts that may have been practiced by ninjas.
While historically, this term is really an espionage system, it may be used as a generalized term to encompass all of the disciplines in the ninjas training. In its historical definition, Ninjutsu (more properly Shinobi-no-jutsu) was a system of espionage, subterfuge, and sabotage that was peculiar to feudal Japan. While this name seems correct, the initial term was written as Ninjutsu, derived from the Ninjas own training mixed in with regular jujitsu. This means Ninjutsu is a mixture of both, and it blends stealth and the mindset of the ninja with the grappling skills of the Ju Jitsu practitioner.
Ninjutsu Is Still Around – Sort Of
At its core, Ninjutsu is still taught, and it stays true to the ancestry of Ninjutsu. While a common perception is that Ninjutsu is an art of secretiveness or deception, it is actually considered by its practitioners to mean art of endurance — enduring the challenges of all life.
The art is an ancient Japanese practice combining martial arts with strategic thinking and mental toughness. Ninjutsu (Ren Shu ), sometimes used interchangeably with the term Ninpo (Ren Fa ), is the unconventional warfare/guerrilla method of warfare practiced by shinobi (also popularly known as ninjas).
Ninjutsu (Ninpo) is a Japanese martial art developed around war and strategy and used by the Ninjas (Shinobi) in feudal Japan. Practitioners are usually known as ninjas, although modern associations of ninjas with being violent fighters and lethal assassins are generally not entirely consistent with the art, at least as it was practiced in ancient times.
There are certain tactics that can modify the martial arts practiced by ninjas in order to be more effective in the demands of their work; whether that is to prioritize escaping in case of confrontation, or capturing fast in pursuit of ninjas. Since ninjas are most likely to have been conditioning their bodies for infiltration and other spying activities, one could look into ninja-inspired, or even military-inspired, camps teaching survival skills, obstacle-training, and martial arts.
What Ninja Training Consists Of
Ninja training usually involves shuriken throws and other fun training based both on history and Japanese pop culture. Since Ninja Budo may be simply a normal Samurai Budo, the numerous Koryu Budo (Japanese Classical Budo traceable back to the Sengoku and Edo periods, and earlier) will be the one to seek out. There are various descriptions of ninjutsu skills between the various schools which are all crediting the techniques to the Ninjutsu.
There is no evidence from three broadly accepted historical Ninja manuals–Shoninki, Mansen Shukai, and Shinobi Hiden–to indicate that a Shinobi trained in a single martial arts system.
One reason for this could be because the arts and techniques of ninjas were passed on orally, and documents were generally lacking. For example, Bansenshukai mentioned that ninjas were to train swordsmanship, but provided no specific instructions, nor any schools in which it was taught. Because ninjas are a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, you might want to limit your options to training that you can track back to, but does not necessarily take place currently, in Japan.
The modern ninjutsu training regimen would undoubtedly differ greatly from the Ninjas (Shinobi) teachings, not only due to much of what was taught being irrelevant in modern-day times but due to some loss of the techniques/secrets from that time.
The Mental Aspect of the Ninja Was an Integral Part of the Training
With Ninjutsu, the mental aspect of things is dependent upon thinking like a Ninja, a critical aspect for Ninjutsu practitioners in traditional Japan. The kicking arts of ninjas were going to have been the oldest fighting forms in Japan known as Taijutsu, while ninja grappling arts were forerunners to Jujutsu known as Kumi-uchi.
Ninjas grappling techniques and styles are broken up into various areas that consist of various weapons techniques and also styles of martial arts. Just like today’s Special Forces are trained to utilize various gear, know how to fight in close quarters–including the arts of wrestling and striking–and need to know how to use handheld weapons and firearms, the Ninjas needed to be aware of everything which could assist ninjas in their dangerous line of work.
You would be taught combat skills that are similar to those of many Japanese martial arts, with strikes, grappling, ground fighting, locks, chokes, throws, and so on, and unlike most martial arts, weapons training is also typically practiced right from the start.