'Ninja Quotes' from Hatsumi-sensei

[heretic888]

To add to the depth and flavor of role-playing 'ninja' characters (such as the turtles) I thought I would post these quotes I have come across by Hatsumi-soke:

"The introduction of the ninja movement in the West, as I see it, is~moving in the wrong direction. Why? Because ninjutsu was originally taught in a secret manner, and this secrecy was kept and observed for many years.. Ninjutsu was not exposed. (Yet), those who never learned ninpo, those who just read books, for example, started to practice even though they had very wrong conceptions. It is therefore often thought that ninjutsu is used for assassinations and other evil purposes, and that those who practice it live in a `dark world'. Too many people believe that that is what a ninja is because that is the way it is being introduced."

"Being a real ninja means living a good life, a life under the sun - a special place in the sun; to love people, to understand nature and animals, and to love the universe. This type of love I speak of must have a kind of balance in it: It is not only give and take, it is also give and return. The mind of a ninja is a mind of mercy, a mind of God. It is a state of mind that must be kept in order to live a straight, moral life."

"Looking for the meaning of life, one man can discover the order of the universe. To discover the truth, to achieve. a higher spiritual state, that is the true meaning of ninja.."

NINJA HACHIMON ("Eight Gates of the Ninja"):

1. NINJA NO KIAI: (This involves an explosive expression of spirit and energy [ki] to others and to oneself.)
2. NINJA NO TAIJUTSU: (Involves the study and practice of body techniques.)
3. NINJA NO KEMPO: (This is the study of sword techniques.)
4. NINJA NO SOOJUTSU: (This is the study of methods involving the spear or lance.)
5. NINJA NO SHURIKEN: (This is the art of throwing knives, darts and star-shaped weapons.)
6. NINJA NO KAJUTSU: (Involves the use of fire.)
7. NINJA NO UGEI: (This is the art of deception and disguises.)
8. NINJA NO KYOMON: (This is the study of religion, philosophy, meditation, history, mathematics, chemistry, physics and psychology.)

"Since ancient times, study of the arts and sciences were as important to martial arts as the study of self defense techniques. Ninja no kyomon, the study of all aspects of religion, medicine, mathematics and other disciplines are necessary, for correct judgment and selfunderstanding."

[heretic888]

"In order to increase strength and virility, the ninja massage their feet by holding the first three toes and rotating them. Even kunoichi (female ninja) practice this technique to ensure-good health of the whole body. It is particularly good for the liver; pancreas and the entire intestinal system. Part of the technique includes rubbing the bottoms of the feet to maintain good blood pressure and a balanced nervous system."

"Ninja will also train by walking on beans scattered on the ground; this helps massage pressure points as well as toughens the bottoms of the feet. More advanced ninja eventually learn to walk on tetsubishi (sharp-spiked caltrops) without injury; this is accomplished not only because the feet are toughened, but because the ninja has learned to walk with perfect balance and lightness, distributing his weight so that he barely touches the thorny caltrops."

[heretic888]

"There are so many misconceptions about the ninja; especially in the West where they are characterised in sensational movies, television shows and books as little more than a ruthless assassins and spies for hire. They are portrayed as black clad magicians with supernatural powers who can appear and disappear at will; who can swim like fish or fly like a bird; who can walk on water or predict the future."

"There are, of course, those ninja who can execute their craft so well that they give an appearance of being able to perform these super human feats; but appearances, as you must know, can be deceiving. Ninpo is a science, not black magic."


"As for the ninja have being depicted as mere mercenaries, this is an unfortunate magnification of isolated cases. Certainly there were "rogue" ninja, as there were rogue samurai or sailors or anyone who went awry of the code of justice they had sworn to. But these were minor compared to the whole. Those of you who have read my book, Ninjutsu: History and Tradition, will probably recall that portion dealing with this aspect. Rather than seeing themselves as mercenaries or thugs, the ninja "considered themselves to be merely practitioners of political, religious and military strategies that were cultural opposites of the conventional outlooks of the times. Ninjutsu developed as a highly illegal counter culture to the ruling samurai elite, and for this reason alone, the origins of the art were shrouded by centuries of mystery, concealment and deliberate confusion of history." "

"The history of the Ninpo, in fact, is marked by a strong code of moral and just behaviour that applies not only to the fighting or military aspects, to the everyday life of the ninja. And learning to attain sei shin (or right mind) is essential to becoming a ninja."

"Some facets of the moral code are:
· Loyalty, bravery and trustworthiness.
· He must be fair minded; exposed to the different ways of thinking and the customs of different types of people
· He must also be a man of virtue and commitment, willing to defend justice without selflessness and without fear of death.
· He must not engage in petty arguments or have double standards."

"Then there is the understanding of the spirit of Budo, the samurai, the perfect gentleman-kind hearted, understanding and devoted to his training."

"Being called a ninja is a great honour, like being called a great samurai. One who seeks peace and enlightenment, not violence. "

[heretic888]

"Too many people have the misconception that ninja were nothing more than hired assassins. For the most part, this is not true at all. In the long and honorable history of ninpo, it was always warrior against warrior. True, there were surprise attacks, but always against other warriors. (There were never heinous attacks against civilians and innocents.) Today, as they did centuries ago, ninja live by a very strict moral code."

"Infiltration and information-gathering, utilizing disguises and psychological warfare were just as important to the ancient ninja as learning fighting techniques. Because with these methods you can win without fighting; you can win by knowing the enemy and out-smarting him. The ninja had - and still emphasize - training along these lines."

"Philosophy is most important in learning ninjutsu. Just teaching technique is wrong. If someone is only teaching technique he is not ninja."

"Anyone can learn technique and how to fight and defend themselves. But not everyone can be ninja. That takes an understanding of the whole history and science of ninpo. You have seen the whole forest; the technique is only one tree. To be ninja you must see the whole thing."

[Kameko]

:blanksta:

[heretic888]

"Ninjutsu preaches to avoid fighting and to avoid the attack. This is one of the most important characteristics of the art. We practice so that these incidents won't happen, and if they ever occur there's no choice and we fight. But the aim is to prevent the fight, not to get into it."

Tetsuji Ishizuka

[heretic888]

Takamatsu Toshigutsu, Dr. Hatsumi's teacher and 33rd generation Grandmaster of the togakure ryu, had a dream one evening which proved to become the foundation of his philosophy in the martial arts. In this dream, a demon and a butterfly engaged in battle; quite an uneven conflict, as most readers would agree. The demon was strong, huge, and had great powers. The butterfly was small and appeared to have no capabilities other than those of the average insect. And yet, when the enraged demon attempted to swat the flitting butterfly, it easily avoided his charges. Dancing here and there, ever out of reach, the butterfly fit completely into the demon's motion. His strength useless, and choking on his own anger, the demon fell to the ground dead while the butterfly floated away, free and unharmed. Needless to say, this combat strategy brings to mind the rhymes of a once famous heavyweight boxing world champion.

This is taijutsu. To be able; in other words, to adapt to your opponent's energy and movement so completely that he has no capability to injure you, or ultimately, to affect you in any way. The pinnacle of this ability is to simply not be there whenever any action potentially harmful to yourself is carried out.

Once Masaaki Hatsumi was asked: "What would you do if a sniper shot at you from half a mile away while you were going out your door?' The answer was simple: " I would never walk through that door at that time."

[Nturtle]

Dude....you're posting to yourself :blanksta:

[heretic888]

did you have something to ask about the posts??

[heretic888]

"Unfortunately, religion often works to shrink and tame the very wild and mysterious forces that first drew our wonder. In the process of making the inexplicable safe for the masses, the possibilities for real illusion-piercing insight becomes reduced. One might say that they are only available to those who dare to ride the breaking crest of direct life-altering experience."
- Stephen K. Hayes

"The warrior learns of the spiritual realm by dwelling on the cutting edge of the sword, standing at the edge of the fire pit, venturing right up to the edge of starvation if necessary. Vibrant and intense living is the warrior's form of worship."
- Stephen K. Hayes

"In the world of the shinobi spiritual warrior, the realm of the spirit provides for tangible physical results, just as the physical world is the stage for developing the power of the spirit. The two realms are not opposites, they are two distinct views of the identical process. Ninjutsu, born of these two parallel worlds, draws its strength from both ends of the spectrum."
- Stephen K. Hayes

"From the mystical teachings of Mikkyo came the ninja's insight into the workings of the universal scheme, and from the application of this understanding came the ninja's personal power."
- Stephen K. Hayes

"During my years of training in the dojo of my warrior arts teachers, I had been introduced to certain concepts of physicalizing the intentions of the spirit. The ninja's kuji goshin ho, or 'nine-syllable protection method', had been derived from the original zomitsu non-religious Mikkyo that had filtered into Japan from China over thirteen hundred years ago. Through this practice, the spiritual warrior worked to unify the sometimes quarrelsome elements of body, intellect, and will."
- Stephen K. Hayes

[heretic888]

bump. hee.

[Mars-Chan]

:blanksta: Erm.....yeah.

[MzTheInsomniac]

i dont think anyone really cares about these quotes

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

"Being a real ninja means living a good life, a life under the sun - a special place in the sun; to love people, to understand nature and animals, and to love the universe. This type of love I speak of must have a kind of balance in it: It is not only give and take, it is also give and return. The mind of a ninja is a mind of mercy, a mind of God. It is a state of mind that must be kept in order to live a straight, moral life."

"Looking for the meaning of life, one man can discover the order of the universe. To discover the truth, to achieve. a higher spiritual state, that is the true meaning of ninja.."



I think that the Ninja's bad rep. Could be boosted if more people said things like Hatsumi-Sensai said. :)
Maybe, Europe could drop all this TMHT crap.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

Why does everybody bitch at Heretic?

[heretic888]

to what are you referring???