In any case, Parkour is a way of life, a sport and philosophy. Parkour moves are trained in repetitively and traceurs commit basic techniques to muscle memory. It is after extended physical and mental training that a traceur will attempt a dangerous stunt. The question is, do our younger audience know this?

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Iranian women were banned from taking up sports in the past. So, this is a great step forward.

Their training looks tough and the result of their ninja training is obvious in the demonstrations. To become a ninja you have to train hard. It doesn’t matter what gender, race, beliefs or any other differences.

Train hard and persevere.

Logen

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Shihan Richard and Linda Van Donk will be donating the profits made on Ninja, Blade Under Heart  to Shidoshi Ricardo himself. This is an opportunity to read it and to help a fellow ninja who has contributed to the ninja and martial arts community.

Logen

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The other two, Eric Olsen and Michael Iline, have not enabled the option to receive messages on Facebook. I hope you both will contact me instead via my email or Facebook account (at least send me a message through Facebook so that I can verify your identity).

I will reveal what the good news is about shortly.

Logen

Analysing his surroundings, the ninja reached into his clothes and retrieved the uchitake (a cylindrical shape fire-starter). He lights his pine reisin torch, allowing his immediate surroundings to illuminate, and continues to navigate into enemy terrain.

Contrary to the depictions in popular culture, the shinobi did in fact use torches to illuminate their surroundings during the night; albeit only in specific circumstances. It is emphasised in various manuals that fire of some form must be carried with the ninja. One must remember that ninja were human beings who possessed extraordinary skills within limits of the physical body.

Using light for night missions

In circumstances deemed necessary, fire and torches were used by these warriors of the night. And there were unwritten guidelines to help determine whether the use of light was required. These guidelines stemming from common sense are also used by modern militaries around the world.

1. Does the existing natural light allow for navigation, without getting lost?

2. Can the ninja see enough to safely avoid natural hazards (cliffs) and predators?

3.Does the light compromise the covert nature of the mission?

The first two guidelines need no explanation, while the last is slightly ambiguous. How would one determine if the use of light would alert the enemy?

To answer the question, an analysis of the environment and circumstances must be done.

For instance, stormy weather can obscure light from fire-torches. The enemy would therefore be none-the-wiser about the ongoing infiltration. In another example, an enemy within the castle grounds surrounded by dense forests is unlikely to detect light sources.

Where using light near the enemy territory would compromise the mission, the shinobi would use his sword as a probe in the darkness. This was done by drawing out the scabbard incompletely to the tip of the sword and moving it in front of him to feel in the darkness. The scabbard will balance on the tip of the blade so long as the ninja bites onto the cord tied to the scabbard.  If ever, the makeshift probe encounters the enemy, the scabbard will be immediately dropped and the bare blade will meet the enemy instantaneously.

Fire and torches

The ninja made a wide variety of torches and were considered experts at making them. These torches were suitable for extensive travelling and followed a basic construction of hallowed wood filled with flammable material and a mix of charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate.

Most torches were lit with a tinderbox (flint and steel) or with the uchitake (a waterproof container within a bamboo tube that contains conserved smouldering ember).

It is interesting to note that the way a person’s torch burnt could alert a ninja as to whether that person too is a ninja. The range of torches made include waterproof types to the mystical Palm Flaring Fire.

Palm Flaring Fire

This clandestine technique was used to illuminate a room briefly to ensure it was empty. The very palm of the shinobi was the torch. Upon opening his palm, the flammable powder would be exposed to air, thereby causing it to ignite and flare with light.

Pine Resin Torch

This variant of torches enabled the ninja to break the torch into even smaller pieces. This created more light sources for the ninja and allowed him to adjust the light’s intensity.

Conclusion

The mastery of fire and weatherproofing light sources made many missions possible for the ninja. This was also one of the reasons the ninja were considered a formidable force within the darkness.

Here’s a picture of me taken after the graduation parade for Basic Military Training last year; the graduating recruits had marched 24km overnight carrying a rifle and heavy fieldpack before participating in the parade.

As the founder and fellow member of the Way Of Ninja community, I wish to have an honest interaction with fellow members and readers. I want to respond more to your queries. And I want you all to garner support from each other, because we are a community. Way Of Ninja is our community.

Therefore, the new social network are under works to be launched soon. I will be sacrificing some time from my Christmas and new year break to work on this.

In the mean time, readers and members who wish to contact me should email me (logen [@] wayofninja [.] com). For less urgent matters, please leave a relevant comment on the entries and discuss with fellow readers. And if you find any of the articles interesting or useful, please ‘like’ or tweet the article.

Remember, we are a community of ninja, parkour and martial arts enthusiasts/practitioners.

Season’s greetings and happy new year in advance.

Logen

When I first started five years ago, it helped me get out of the depression I felt living in Gaza.

- Abdullah, a traceur talking about how parkour has helped him.

Constantly faced with buildings filled with bullet-holes, these youths (lacking the capacity to work  and having no place for leisure activities) often turn to drugs to alleviate the feeling of depression and dullness.

Amidst the stark reality of Palastine, some young men in Gaza have discovered parkour some years ago and are relying on parkour as a form of escape from their worries. This is indeed inspiring and kudos to these traceurs for overcoming adversity.

Source: bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16148206 and video by The New York Times

Logen

Hiding inside an animal

Disguises formed the staple in a ninja’s art of concealment. When passing through towns, guises as monks, merchants and common folk enabled the shinobi to travel without arousing suspicion. Yet,  a lone monk, merchant or commoner stalking the deep forests of old Japan would have looked out of place, especially within enemy grounds.

Therefore, the ninja would drape over his shoulders animal fur with the head to mislead enemy guards. In the dark and over a distance, a ninja draped in animal fur would have looked like a wolf or dog. As grotesque as it seems, ninja even hid within the carcass of an animal.

Animal distraction

Hino Kumawaka used a form of animal distraction when avenging the death of his father. Noticing moths in the courtyard, he opened a gap into his sleeping target’s room, which prompted the moths to flutter towards the lamplight. Soon, the light from the lamp extinguished allowing Kumawaka to stab his target in total darkness.

While not all animal distractions happen so dramatically, shinobi often released small animals within enemy grounds to mislead the enemy. Seeing a hare hopping about and making a pattering sound would mislead the guard into thinking that the noise he heard previously was merely a cute innocent rabbit, not a sneaking ninja.

Dealing with watch dogs

The shinobi made it a point to study canine behavior and habits as these animals were often used to guard enemy grounds. Their observation influenced the creation of Ouken no jutsu, methods to deal with watch dogs.

Crude but effective, the first method, known as Goken no ho, involves distracting the watch dog with another canine of the opposite sex. The second called Inu kuguri no ho was based in manipulating the watch dog’s instincts and habits to avoid disturbing them.

The last method, Gukenjutsu, was a time-intensive method. Months and weeks before the mission, the ninja would befriend the dog by sneaking it treats. This allowed the dog to get used to the ninja’s scent. Obviously, this method should not be used on time-sensitive missions.

Communicating like birds and insects

Missions were usually conducted in teams. When the team split up, a clandestine mode of communication was needed. Needless to say, the ninja of old did not have walkie talkies and had to rely on mimicry of bird and insect sounds to communicate.

This ability was called Kunina onkyo. The imitating of bird and insect calls allowed the ninja to convey important intelligence without tipping off the enemy. This was particularly useful if one of the ninja was captured.

Eyes that tell the time

In an earlier entry, we mentioned that ninja could tell the time by looking into a cat’s eyes. If we’re not mistaken this observation was made also by the ancient Chinese.

The pupils of cats dilated and constricted in a regular pattern throughout the day. Natural light fluctuations do no affect this pattern, making the pupil dilation and constriction roughly consistent to the time of the day. However, day light saving and other time zone anomalies will make the eye dilation less accurate.

During this holiday, people would dress up in ninja guises (or the traditional all-black costume) and participate in ninja-related activities. These activities include an appreciation of the old martial arts of Japan.

5th December was chosen as Ninja Day due to the movie opening of The Last Samurai, where the ninja were battling the samurai in a particular scene. Although the holiday started out small, a group of French performers dressed up in showy ninja costumes and posed in front of famous landmarks since 2004. This prompted press coverage, which made the holiday known to more people.

Had I been aware of December 5th, I would have made special plans for Way Of Ninja. The holiday was created with great intentions and fun. People would have the opportunity to know the ancient shinobi and even live out their fantasies of being a shadow warrior for one day!

Till the next International Day Of The Ninja, I wish everyone reading a belated Happy Ninja Day!

Logen

The castle base of steep interlocking boulders, nicknamed the musha-gaeshi (warrior-stopper), resisted common attacks by enemies of the castle. Yet, the gap between the stones provided tiny unintentional handholds for the ninja.

Many tools and climbing equipment were thus created to ensure safe and easier breaching of the castle foundations.

The Grappling Hook

Used to scale castle foundations, the grappling hook was among the six primary tools of the ninja. When climbing, the grappling hook would be struck into wall crevices to enable the ninja to grip the surfaces securely. Records in the Ninpiden Manual suggests that a larger grappling hook existed and was used to destroy enemy structures.

The Grappling Rod

Constructed by tying one end of a rope to the grappling hook and pushing the other end of the same rope through separated sections of bamboo, the grappling rod was an extension of the grappling hook.

To use the grappling rod, the rope was pulled tight to compress the individual sections of bamboo into one solid pole. The grappling rod would then be used to reach crevices (or hand-holds) that were out-of-reach. When the rope was slackened, the sections of bamboo separated. This enabled the grappling rod to be dismantled for storage.

The 3 Foot Piece of Cloth

Every ninja carried a multipurpose 3 foot piece of cloth. This was either tied around the waist or kept inside the clothing. Where the rope fell short, the cloth would be used to extend the length of the rope. The cloth is also used to conceal the head and face or worn as a head band.

The Ladder

Another equipment obviously purposed at climbing over obstacles is the ladder. A variety of ladders existed, all of which were constructed for convenient storage; being fold-able,extendable, or easy-to-dismantle.

Other Tools

Where the crevices between the boulders were too tiny for the fingers, tools such as the shikoro, kunai and kasugai were used as shims. Interestingly, for overcoming low walls, the ninja would lean their sword (scabbard down) against the wall, step onto the hilt and climb over the wall. Once over, the sword would automatically go over the wall because the scabbard was tied to the ankle of the ninja.

Conclusion

These climbing tools introduced enabled the ninja to overcome many structures and walls. They increased the survival rate of the ninja and allowed for tactical storage while on the move.

Logen