Why, even after the initial "ninja craze" of the 1980's, when the art of ninjutsu became widely known in the Western-world, are the Ninja considered to be on top of the martial arts "food chain?" Why do even trained martial artists revere the Ninja as super martial artists, not to be messed with, and capable of single-handedly taking on any enemy?
Perhaps it has something to do with the way we are wired on a subconscious level. Perhaps the Ninja feeds some kind of need for a super-hero figure who can, in this case, swoop in from out of the darkness to save the day.
Each person has his or her own reasoning, but I think that, for practitioners of authentic Japanese Ninjutsu - as opposed to other martial arts programs being called "Ninja training" - ninjutsu is seen as best for several reasons. And the reason that these modern-day ninja have chosen this martial art id related directly to what they are looking for as a means to gain the confidence, power, and control to produce real results in the Today's turbulent world.
Why is Ninjutsu better than other martial arts? Perhaps it has something to so with the fact that ninjutsu...
Is Not Just A Martial Art!
The goal of ninjutsu is not to produce black belts. The goal of ninjutsu is to produce a "no-limits person." The art of the ninja is one of "completeness." This is not just about the training being holistic and allowing the practitioner to attain a sense of oneness of body, mind & spirit.
This completeness also refers to the make-up of the art of ninjutsu.
On a smaller scale, the Ninja focuses not on self-defense, but on self-protection. And, while those two terms may sound similar, they are actually quite different. As I define it for my students, "self-defense" is typically limited to the concepts and skills for protecting oneself against another human being who is trying to hurt you.
Self-protection, on the other hand, is much grander in scope. It involves, not only self-defense, but also the protection of the whole person from anything that might threat to harm you.
There are many more dangers, threats, and problems which face us in the world than just physical attacks from human assailants. Lessons from the art of ninjutsu teach us how to overcome the effects of stress, deception and manipulation, and even our own laziness and tendencies at self-sabotage.
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