Ninjutsu Training Online

The Ninja of ancient times were famed for their ability to seemingly disappear at will. Onshinjutsu or “art of invisibility” is the ninjutsu practitioner’s strategies and tactics, which like the ninja of ancient Japan allow a modern Ninja proponent to disappear of blend in to escape detection.

The art of Onshinjutsu is comprised of several components that cover the myriad of skills from “light removing” skills (Gisou no ho), to Disguise and Impersonation skills(Hensojutsu and Gisojutsu). With some of these skills overlapping with the skill sets taught within Shinobi iri, a ninja would become a supreme master of “invisibility” in his life.

If you have been following the Anonymous living tips blog post, you have already some exposure to Onshinjutsu skills. In this brief lesson we will look at developing Urban Hensojutsu skills to blend in with our environment. Hensojuts is the art of disguise, and involves altering one’s appearance so as to “blend in” or seemingly “disappear” into the background. This happens all around us each day, and for the most part these “grey men”, don’t cross our minds as standing out or even remember able!

As part of your practice in Hensojutsu, you need to first be aware of whom these “grey  men” are and how you can become one at will if necessary. So I offer you this brief lesson:

For 1 week keep track in your log and lesson book the following:

1)      How many homeless people you see and what they are wearing, and where they are located.

2)      How many police officers you see and their normal working locations.

3)      Crossing guards (same as above)

4)      Telephone or cable lineman (same as above)

5)      How about taxi drivers!!

 So this list is just the tip of the iceberg on those around us whom blend in but can be visual seen each day. Does our mind lock onto them as a threat? Mostly no, sometimes they may seem out of sorts but there must be a reason for them to be there…right??

Good luck and practice this lesson well.

Bufu Ikkan.

Choho is the ninja’s art of gathering intelligence. In order to effectively gather information in a discrete manner, a ninjutsu practitioner requires practice. Here is a short exercise that I often practice when I travel or am out for a walk in a new neighborhood.

Gather the following information:

1)      How many homes were in the neighborhood

2)      How many of these had dogs

3)      How far apart were the homes from each other

4)      Depending on the time of day what cars were parked in the driveway

5)      How many streetlights

6)      Were there any signs that the homes had children living there

7)      Does it appear that anyone is home during the day in a particular home

8)      Who has the most expensive automobile in the neighborhood

9)      Who has a boat or travel trailer

10)   Are there any places where you can observe a large area of the neighborhood from, discretely.

As you casually stroll or even jog through the area, look the part of just that an active person power walking or a runner. Become a grey man, and blend in. As you become more adept at this type of fundamental information gathering, we will move on to a more complicated subject: Surveillance!

Bufu Ikkan

“Would you repeat that movement again?”

“I replied that I could never perform a movement more than once. If I did the same thing twice, the movement would become just a “pattern” Even if it looks like the same movement, only the slightest difference either in my action or that of my opponent may change the situation completely.”

When you train for many years and decades this simple statement becomes the absolute of all truths. Repeating a technique exactly each time becomes a pattern, or a trap that your opponent may capitalize on. This fact alone is why I wrote the piece on changing your routines (yes look back and read between the lines).  Do you want to become the ordinary, patterned martial artist or person in life? If you are reading this, I think not!

So step up, change your patterns, change your life, change and vary your training and reap the benefits of this Ninja wisdom from Soke HAtsumi!

Bufu Ikkan

Sensei Lefebvre

 I had to chuckle when I came across this newspaper clip. Remember a Ninja is supposed to be invisible (LOL)

Alright here is part two of the tour at the Iga Ueno museum in Japan. Keep track of the secret hiding locations and escape methods here, as they will give you valuable insights on how to start on these items in your own home.

Bufu ikkan

Hello Again,

A Ninja home whether modern or ancient contained many secrets. Secret compartments, concealed hiding locations, secret entrances and exits etc. This is part of a video series at the Iga Ueno Ninja Museum (Iwill post all of the segments) also, wait until you see the upcoming launch of Modern applications to a Ninja Home!!

Enjoy

As a Ninjutsu practitioner your daily Habits can play against you. Remember, no person acts truly at random, and no person has truly infinite resources at their disposal to be completely random. But yes there are steps to help you prevent an attacker from creating a plan of attack based on your day to day habits.

Let’s start with something as mundane as your commute to and from work each day. You jump in your vehicle, pull out of the driveway and head out to the main drag only to stop at your favorite Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts each day. Oh yes and they do know exactly what you order when you step in….this should tell you something! So you finally arrive at work, pull into your spot and start the day.

So now reviewing this everyday occurrence, do you see an easy pattern that would allow an attacker to key in on your habitual travel route? Or even your favorite local coffee stop? Now let’s do some ninjutsu skill development exercises:

1) Get a map of your local area which covers your route to work.

2) Mark out your daily route in red highlighter including where you stop (if you do) for coffee each day.

3) Reviewing your map, determine 3 alternate routes to and from work and mark them in Blue highlighter

4) Pick a day and drive each of these routes, also noting any places you may want to stop for coffee, gas etc.

5) You should now have 1 primary route and 3 back up routes.

6) Each week alternate your routes between the 4 in random fashion

By just changing this most basic of habits you have become more unpredictable than 98% of the people around you!

In the past I use to work in a major metropolitan city which I thought had only 1 major way in and or out. After being caught in a major snowstorm which left me on the road for 7 hours, I determined that would never happen again. So I followed the exact lesson above and detailed 3 alternate routes out of the city, 4 routes to connect to the highway and 1 surface street route paralleling the main highway in case it was blocked. The next major snowstorm’s result? I was home in 2 hrs and 30 minutes, while a most people around me were trapped for 6+ hours on the highway!!!

Bufu Ikkan

Sensei Lefebvre

You are jogging down a quiet street, when you notice two seedy guys step out in from an alley way in front of you, as you start to turn and cross the street, a van slides to a stop and the door opens, the two guys muscle you inside and cover your head with hood, handcuffed and have no idea where you are heading, you have been KIDNAPPED!

Now I believe most people reading this will think, well that can never happen here or to me in the US, but the truth is, it happens every day around the world and yes it happens here in the USA! Just a for instance, did you know that Phoenix Arizona is the #2 location for kidnappings in the world?

In ancient times the Ninja prepared themselves for every eventuality in the training. Skills such as Intonjutsu (escape and concealment), Shinobi Iri(stealth and entering methods), Hajutsu(escaping skills) all were taught and mastered at an early age to prepare a practitioner the methods to use to “steal in” or “disappear” if caught or in order to penetrate an enemies fortification. Learning the historical strategies and tactics, and focusing on a modern application, is what a modern ninjutsu practitioner should be adding to their training each day.

Here is a short list of modern ninjutsu escaping skills that you should consider mastering:

 Escaping common restraining moves
 Utilize lock picking equipment
 Escape restraints (duct tape, zip ties, handcuffs)
 Create improvised lock opening tools
 Camouflage techniques
 Silent movement

Each of these skills will take time to learn and master but just think of the moment when you need such skills and haven’t developed them.

Bufu Ikkan
Sensei Lefebvre

Ps: There are multiple lessons covering Intonjutsu, Shinobi iri, and Hajutsu from a traditional skills and strategies all the way to modern application. Stay tuned for the new lessons launching!!

During the time of great warfare in ancient Japan the rise of Battlefield arts or Senoku Jidai rose to prominence. On the battlefield the primary objective is and was to kill the enemy, and move on to fight again. This was a giant melee of combatants fighting for their lives. Falling to the ground usually meant the death of a soldier. Therefore techniques for close combat included many ways to throw, or off balance your opponent, as well as methods for rebounding from the ground safely if you had lost your footing or were thrown down.

A samurai was often a walking arsenal, moving onto the battlefield. He was always armed with a sword, but often would carry a Bo, yari or naginata, as well as a short sword and tanto. Knowing that weapons could break or be ripped from your grasp by a dying opponent, a samurai would need a fall back weapon to rely upon. There often many ranges involved when dealing with attackers, so again a layering of weapons makes strategic sense.While within ninjutsu, the objective is not the large battlefield melee that was common to this time period but rather as “shock troops”, entering a castle or fortification and causing mayhem with fire, assassination, internal attacks, and allowing further troops to enter by breaching doors, walls or other fortifications. A Ninja, was a veritable walking arsenal with tools designed to counter a Samurai’s attack, or to be able to assist with regular troops in an all out attack on an objective. A ninja’s weapons may include, shuriken, kusarigama, Kamiyari, metsubishi, shuko, katana, naginata etc. Always ready and prepared the skills of a ninja from the ancient times can and does easily translate to the modern battlefield and everyday preparedness. So, I will leave you with a question as a new opportunity to learn, “what does your everyday carry and preparedness routine look like?”

Bufu Ikkan

Sensei Lefebvre