03/18/2024
Saw this in a group and i had to give my thoughts after spending ~8 years learning ninjutsu
As a black belt holder for a sister school to the bujinkan (ItΕ Ryu Budo), i can absolutely say without a doubt that 9 Schools teachings are weak. Their best students are literally transfers from other schools, or people who already are certified in another art. Not to mention, no one ever takes you seriously as far as your qualifications, and (at least here in the US) it's difficult to find legitimate teachers and organizations. The "budo taijutsu"/"ninpo" that is taught under the 9 Schools is absolutely weak sauce and 90% of the fighting techniques only apply to an attacker who is completely compliant or someone who is really dumb (neither of which I would see the point of using martial arts against in real life scenarios).
The most useful information I learned in the ~8 years I participated was some basic Japanese war history, some historical trivia about the Shinobi, and Tendai sects and the ashigaru, and other stuff that is not useful or practical in a modern world. Is it "real"? Sure, I learned Shaolin Kenpo Karate in the form of ItΕ Ryu Budo Taijutsu, I learned Japanese swordplay in the form of Kobayashi Ryu Kenjutsu, I learned body control and movement techniques in the form of Taihenjutsu, Koppojutsu, etc. But do i feel like the embodiment of an ancient equivalent of a modern CIA agent or FBI agent or whatever (what essentially the Shinobi were used for)? No. It was a fun program that kept my teenage self out of trouble and develop some discipline and martial skill. Anyone who truly thinks you'll ever get anything beyond that from ninjutsu is delusional.
Now, that is my personal opinion, but there is more than one reason why I stopped after my first dan. Apart from lack of availability as my teacher moved when his partner passed away, once that particular teacher left I generally lost interest in continuing to learn. People to this day still make fun of my ninjutsu black belt, call the Budo arts bullshido, call it fake etc. People have zero respect for it amongst the actual martial arts culture, unlike Karate, Taekwondo, Kungfu, Capoeira, Savate, Krav Maga, Muay Thai (even though Ninjutsu teaches you aspects that span almost every single one of those arts). And on top of that, unless you spend ridiculous amounts of money on retreats and seminars at the Bujinkan with Soke Hatsumi, even amongst the Ninjutsu culture there is no respect or camaraderie, and they really, really, really like to push religious/spiritual teachings that not everyone will agree with once you start learning things like the kuji-in/kuji-kiri and meditation.
For many years i didn't even tell anyone that I had first dan grading in Ninjutsu because it almost always got me made fun of, ninjutsu is a joke in the modern era, especially after the Hollywood depictions of shinobi and the different cartoons, video games, and tv shows that fill people's head with fantasy like Naruto (hell as a middle schooler i really thought the Kuji-kiri would give me real life powers like chi balls and fire breathing).
Additionally, as far as the fighting techniques they teach, the only really useful fighting techniques I learned were the grappling, breaking, pressure points, weapons, and breakfalls. The actual hand to hand techniques are very.... let's just say unconventional. Any time i go into sparring or whatever with people from different arts, I'm always met with questioning looks, or I'm being warned by a referee not to do what I've just done again, or I'm being told that it resembles something else done incorrectly, or I'm being told it's not efficient or effective or blahblah it's always something.
Plus, I have zero need to look at the dilation of a cat's pupils to determine the time of day, i have a wristwatch and a smartphone and there are clocks on signs all throughout the towns. A lot of the archaic knowledge you will learn in Ninjutsu is just that: archaic. Outdated. Obsolete.
I really would only recommend Ninjutsu to someone deeply interested in learning about Japanese history and culture moreso than someone who wants to learn martial arts or practice practical combat scenarios.
Plus there *ARE* a LOT of shady bullshido "Ninjutsu" schools out there teaching flat out bs, and no one is challenging these folks or correcting them or calling them out, and thus the market is saturated with 75% fake ninjutsu, and 25% old fashioned (aka basically useless) ninjutsu. The association of Bujinkan schools here in the US honestly is almost entirely bu****it and made up of vietnam vets who needed something to do when they came home and found a cool ninja ad in the back of a magazine. The few that are actually legit are so far and wide that if you want to continually progress and make a lifestyle of it, you either have to move or spend a lot of money on traveling, and the barriers to entry don't end there.
If you have time and want to go learn Japanese history while doing something fun, heathy, and educational go right ahead.
If you want to seriously pursue martial arts however, just go to a good mainstream school.
If you absolutely just really want to be a "ninja", then yeah go for broke and do the whole 9 Schools/Bujinkan experience. But i think by the time you reach 1st-3rd dan you'll be just as jaded and over it as I am π€·π½ββοΈ
