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My Life as a Ninja

24 Aug 2003
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(..........................should anyone be interested...........................)

In '83 (I think it was) I saw the movie "The Karate Kid" (remember that one?). Started studying karate.

A couple of years later I saw a movie called "Revenge of the Ninja ," starring Shou Kosugi (his son, Ken, is popular in Japan now... has a kids' show).

I decided to become a Ninja.

Some people want to be doctors, lawyers....... I wanted to be a Ninja. I wasn't sure how much it paid, but that didn't matter.

One problem- there weren't any Ninja schools in New Zealand.

So, I worked and saved my money for a year and went to Japan, October 1988 (I wasn't there long when the Emperor Hirohito died, I remember black sun flags everywhere).

Within a few days I was in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, at the Togakure-Ryu Ninjutsu head school.

Now- believe it or not- what you see in the movies isn't exactly correct.

I'd half been expecting a temple in a forest next to a waterfall. Nope. Noda is an industrial town- in fact, it makes soya sauce (the whole place smells like soya!).

And, I was hoping to be the sole gaijin there. Nah. There were students from America, Israel and.... yep, another Kiwi.

Anyway, the Grandmaster of Togakure-Ryu Ninjutsu, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, was very impressive. Saw him fight off four guys using an orange once. Yes, an orange.

I lived and studied in Chiba for a couple of years, then- due to moving around- I gave up Ninjutsu.

Of course, I never really gave it up. Once a Ninja..................:)

Footnote: a Kiwi friend who I'd been teaching Ninjutsu moved to Japan from New Zealand a few years ago, married a Japanese girl and now lives in Chiba and studies Ninjutsu!
 
I did a short homestay in Noda. Not at the same time you were there, though. I do remember the kikkoman factory.

I didn't realize Ninjutsu was a living art. How does it compare to karate? Is it a fighting art or more of a tai chi kind of thing?
 
Originally posted by mdchachi
I did a short homestay in Noda. Not at the same time you were there, though. I do remember the kikkoman factory.

I didn't realize Ninjutsu was a living art. How does it compare to karate? Is it a fighting art or more of a tai chi kind of thing?

Here's the first thing you should know- Noda is FULL of ninjas, ha! :) Of course, they don't look like ninjas, but trust me- they're there! :)

Ninjutsu: basically it's a bit of everything. There's punching and kicking like karate, there are throws like judo, there are twisting/throwing/pressure-point techniques like aikido, and there's weapon use like kendo etc.
There's also a lot of theory/meditation.

Not much running around on rooftops dressed in black, though. :)
 
hi there, i believe that a lot of ninjutsu we see in movies are 'BS'. so the school u went to was very known for becoming a ninja was it?

I remember when i was little my family and I went to a place called 'Nikkou Mura', there used to train ninjas as I heard ???

I did a search for u,
http://www.jidaimura.co.jp/web2003/nikko/

i think 'Nikkou mura' is in gunma-ken somewheree round there...

oo yer they had like houses with traps and stuff it was pretty cool! a house with strange gravity!!
 
Ninjutsu for example is one of my favourite topics... If someone wants to chat about it,....contact me 🙂

Well, most people think about ninjas as seen in the anime "Ninja Scroll"...
 
Originally posted by kx_nz
hi there, i believe that a lot of ninjutsu we see in movies are 'BS'. so the school u went to was very known for becoming a ninja was it?

I remember when i was little my family and I went to a place called 'Nikkou Mura', there used to train ninjas as I heard ???

Yeah, everytime I tell my Japanese students that I studied Ninjutsu they ask if I've been to Nikkou Mura. I haven't been there but it sounds fun- a Disney Ninja village. :)

As for the movies- oh, sure.. it's pretty much ridiculous.

My school: yeah, it's the #1 ninja school in the world. The world's last living Grandmaster still teaches there. Go to Noda is you get a chance (even just to watch a lesson.. I think it costs around 3,000 yen)!
 
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