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Ninjutsu (忍術), also called shinobi no jutsu (忍び術), is a collection
of techniques originally practiced for espionage purposes. It includes methods of gathering information, non-detection, avoidance,
and misdirection techniques. Ninjutsu can also involve training in disguise, escape, concealment, archery, medicine, and explosives.
Practitioners of ninjutsu have been seen as assassins for hire, and have been associated in the public imagination with
other activities which are considered criminal by modern standards. Even though it was influenced by Chinese spying techniques
and the strategic principles of Sun Tzu, ninjutsu is believed by its adherents to be of Japanese origin. One version is that
the basis of ninjutsu was taught to a Japanese household who fled to the mountains after losing a battle. There they came
across Chinese warrior monks who had fled China. Later, the skills were developed over 300 years to create ninjutsu.
Although the popular view is that ninjutsu is the art of secrecy or stealth, actual practitioners consider it to mean
the art of enduring - enduring all of life's hardships. The character nin carries both these meanings, and others.
In the modern world the word ninjutsu usually refers to a certain system (Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu) of self defense, and
its offshoots. It is true that ninjutsu has a long and myth-filled history, but today almost anyone is allowed to practice
modern ninjutsu. As one makes progress in ninjutsu the system gets more sophisticated, and one might realize that the system
contains more than fighting skills. To avoid misunderstandings, "ninjutsu" should just refer to a specific branch
of Japanese martial arts, unless it is being used in a historical sense
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Schools of ninjutsu
The Bujinkan Dōjō headed by Masaaki Hatsumi is one of three organizations generally accepted as teaching
ninjutsu. Hatsumi's Bujinkan Dōjō consists of nine separate schools of allegedly traditional Japanese martial
arts, several of which contain ninjutsu teachings. Hatsumi learned his martial arts from Toshitsugu Takamatsu.
There are two other organizations teaching similar martial arts. These are the Genbukan headed by Shoto Tanemura, ex-student
of Hatsumi, and the Jinenkan headed by Fumio Manaka, also ex-student of Hatsumi.
Other extant traditional martial arts such as the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shintō-ryū contain some aspects
of ninjutsu in their curriculum, but are not ninjutsu schools per se.
The espionage techniques and the like of ninjutsu are rarely focused on these days, since they are strongly bound with
the circumstances and culture of feudal Japan.
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Other schools
Several other schools of Ninjutsu exist, some of which can be traced back to legitimate Japanese origins. Stephen K. Hayes
studied under Masaaki Hatsumi but teaches an americanized system, To-Shin Do, in his Quest Centers.
In Israel, one of the first places where Bujinkan ninjutsu was practiced outside Japan, Doron Navon pioneered Bujinkan
ninjutsu outside Japan in 1974. The AKBAN organization uses the Bujinkan curriculum the way it was used when Doron Navon,
the first foreign Bujinkan shihan, practiced under Hatsumi sensei.
Based in Ireland, the Bujinkan Brian Dōjō is an organization formed and directed by Brian McCarthy with
no link to the organization in Japan.
There are several persons and organizations that claim to teach "ninjutsu" whose validity and/or lineage have
come under question. While such arts may still be "effective," the lack of Japanese lineage authenticity make these
arts not ninjutsu.
Some questioned martial artists such as Ashida Kim, an American martial artist that cross trained into Ninjutsu. Ashida
Kim's lineage is questionable due to a lack of documentation. Another self-proclaimed grandmaster whose authenticity is questioned
is Frank Dux, since Dux's master cannot be found and interviewed as well as the numerous claims of his that have been debunked.
There have been many cases of people of questionable stories suddenly announcing that they are teachers of ninjutsu and
then being unable to show any sort of proof for their claims. For example, the Temple of the Full Autumn Moon, which teaches
Saito Ninjitsu (and defines ninjitsu as something very similar but different from ninjutsu), follows the Wu Shan Fa or "Five
Mountain Principle" (a Chinese name). However, there is no independently verifiable proof to back up the claims of the
man who suddenly announced he was a master of this system in America. As with many of these schools, there is no documentation
in Japan to back up their claims, and no proof of the existence of their instructors has been provided. As with the Temple
of the Full Autumn Moon, many of their claims cause people knowledgeable in matters Japanese to raise their eyebrows.
Koga-ryū ninjutsu is believed to have survived into the 20th century. The head, Fujita Seiko, died without teaching
a successor. No one in Japan claims to have learned the art from him. However, years after his death many people in the West
have tried to claim that they were students of his. None of their claims are recognized in Japan as being true.
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