Ninjutsu Training Techniques

Contradiction? Talkin in circles?

They(Martial arts masters) Say 'run away from fights' 'its NOT about fighting&killin,its really about:Spiritual Enlightenment.' and the 33rd ninja grandmaster said "If u Master the martial arts and study ninjutsu,then you will gain the ultimate prize..The Eyes&Mind of God." But yet,they teach you HOW to Kill,they teach you HOW to apply the Dim Mak(Death touch),they teach you HOW to throw Chilli Pepper dust in the eyes,they teach you HOW to Snap,Crackle&Pop the next man's arms &joints You AINT gonna gain "Spiritual Enlightenment" thru Punches,Kicks,Arm-locks nor thru the use of a Manrikisugari nor a Chain-whip (You'll become a DEADLY Warrior NOT a Rabbi/Imam/Bishop/ Buddhist Monk !) If you want Spiritual Enlightenment...Go to the Church/Synagoge/Mosque/ Buddhist Temple right or wrong?

Public Comments

1. You are mixing two different concepts, which some martial arts teach together. One is to make your body a lethal weapon, and the other is to reach spiritual enlightment. Some martial arts teach the spiritual part, meditation is part of it, as well as teaching. Budhist monks train all their lifes martial arts, they both train a combat system and spirituality.
2. The theory is that by gaining the knowledge of HOW to take life, you will realize how precious life is and will not use the knowledge for evil purposes. I read a story about a guy on a bus in Japan, an American studying a particular style of Karate. A drunk got on the bus and was abusive and brutal to many of the passengers. The American, feeling that his cause would be just, was waiting for a chance to beat the soup out of the guy. Now, when he originally got on the bus, the American saw a smallish, older Japanese man that he recognized but couldn't remember from where. As the drunk moved his way through the bus, and the American was about to make his move, this older Japanese man shouted, 'hey!' The drunk turned in anger and the little man just stood there calmly and asked him, 'why are you so angry?' It was here that the drunk -- mean, rude, rough, and nasty as he was -- started sobbing like a child and explained to the little man he had just lost his job, was terribly depressed, and didn't know what he was going to do. He'd gotten drunk thinking that would help and when it didn't he got angry. The drunk apologized in tears to all on the bus he had hurt and the little man hugged him, comforting him like a father his child. It was then that the American remembered where he had seen the little man -- he was a grandmaster of the martial art the American was studying and on this bus the American had been given a demonstration of the true power of his study. Without throwing a punch, a kick, or otherwise attempting to injure the drunk in any way, the Grandmaster had taken complete control of the situation. In answer to your question: sorry, son, but you are wrong. I hope you see why.
3. i love the philossophy of the art. you know lets not fight. that doesnt determine who is tufff. oh my..... sorry guys i have to go my poo puckered mokey button is about to explode.
4. It's not really contradictory. Yes you become deadly. Yes it is does lead to enlightenment for some people, but it is still about combat. Ueshiba Morihei the founder of aikido was a very spiritual man. He told his students not to start fights but if confronted to not run away. For those who have not trained in martial arts it is difficult to understand how martial arts can produce spiritual enlightenment. One explanation I heard of this was that in training we must constantly trust our training partner(s). There are people I know very little about but we are great friends because almost every day we are letting the other use us as a training tool and trusting them with our body. From this we can gain a compassion for other human beings and slowly as our ability to inflict pain and injury, even death upon others, because our compassion grows as well, our wish to harm others lessens.
5. HEART OF A SAINT HAND OF THE DEVIL GOJU RYU saying. All religions have had their "warrior monks" The weapon use you mention are just keeping a tradition alive nobody actually carries those weapons anymore.I have met "holy men" I wouldn't turn my back on.I have never had that feeling with a true self confident martial artist.
6. I see your point in looking for the contradiction between what you are taught and when you should use it. However, depending on what level you are at in your training, you will realize that Soke Hatsumi is right and not contradicting what he teaches. It was explained to me by my sensei in this way: You have to be willing and able, through many years and hours of training, to kill another person. Period. Or you will do yourself and your training an injustice. Only once you reach that level of realization, that you can take another's life, will you have the power and choice to SAVE their life by not over-reacting, over-powering or being overly brutal...which means you have also conquered your ego. Only time and experience can teach these kinds of lessons because every martial artist, at some point in their training, wants to know that they have what it takes to hurt others until the first time they do it successfully. Learning all of the weapons and hand to hand and body movement techniques and skills helps you to become a master of your body and the discipline required to do all of that helps you become a master of your mind. All of this adds to the spiritual enlightenment side of things....which, as far as i can tell, takes a lifetime to achieve. I love this quote: "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." Hope this helps!