Do ninja really exist? And are they as cool/stealthy/deadly/good at MA as the movies make them seem?

Answer 1

No actual ninja exists today. Ninjitsu practioners still exists but the legandary shinobi (spies) and "assassins" are no longer around.

The modern day equivalent of the ninja would be the Navy SEALS, Marine Force Recon, Green Berets, British SAS and probably all the Special Forces or Special Operations Groups in the world.

Peace.

Answer 2

Did Ninja's exist. Yes. There is evidence of two sound beginnings. One revolves around a chinese family moving to Japan while another solid one has to deal with a Samuari family and peasants. As to why they fought, some say it was to fight against the emporer, others, the clan was disgraced, or they just wanted to be left out but couldn't.
Alledgely the Ninja's were trained on a variety of skills such as horse riding, climbing, swimming, archery, weapons, hand to hand, diplomacy, disguise, etc. They were historically opposed to some clans in Japan. There is also a story about a few Samurai seeking revenge simply walking into a fortress, claiming they were samuari of the clan and distracting folks and they took out a few folks in the mean time. Sneaky.
I believe there are only a few people in the world that can claim family relation to the Ninjas of old. One would be Hatsumi. I believe the family still teaches. Stephen Haynes also said he trained as a Ninja but he teaches some other style of defense now.
Now normally I agree with a few folks that post here... I'm sorry I'm going to go counter. Anyone that says they are teaching Ninjitsu is probably teaching Budujitsu or the like, I'm sorry, I don't know the spelling. There is an organization that presides over this. They teach self defense.
The ninja's had a whole set of skills. Where they as cool as the movies, I doubt it. They were no where near as good at fighting Samurai 1-1 by historical legends and records. That is why they tried not to fight on even terms. I'm sure there were many exceptions. There were many Samurai who alledgely couldn't fight but had the title by birth. . It was a class based society.
I agree that the special forces of today could be called similar to the Ninja's of old.
My spelling is probably off, sorry bout that.

Answer 3

yes, there are ninjas all over the world. Some train in exactly the same way that they did 900 years ago. And some have modernized it for use against modern streetfights. Either way, they are still called ninja. As far as the deadly assassins that these other ignorant fools describe them as, that has very little to do with what the ninja were actually about. Ninja were freedom fighters first and foremost. There job was to protect the innocent people of Japan from the tyrannous Shogun that ran the country using the Samurai to do their bidding. Ninja emerged during a warring state of Japan, and after people started hearing about them, they did seek out the ninja as mercenaries. For the most part, because of their stealth training, they were used as intelligence officers. They used their training in acting as well to take on a roll and spy for an opposing force. They did do some assassination work, but for the most part, they only killed when it was necessary for their own survival. The stories we were brought up hearing about the ninja were just like any other story that would have been used to glorify, or even horify the existance and the roll of someone who opposes the current government. Today, ninjitsu is trained mostly as a martial art. The ninja master is not one who hires himself out to a warring state. He or she does possess the knowledge and abilities that his predecessors did, but they are not killers. If you want to know more about the ninja, I would highly recommend any one of Stephen K. Hayes' books on the subject.

Answer 4

The so called "ninja" debate is a hot topic all over. There are a number of different opinions based on loose evidence and facts. There are no Ninjas today. Anyone teaching ninjitsu is either teaching you total crap and LARPing (live action role playing- like dungeons and dragons geeks playing with real weapons- or what they think are real weapons).

Historically we don't know. Different sourses say different things. Some say that they were like "special forces samurai". some say they were seperate independant "agents" and sabatuers just like any king or queen or leader would have. Some say they were peasants that formed thier own clans. It is hard to separate the reality from the fantasy when there is an ethnic and political and entertainment reason to promote the myth and mysticism of the Ninja. Some say they never existed beyond just being a boogeyman and spies and assasins were the ones who promoted the myth.

Today, the only thing you can get- and it would be far far better than bieng a "real" ninja with magical powers attributed to them anyway, is a USMC sniper. (or any military)

1- sniper team >>>>> all the hollywood ninjer wannabes.

Answer 5

the techniques that they trained in are still practiced, so in a sense, you could say that people such as Stepehen K Hayes (one of the more well known Ninjitsu practioners) are "ninjas" but most of the techniques such as the espionage aspects are no longer practiced since in this modern world they are not necessary for the general public to learn.

but the defense techniques and sword training aspect is still practiced.

hollywood and the stories that were told about the ancient practices were often boogie man stories which had some basis but very little fact.

so it's of course how you look at it, there IS one master of it (I can't remember his name to save my life right now) still living who trained in all the techniques but he is very old and would probably teach only the defense and word techniques.

so the discipline of ninjitsu has evolved for the modern world today, as ALL the Martial Arts have.

Answer 6

They used to exist in feudal Japan. They were very good at what they did. They used unconventional tactics in a time when war was conducted with rules. This gained them many victories.

Currently I feel there are no more ninja around and if there are then we wouldn't know as true ninja do not reveal themselves.

Answer 7

I see people who say they are ninjas putting on exhibitions on Peace Plaza stage in San Francisc's Japantown during Cherry Blossom Festivals and Summer Festivals. There are other martial artists, musicians, dancers, etc. as well. These dojos usually distribute flyers with their addresses, prices and schedules.

Answer 8

The movies tend to glamourize what ninja can do. I believe there are still modern ninja sects. They are highly trained in martial arts and specialize in stealth, because they are assassins.

Answer 9

I am new to the MA world... My wife, kids, and I have been studying for a few yrs now. With that said, There are people with such skills that Hollywood could never reproduce. I don't know if there is still a formal group of these "dark" warriors, but the skill level is still present today!

Answer 10

they are out there Dr Masaaki Hatsumi is the last surviving student of ninja warrior who fought 14 battles to the death in the early 20's . don't listen to people who tell you ninja don't exist they don't know what the hell they were talking about.I know a special forces guy (ret) who said he ran into 2 men clad head to toe in black when he was in Nam. he never said they were ninja but he said they caught his team in an ambush and had no weapons.he said they disarmed one of his teamates and killed anther before they were killed. i know he could be lieing but he's a good friend and i have no reason to dought him