Ninja acadamies?

Question

Okay, seriously, is there any way to learn ninjitsu? Besides learning from some book. Like, is there a school or can you hire someone?

Answer 1

These are a couple legitimate instructors in the state that I know of, although there are certainly others that I don't. Ronald Duncan is one Stephen K. Hayes is another.

link to Hayes http://www.skhquest.com/

link to Duncan http://www.dojos.com/duncan/

that should get you started...

Answer 2

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Answer 3

To answer your question : there is one legitimate Ninjutsu ryu-ha left....and it's more than easy enough to train with them.
I copy/pasted this from one of my other posts....I frankly didn't feel like retyping it all again.
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While there are elements of Ninjutsu still existing in certain branches of Japanese Koryu Bujutsu, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu for example....the only existing martial arts system out of Nippon that teaches Ninpo in it's entirety is the Bujinkan, headed by Soke (headmaster) Masaaki Hatsumi 初見良昭, who recieved his rank of Soke from Toshitsugu Takamatsu (高松寿嗣) the 33rd Soke of the 9 ryūha lineages. Termed the "Mongolian Tiger" due to his active combat experience against Chinese Gung-Fu boxers in China.

Toshitsugu Takamatsu is considered to be the "last combat ninja" by the Bujinkan.

According to historical accounts, his family had both samurai class and ninja roots. Toshitsugu Takamatsu studied under various masters of several ryu, and as a result, became the "only man ever to master all aspects of ninjutsu".

When he was still a young man, Takamatsu gained his notoriety by "singlehandedly stopping a small riot". When he was older, he was involved in espionage in Manchuria and, according to Masaaki Hatsumi, was in connection with Motojiro Akashi. Returning from China, he became a Tendai-shū abbot at Mount Hiei.

He also had ties with the Soke of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū (I'm not sure which Soke it was : so I'll omit a name) and in turn, tied in dual-sword wielding techniques into the Bujinkan compendium...
titled as such (Nito Seiho.)

Takamatsu passed on his knowledge and legacy to Masaaki Hatsumi, who founded the Bujinkan to continue Takamatsu's teachings.

The Bujinkan (Warrior Spirit Training Hall or House of the Divine Warrior), or more properly the Bujinkan Dōjō (武神館道場.)

And even with the Bujinkan, only Togakure-ryū Ninpō (戸隠流忍法) is taught openly....but Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō (玉心流忍法), and
Kumogakure-ryū Ninpō (雲隠流忍法) are not.

Bujinkan training :

The training is generally referred to as taijutsu, and is composed of both armed and unarmed methods of fighting. Unarmed methods are broken down into three primary categories, dakentaijutsu (striking forms), jūtaijutsu (grappling forms), and taihenjutsu (body movement skills). Much of the basic taijutsu taught to beginners comes from six primary lineages in the Bujinkan compendium, namely Kotō-ryū, Gyokko-ryū, Shinden Fudō-ryū, Takagi Yōshin-ryū, Kuki Shinden-ryū, and Togakure-ryū.

A large variety of weapons are taught, such as sword (including daito, wakizashi and tanto, bamboo shinai, wooden bokken, iaitō a flexible aluminum replica sword that holds no edge, or swords made by soft modern materials are employed for safety such as padded bokken), staffs of various lengths (bō, jō, hanbō), rope, kusari-fundo (weighted chain), kusarigama (sickle with chain), yari (spear), kamayari (spear with 2 rearward hooking blades), bisento (similar to the naginata), kyoketsu shoge (similar to a kama except it has a dagger point and a rope of several feet attached to an iron ring), jutte (shaped like a sai with just a single prong, at a smaller distance from the shaft of the weapon) tessen (iron fan), naginata (Japanese halberd), kunai (a bladed digging tool), as well various form of shuriken including bo-shuriken and senban shuriken. Weapons are categorized into four primary classes - sticks, blades, flexibles, and projectiles.

18 disciplines of combat taught within the Bujinkan :

Seishin-teki kyōyō (spiritual refinement)
Taijutsu (unarmed combat)
Kyudo (archery)
Ninja ken (sword fighting)
Bōjutsu (stick and staff fighting)
Shurikenjutsu (throwing blades)
Sōjutsu (spear fighting)
Naginatajutsu (naginata fighting)
Kusarigamajutsu (chain weapons)
Kayakujutsu (fire and explosives)
Hensōjutsu (disguise and impersonation)
Shinobi-iri (Stealth and Infiltration methods)
Bajutsu (Horsemanship)
Sui-ren (Training in Water)
Bōryaku (Military Strategy)
Chōhō (Espionage)
Intonjutsu (Escaping and Concealment)
Tenmon (Meteorology)
Chi-mon (Geography)

Nine ryūha lineages of Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu:

Gyokko-ryū Kosshijutsu (玉虎流骨指術)
Kotō-ryū Koppōjutsu (虎倒流骨法術)
Shinden Fudō-ryū Dakentaijutsu (神伝不動流打拳体術)
Takagi Yōshin-ryū Jūtaijutsu (高木揚心流柔体術)
Kuki Shinden-ryū Happō Bikenjutsu (九鬼神伝流八法秘剣術)
Gikan-ryū Koppōjutsu (義鑑流骨法術)
Togakure-ryū Ninpō (戸隠流忍法)
Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō (玉心流忍法)
Kumogakure-ryū Ninpō (雲隠流忍法)

The only 3 of those that are ninjutsu schools are the last 3, and only Togakure-ryu is openly practiced. Soke prefers to keep the others relatively untaught until frankly...you're mature enough for them. I think that's a safe way of saying it.

There are derivative off-shoot systems called :

Jinenkan (meaning 自然舘 "Hall of Nature"), headed by Fumio Manaka (formerly a student of Soke Hatsumi's.)

Genbukan (忍法武芸道場、玄武館), meaning 'the place that nurtures the martial artist', headed by Shoto Tanemura (formerly a student of Soke Hatsumi's.)

Now, when it comes to the Genbukan and the Jinenkan....their claims of validity have been highly disputed.

Supposedly, Shoto Tanemura has been claiming to have obtained Menkyo Kaiden, a Japanese term meaning "license of total transmission" of ranking in several schools within the Bujinkan compendium : Kotō-ryū Koppōjutsu (虎倒流骨法術) and
Shinden Fudō-ryū Dakentaijutsu (神伝不動流打拳体術) for example.

As stated above, these claims have been greatly disputed and dismissed by Soke Hatsumi.

That's about all I have on the subject....I hope it helps.

try looking in the "yellow pages" section of http://www.winjutsu.com for a Dojo directory.

Now, there are a lot of flakes within our art....sadly, but there are a ton quality instructors as well...just do your homework.

ninpo ikkan!

Ryan


PS - definitively fraudulent 'ninjitsu' schools :

Ashida Kim (a.k.a.) Christopher Hunter.....basically, it's Karate with Chinese titles under the guise of Ninjutsu....realistically, it's a load of crap. This also includes his other Koga Ryu flunkies, Ronald Duncan for example. Now, don't get me wrong...Mr. Duncan has skill, but he doesn't teach Ninjutsu.

Also, anything involving the "black dragon society", Frank Dux, or Haha Lung....they're martial arts bubonic plague...