What can i expect?

Don't worry this is a sensible question.

What exactly is covered in Ninjutsu i'm going to start attending a class in Glasgow and was wondering what kind of thing is covereed.

I'm not sure about the actual style as of yet but anything general would be of help.

 

I have been trained in Ninjitsu, and I can tell you that you should expect to be trained alot of silence. But generally you should expect:

Flexibility and breathing
Physical fitness and weight loss
Food and diet
Visualization and meditation
Principles of combat
Hand to hand / weapon training
Gymnastics and stunt technique
Business and success
Kicking and punching
Ground fighting and grappling
Mental strategies for success
Mind control and memory skills
Weapon and training tools

Ninjitsu is just a set style for learning these things. There are many styles for each criteria, with the above being the criteria. For instance you could learn the above in a Ninjitsu way, or in a Karate way, or in a Kung Fu way... Each martial art teaches you to use each facet of hand to hand combat in a certain way, which is most efficient in a certain situation.

Ninjitsu, I beleive, came to be the art of the Ninja as it trained them best for the kind of combat they were required to use. They became accustomed to their battleground before they even stepped on it, and it is that sort of preparedness that makes any fighter successful.

Having or gaining the upper hand is the only way you can win a battle, and martial arts teaches you to both have the upper hand, and gain it for when you dont. And as Ninjitsu is beleived by many to be "the art of the shadow", you should logically expect to be taught how to have the upper hand in a stealth situation.

Hope that helps!
Apologies for any misinformation, I've not done Ninjitsu for quite some time, and need to look back into it.

 

I believe I'll speak up here and add my two cents. Take it for what it's worth, but I just disagree with a few things Merlin stated. Indeed, in Ninjutsu you will learn ukemi (which literally means learning to receive energy, but generally is used to just describe rolls, breakfalls, etc.), strikes using various points on the body (knuckles, fingertips, palms, toes, heels, knees, elbows, shoulders, etc.), joint locks and manipulation, grappling while standing and while on the ground, weaponry (swords of various length, staves of various length, such as the bo, jo, and hanbo, shuriken or throwing weapons, etc.), defenses against an armed opponent while you are both armed and unarmed, defense against multiple attackers, footwork (both for combat and for stealth), energy sensing (this can be done in drills, but comes through practicing the art in general and developing a sense for the intent of your opponent allowing you to sense danger before it strikes), etc. Note that the dojo you choose may not cover all of the above and the above list is not nearly complete. Some dojos do not focus on the fabeled stealth techniques and such as much as they do actual combat techniques and the like.

One thing that seperates Ninjutsu from other arts is the way we go about things. So many MMA's believe that the bigger and stronger man always has the advantage in a fight and think our art is full of false claims because of how we say we operate. Ninjutsu relies on using timing, balance, and correct body alignment to take down an opponent, no matter how big or strong. If you learn to use the space between you and your opponent, as well as all around you, and have proper timing, you can off-set the opponent's balance and cause many a nasty injury in the process if need be. Ninjutsu does not teach to fight during stealth operations. We teach how to deal with any and all conflicts, pure and simple. We learn to work from all situations, be we standing or on the ground, armed or unarmed, against one opponent or multiple. This is what you can expect to delve into during your journey in this art. I hope this has helped.

 

they'll make you give up the white

 

The way I was taught Ninjitsu, was to do the most damage with the least energy. And that is the way anybody should expect it to be. A stealthy, lean, fast, and wirey approach to the martial arts.

Get it over with, fast, quitely, efficiently, and saving enough energy to leave the emperors palace after slaughtering him.

I wasn't taught anything to do with space around me though, so I don't know where that came from. I wasn't taught anything about beating people harder than I was either. Didn't stop us from doing it though, me and my buddies still beat up street bullies (just because we knew we could).

The most major thing we were taught about, was bone structure. The way that if you keep your leg perfectly straight, what you effectively have is this really solid bo staff that you can ram into peoples chests, repeatedly.

But take it as it comes man, and if you don't like it you could always move on to something else!

 

Thank you Josh for your voice of reason. Hopefully this won't turn into the thread of the absurd (hint hint). What Josh said, is what you can expect to learn. Most importantly, you can also expect to learn more about yourself as a human being.

Yes, I was also taught maximum damage, minimum effort, but through use of distance, timing and space. Not through force (I am in no way lean, wiry or fast). And if you weren't taught about space and distance and timing and balance, I would suggest you check your teacher's credentials.
I must say, that if you and your buddies beat up bullies because you can, then you haven't really learned the true heart of Ninjutsu. I don't know any instructor that would condone such behavior. In the end, it makes you no better than the bullies you beat up. A simple, common thug. Which IS NOT what or who a ninja is.
Also, I would really like to see you "keep your leg perfectly straight" so that you "can ram into peoples chests, repeatedly. Must be a sight to see.

 

I'm not sure about anyone else, but in my training, we're always told to keep the knees bent or you're just asking for your opponent to shatter your knee/break your leg, and your halfway to having your leg locked as well, for those opponents who know how.

On another note, I'm obviously in agreement with the above statements made by Kurohana. Besides the combat aspect, there is a certain heart or philosophy to Ninjutsu that sort of just screams, "We won't start a fight, but you can bet we'll finish one." So yes, we do not look for conflicts or people to test our skills on. Ninjutsu is about survival and the ability to protect yourself, your loved ones, and those who simply cannot defend themselves. Just recently a Bujinkan shidoshi in South Africa was killed while protecting his fiancee from a mugger because he was unaware of a second attacker. He died honorably and thanks to him, his fiancee escaped unharmed. This is what Ninjutsu is about. It is true budo. It is not for those who simply wish to have power over others. Oh, and one other thing that has constantly been mentioned on this forum... Ninja were not assassins. That lil' falsehood is derived from Japanese literature of the time that depicted Ninja as evil men. The only assassin Ninja were rogues who hired themselves out for money. Rarely would a real Ninja kill unless out of self-defense. But enough rambling from me. Have a great day, everyone. Jaa!

 

You are just typical of the type that assumes he is perfect in every way. Which is a trait I would try and rub out of you if you were in one of my classes. You assume far too much. For instance you assume that I just beat up street bullies because I can - where as in reality we helped old ladies, tramps and bums, and on numerous occasions we broke up street fights before they became riots. And this was all part of our training.

And trust me, if I ever did meet you, and decided to "Keep my leg perfectly straight and ram it into peoples chests repeatedly", I'd pull that move on you for being disrespectful. A well lined up kick can exert huge forces, and can easily kill a man, so I wouldn't be so quick to turn your nose up like that.

 

We don't threaten each other with physical violence on this site - do not so it again.

 

A threat would've been more potent than that, Yoda, and somewhat more realistic. The chances of me meeting this guy are 6 billion to 1.

 

The probability isn't the issue here. Your attitude is. Quit the macho chest thumping please.

 

I did not assume and I quote " Didn't stop us from doing it though, me and my buddies still beat up street bullies (just because we knew we could)." Nothing mentioned about helping out little old ladies and what not.
And I know that I am far from perfect. Read thru my old posts and you will see that I never made that claim. I do however have many years experience in the Martial Arts and have never seen a kick like you described, nor can I picture it working. That's why I said I would like to see it.
And there was no disrespect intended. I was trying to be light hearted in my posts. If you feel that I was being disrespectful, then my apologies. Let's shake hands and get this thread back on track... truce?

 

My attitude!? What about his!

 

I find nothing but humility and respect in Kurohana's attitude.

And in any case - criticising the garden of another does not remove the weeds from you own.

 

I think this thread has passed its usefulness feel free to lock it

 

Roger Wilco

 

I concur. Lock it.

 

Errrr....... I did.