Contrary to popular belief, the ninja’s martial art is not simply a mix of conventional martial arts “styles.” Many people believe that if you mix the punches and kicks of karate with the throws and joint locks of judo and jujitsu, and then throw in a sword and some throwing stars, you’re good to go! You have a Ninja warrior. In truth, nothing is further from reality.

In fact, many of the modern and conventional martial arts we know today have at their core the same skills and subsystems that still make up the Ninja’s armed and unarmed combat methods in use today.

While the new wave of mixed martial artists are doing just that, blending skills and techniques from different martial arts to make up for perceived shortcomings in any given system, ninja combat arts are a unified system of common principles and concepts that naturally fit together and operate as a cohesive whole.

When MMA fighters have to deal with often contradictory principles taken from different “styles”, the ninja does not have to worry about this problem. Where the mixed martial artist has to solve the problem of making a hard style fit with a soft one, without revealing his intentions or strategy, the true ninja is free to move from one technique to another without the need to change “styles”. ” or the fear of giving something away.

While ninpo-taijutsu, the method of unarmed combat that lies at the heart of ninjutsu, appears to be just a mix of skills and techniques, it is actually made up of 3 general sub-arts, each with their own specializations. These sub-arts, or skill sets, can be used as-is, or they can be chosen and applied in response to the attacker’s own techniques and intentions.

These subsections are:

1) Daken-Taijutsu – Daken means “to hit”. So these are the amazing arts of the Ninja. Again, rather than being limited to a single way or “style” of doing things, the ninja’s dakentaijutsu striking methods are comprised of the sciences of koppjutsu (“bone-breaking skills”), koshijutsu (“using the fingers and toes to hit and tear the muscular system of the aggressors), and others.

2) Ju-Taijutsu: Often translated as “grappling arts,” the kanji for ju in the name ju-taijutsu actually means “gentle.” So these are the “soft body skills” of the Ninja. The predecessor of what would later become jujitsu, ninja jutaijutsu focuses on throwing skills, pressure point attacks, joint locks, etc.

However, the common mistake when thinking about the above 2 systems is to assume that there is no grappling or throwing in dakentaijutsu, just like there are no hitting in jutaijutsu. When in reality, these two arts suggest 1) overwhelming an attacker with strikes (dakentaijutsu), and… 2) using strikes to set up abilities to control, restrain, and bind your assailant (jutaijutsu).

3) Taihen-Jutsu: These are the body movement skills of the ninja. Taihenjutsu means “body-changing skills” and is the general classification or title for skills such as the ninja’s unique methods of walking, running, rolling, climbing, etc.

Again, the misconception is to confuse ninja taihen skills with gymnastics skills, when in reality, the reason for doing the skills in each is very different. Where the gymnast can do the skills at his own pace, the Ninja must execute his spin, body swap, or jump in direct response and timing to his attacker’s attack!