Ninja training is an incredible opportunity. It offers the chance to grow, not just in our skills, but in your spirit and mind. You become more nimble and flexible in your body and your mind.
But is ninja training the same as it was for the ancient ninja? In some ways it is. But in a very important way, it definitely is not. Let's look at some things that are the same,
Ninja training today still works from the ancient scrolls. There were nine ninja families. Each family had a specialty. These family scrolls were not "how-to" manuals. They were a guide for the principles of a given concept. Whether it be generating power, bone breaking or information gathering we still use the scrolls as guides.
Today's ninja training also is more structured. In the old days ninja training had a system but today's ninja typically will learn in a more structured way. It begins with the fundamentals. Then the layering begins. Much of this structure is based on the fact that today's ninja training student availability is limited. The ninja sensei develops lesson plans that guide the student through the material they will learn on the road to mastery.
Ninja in the past had training targets. They may have been clothes filled with straw. Our training targets now could be vinyl over foam rubber. But fundamentally the targets were the same. They were used in much the same ways and provided the much needed practice for striking power and accuracy.
Today we have a severe disadvantage in our ninja training. There are so many things that compete for our attention that it is hard to find the time to train. Think about it. 700 years ago the ninja village was simple, utilitarian and based in agriculture. There was little to distract us from self perfection.
For most of us the distractions of today keep us from training to the depth and degree that ninjas would train 600 years ago. TV, hobbies, family obligations and working 40 to 60 hours per week leave very little time to invest in ninja training.
The ninja of old wasn't distracted by mass media, trendy fads or the accumulation of meaningless things. They had a commitment to self perfection. They understood the value of committing to something worth committing to.
The key component that separates us from the ancient ninja is the ability and will to commit. The fact that we have so many things vying for your attention means that it takes an extraordinary amount of conviction to keep your ninja training going at all, much less towards mastery.
The "nin" in ninja can be translated as perseverance. I think that is probably what is most different. Because of the society we were born into, our level of commitment to our ninja training is the key difference.
Do you have what it takes for mastery?
More Information:
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ninjutsu to find the warrior inside you.
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