We know you dream of being a ninja who kicks the bad guy's butt (come on - who doesn't?) so check out what it takes!
Ninjas - Silent But Deadly
Ninjas are silent spies who can never show their faces. So except for a small slit around the eyes, cover up in head-to-toe black or some other dark color. The ninja suit has tons of pockets to store weapons such as shuriken (throwing stars) and nunchuks (two sticks connected by a short chain or rope). Ninjas also wear a special type of boot that looks like mittens. It separates the big toe from the rest to make it easier to grip when climbing trees and scaling walls.
Ninjas - The Art of Stealth
It's easy to get the look, but it takes hard work and discipline to become a true ninja. Can you walk, run and jump without making a sound? Can you enter a room without attracting attention? If you can, then you're already halfway there! Ninjas study a form of martial arts called ninjutsu, which means "the art of stealth." Back in feudal Japan, they learned spy techniques such as gathering information, non-detection (appearing "invisible") and escape. There were 18 ninjutsu skills they had to master before becoming a ninja, like sword fighting, disguise and impersonation, training in water, and archery. Today's study of ninjutsu no longer focuses on espionage techniques but on self-defense, just like tae kwon do and karate. You can learn a modernized and westernized version of ninjutsu called To-Shin Do at the Quest Centers, which are located across the US.
Ninjas - Did U Know?
- In 14th-century Japan, ninjas were warriors who were hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage.
- Think ninjas can really fly, turn into animals, multiply themselves, or disappear into thin air? They can't - ninjas simply encouraged these rumors to make people believe they were extraordinary figures.
- Ninjas are extremely popular in books, movies and video games like Mortal Kombat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
