Learn Ninjutsu - The 3 Key Elements For Mastering the Art of Japan's Ancient Ninja Shadow Warrior

When you think of the Ninja's martial art, whatlessons which put the Ninja at the top of the martial
comes to mind? For many, it's the image of thearts "food chain."
black-clad warrior himself. For others, it's the sword, 
throwing stars, and other exotics weapons attributedThe 3 Core Elements For Mastering The Ninja's
to the Ninja's art.Combat Arts are:
  
But, at the core of the Ninja's combat method, the 
secret to mastery lies in a core set of principles and- 1) Nagare - Literally translated as "flow," nagare is
concepts that are universal, and critically important ifboth the graceful, relaxed movement of the parts of
you want to learn ninjutsu - the art of the Ninja!your body, and the shifting with, and melding with,
 the movement of your assailant's own body. Rather
This article focuses on 3 of these elements which arethan moving with the start-stop, almost robotic style
extremely important to your understanding of thisof many of the conventional martial arts available
powerful system of self protection and personaltoday, the Ninja's taijutsu ("body art") strings the
safety. Without these principles, it's difficult to seewarrior's individual movements together as one
any difference between the art of Ninjutsu and anycontinuous flow.
other so-called "style" - even for students and- 2) Ritsudo - This is the timing or "rhythm" of the
teachers involved in the art today!fight. There are three aspects or "faces" of how this
 principle manifests within a self defense scenario. On
And there-in lies a secret if you really want to learnthe personal level, this is the timing of the individual
ninjutsu, or Ninpo - as the art is known, in its higher,parts of your body as each moves in time, relative
philosophical and life-mastery aspect. Knowing thisto the other parts being used to produce the overall
secret allows you to be able to see through themovement. It is also both the speed-of-response
scams and false claims of conventional martial artiststhat you take to either match or break your
posing as authentic teachers of Ninjutsu.opponent's timing, and the grander view or the fight
 as a back-and-forth, attack-and-defense movement
But, it's not just the fakes and posers that canof energy that will play itself out until peace is
distract you from mastery. Often, our own illusions,restored.
delusions, and lack of understanding can do even- 3) Kotsu - At the root of any authentically viable
more to hamper our quest for mastery.technique or model for effective response to danger,
 there is a core strategy, or "essential nature," that
As long as a student focuses on the kata, examplesmakes it what it is. When training, try to see past
or 'fight scenarios' that are used to teach the art -the punches, kicks, joint locks, and throws to answer
rather than the principles and concepts that makethe question: "What is this move doing to him?"
the Ninja's art what it is - a dynamic, adaptable,Rather than limit your understanding to the beginner's
composite system which is made up of manymind which only sees a strike as a way to damage,
different arts or skills sets - true mastery in this artor a joint lock as a way to capture a particular joint -
can never be had.the Ninja sees how each technique or skill application
 serves to limit his opponent's options, ability to cause
No matter how many techniques or skills a studentdamage, and willingness to continue!
ever learns! 
 Then, and only then, can you see how the physical
Here are the 3 keys to "seeing beyond" the forms ortechniques are models for much more than mere
kata models that are used to teach the art. Ratherphysical self defense. In the mind and eyes of the
than seeing these examples as "holy things" that aretruly Enlightened Warrior, they become the lessons
to be held on to, each technique that you are givento unleashing our potential for greatness, and allowing
should be seen more as a vehicle carrying the realus to be successful in all areas of life!