Ninjutsu is not the Art of Invisibility, in the historical sense...
Ninjutsu is not the Art of Invisibility, in the sense of Japanese language skills...
What is Ninjutsu?
Ninjutsu is the Invisible Art. Things done that are not meant to be seen, so they are hidden "invisible" to all but the puppeteers behind the curtain pulling the strings. Ninjutsu is the clandestine operations of Japanese samurai and those same skills have been morphed into other professions like intelligence operatives, military scouts, police investigators and some even say, adopted by the Yakuza (Japanese organized crime) for the purposes of smuggling, blackmail, murder and various other misdeeds.
So what is Black Dragon Ninjitsu?
Black Dragon Ninjitsu is the art pioneered by me based on it's roots in Omoto Ryu Budo, which did contain ninjutsu. Mixed with my own insights and experiences from other martial arts, Black Dragon Ninjitsu is more of a paramilitary and survival art then a martial art in the strictest sense of the word. Unfortunately, as dangerious as the world is becoming and need for such skills by everyday people growing, there isn't much interest in Modern Ninjitsu (I use the "Ninjutsu" & "Ninjitsu" spellings interchangeably) outside the military or the militia. So Black Dragon Ninjitsu is meant to be the first paramilitary competition ninjutsu-style in the world... While that sinks in.
The difference in spelling using the "i" or "u" is irrellivant as the Japanese written script of kanji has no English spelling, as it is a logographic (meaning Kanji are ideographs; meaning that the whole character conveys a meaning rather then just a phonic word, similar to how pictographs have a certain meaning which displayed by the image.) Kanji literally means Chinese Character.
Romanji or literally Roman Characters or Roman Letters in English, does have a spelling but the three main forms of Romanji are Hepburn Romanji which was abolished in 1994 and replaced with Revised Hepburn Romanji, Nihon-shiki Romanji which was created by the Japanese and pre-dates Hepburn Romanji and Kunrei-shiki Romanji which is a revised form of Nihon-shiki Romanji.
The difference in the spelling of "i" or "u" also a common argument among Jujitsu/Jujutsu practicers as among ninjutsu/ninjitsu practicers is the difference of a long or short vow. Because the "i" or "u" of Jutsu is a short vow it many times phonically comes across as soft "u" which to the original Hepburn Romanji system was spelled as "i" and was sometimes spelled with a "u" by more experienced Japanese speakers in the West, with no official spelling since about the 1970s, it was not formally added to revised Hepburn Romanji system until 1994, though informally existed in use since almost 20 years before that.
Romanji Spelling aside, the Kanji is the same...
This is real question... First off when I was in the U.S. Army, we had many different forms of competition. Modern Army Combatives competitions focused on Brazilian Jiujutsu, Puggle Stick competitions to simulate bayonet fighting and force on force small teams warfare competitions between fireteams. Larger force on force competitions between Brigades and Companies to test the leadership and strategic planning of officers as well as the fighting skills of enlisted soldiers.
It was fun and it taught us so much, so why do we need Competition Ninjutsu? Because it will give us an opportunity to grow, learn and take the study of warfare as more then history lessons and Live Action Role-Playing (LARPing) in Samurai Armor. It would be fun...
How would such a Ninja Competition Work? Simple, lets bring in the ninjas open to all arts & systems not just "Ninjutsu" or Black Dragon Ninjitsu... As an old member of Ashida Kim's forum Big Lew used to say "The proof is in the pudding." Now I don't agree with Lew that competition proves anything, you can't sum up all of an art by how a person does in competition. But, you can learn from experience and build yourself up by testing yourself... We never disagreed there, competition would provide a chance to learn and adapt your thinking.
Such a competition would be a 3 to 5 day event, everyone would get together camp out, venders could sell things, authors could do book signings and there would be events...
We of course would open up with a martial arts tournament, similar to, if not MMA rules...
From there would a Self-Defense competition, different scenarios to which someone has to react. Some of it using social controls and interactions and other applying techniques and judged on 3 things: simplicity, effectiveness and accordance with lawful use of force. Weapons competitions would include shuriken throwing, knife throwing and archery. Knife-sparring using chalk knives, stick and staff competitions using pugil sticks and sword competitions on both cutting and kendo like fencing competitions. We could use variations of pugil sticks to simulate spear fighting. Add encryption and decryption code breaking competitions, stealth and camouflage competitions, obstacle course races and end it all with a Night time Small Teams Warfare Competition...
Each "Army" would be broken down into two teams. A 5-man defending team armed with paintball guns & kendo sticks, protecting an objective. A 5-man infiltration force armed with blowguns to shoot paintballs, chalk knives for sentry removal and kendo sticks. The "missions" for each army may be different, get inside and set a bomb: colored smoke device (sabotage), steal the enemy plans and get them back to their base wins (espionage) or kill the enemy commander, behead the dumby and bring the head back to the base wins (assassination). Infiltrating teams can engage on the battle field or sneak past. Defenders can to re-organized into infiltrating teams. Any paintball hit to the head or body, counts as a "kill" and team member is removed from the battle.
If no Army, achieves its objective both have last their battles, mutual destruction. First Army to complete its objective wins.
Why do we need this?
Because there is so much to ninjutsu then just Jujutsu (taijutsu) in a Black Gi and this is an opportunity for everyone interested in Ninjutsu, Ninjas, Clandestine and Convert warfare, Military Combatives, Self-Defense and martial arts to get together to learn from each other, to compete with others and learn find out own weakness and find ways to improve upon them.
How does this begin?
It begins with the Black Dragon Ninjitsu Home Study Course it is the only way I can ensure those involves have the needed skills. You don't need to buy the videos, you can sell the DVDs or trade them purchase isn't a requirement. Once you have your 9th Kyu rank, you can organize a study group of up 4 other people, they don't need to buy their own DVDs, just enroll in the program and submit the weekly testing videos. This gives you someone to train with and practice your techniques against, have a living breathing opponent. As the senior belt you are incourage of getting everyone together and organizing your groups training.
If you reach Shodan, you can rank others up to 1st Kyu/Ikkyu and even teach Black Dragon Ninjitsu as an assistant instructor, requiring all Shodan to come to West Virginia for the 3 Bootcamp and testing. Then compete in the Black Dragon Ninjitsu Ninja Competition against others, other systems and gain some knowledge about yourself that help you to grow as martial artist and a person.
Black Dragon Ninjitsu isn't about doing things my way... Its about finding your own way. By the time you reach shodan you should have the same techniques as me and your own unique style of making them work for you. In a Ninja Competition, the goal is learning about yourself... your strengths and your weaknesses so that you can improve you. So while everyone might be competing they are also learning from one another and becoming better for it.
Because it is not just about Competition, its about cooperation and growth...
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