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"Ninja" is both singular and plural, "Ninjas" is also an acceptable form of plural in the English language.
Videogame ninja tend to be stereotypical; Males wearing all black with only the eyes uncovered, carry a katana (typically curved), and using throwing stars to kill opponents at a distance. For now, this tag refers to these as well as real ninja.
Real ninja reputedly tend to carry a ninjatō or wakizashi. A ninjatō is straight and much shorter than a katana, to the point of some being as short as daggers. Wakizashi is simply a shorten katana (30–60cm). These smaller blades are used for ease of concealment and agility in confined spaces.
'Throwing stars' are a particular type of Shuriken, a hand-concealable blade/weapon. Shuriken are typically thrown and designed for throwing, but some can also be used as caltrops or even wielded for stabbing and slashing. Hand-concealable doesn't necessarily mean it cannot be seen, but means it is not likely to be perceived as a weapon. Some are modified nails, stakes, coins, washers, or carpentry tools. They are also not typically a primary lethal weapon. Rather they are a supplemental weapon to cause, pain, injury, and/or distraction allowing the wielder a better opportunity to kill the victim with his main lethal weapon or to quickly escape an encounter that interferes with the ninja' mission. Targets of shuriken would be the exposed areas of a target, even when armored, such as eyes, hands, feet, genitals, and other unprotected non-lethal targets. They were also rigged to explode, ignite, provide light, provide signals, and poison victims when thrown or merely concealed as a trap (a shuriken could be skillfully thrown to wait as a trap, for instance, it embedded in a wall above a door and also in the door frame simultaneously, so as to fall on or near the opener later). There are also reports that they were purposefully used cause tetanus infections in victims; not a particularly action-packed cause of death for videogames. The also tend to be low-cost one-use weapons, very few were preserved for history.
Real ninja are historically dishonorable, employed by 'honorable' leaders to employ tactics they do not want to use themselves.
Stealth and concealment was not just about being quiet and wearing camouflage. Ninja had secret identities to lead Clark Kent style lives when not 'on duty'. A few were rumored to have become samurai (a ninja' main enemy and customer) while concealing their true ninja identity. At the same time, they eliminated competition in samurai organized ninja hunts while deflecting such hunts from their own organizations.
Real ninja supposedly favor Buddhism, legend tells of ninjutsu training originally being a gift from a Buddhist monk to a Japanese leader.
Real ninja did not necessarily discriminate against females joining their ranks, though there were significant gender role differences. A typical female ninja would broker information by becoming a house servant of a target. Seduction was another tool used by female ninjas. Though male ninjas could become servants and seduce either sex, just like the females. The gender roles seem to have been an unenforced matter of preferences. Certainly they did not discriminate in their victims.
With the advent of Ninjutsu (which was illegalized), Ninja became a counter-culture movement where the rules of mainstream culture could be cast aside by members as long as it did not counter the rules of the ninja organization they belonged to. The common rule for all groups seems to have been secrecy.
Probably one of the most surprising revelations among outsiders is when they learn that ninja commonly used guns. "Pyrotechnics and explosives" are one of the ninjutsu disciplines. This was not limited to starting fires or distracting enemies with a loud noise or blinding flash. They make use of bombs, canons, blunderbusses, rifles, and pistols. In typical ninja style, these look line ordinary items up until the moment that its too late for the victim realize what it is. Rifles and pistols are often made to look like swords and daggers or even less threating looking weapons like a wooden staff.

The 18 disciplines of Ninjutsu:
1. Seishin-teki kyōyō (spiritual refinement)
2. Taijutsu (unarmed combat, using one's body as the only weapon)
3. Kenjutsu (sword fighting)
4. Bōjutsu (stick and staff fighting)
5. Shurikenjutsu (throwing shuriken)
6. Sōjutsu (spear fighting)
7. Naginatajutsu (naginata fighting)
8. Kusarigamajutsu (kusarigama fighting)
9. Kayakujutsu (pyrotechnics and explosives)
10. Hensōjutsu (disguise and impersonation)
11. Shinobi-iri (stealth and entering methods)
12. Bajutsu (horsemanship)
13. Sui-ren (water training)
14. Bōryaku (military strategy)
15. Chōhō (espionage)
16. Intonjutsu (escaping and concealment)
17. Tenmon (meteorology)
18. Chi-mon (geography)

Possibly related tags:
Espionage
Stealth
Riding

Zerothis - 2008-05-11 02:14:52

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