Real Ninja Training (Shinobi Training)

In this video, I break down the real training used by ninjas/shinobi. I look at the mental training, social skills, physicality, tools, weapons and more that real ninja training incorporated.

What may surprise you is that ninjas were really nothing like the ones depicted in the media. They did not wear black masks (in all likelihood), they were not the 'enemy of the samurai', and there is no ninja 'fighting style'. Instead, ninjas likely had much more in common with modern CIA or MI6 agents; with real ninja training involving learning soft skills, persuasion, and the use of surveillance equipment.

In this video I explain all - and there will be more content on the subject soon, so stay tuned!

[sirsir]

You can find online how to make the energy food balls Ninja ate to keep going for a long time.

[fredfredburger]

I was obsessed with martial arts and ninjas in my youth (I'm 44 now). I trained in a few martial arts too. There's one reported ninja training technique I became enamoured with called "the ear that sees". This basically teaches you to not only be more aware of the sounds around you than you normally would be but also which direction a sound is coming from and how close the source of that sound is to you. Once you can accurately gauge which direction a sound is coming from (easy) and how close it is you (hard) you now essentially have eyes in the back of your head.

Exercise one: Wherever you are now, stop and be quiet and think about what you can hear. Really, _really_ focus on what you can hear, _everything_ that you can hear, loud, quiet, close, far away focus on all of it, focus on every sound that you can hear and how loud/quiet the sound is, what is making that sound, what is causing it etc. Repeat this often.

Exercise two: When you're out in public focus on things like cars, people talking, peoples footsteps that are coming toward you and start estimating how many seconds it's going to take for those cars/people to come close to you or pass you. The more you do this the more accurate you'll be. When you're able to think "that car is going to pass me in 3, 2, 1 there it is" or "that person is going to walk past and be right about it then you've mastered the technique and it's going to be very hard for anyone to sneak up on you.

[streetninja]

Finally somebody who gets it! Ninjutsu is not and was never a martial art but a set of particular skills including but not limited to strategy, intelligence gathering, and certain body skills etc. Awesome presentation, and explanation of what is and what is not Ninjutsu. As well as how we can learn from these skills and employ them in our everyday life. Also I must mention awesome demo of your physical Ninja skills. Brilliant, brilliant work

[uexkeru]

This is well researched. I'm impressed.
I too have searched far and wide for anything on samurai physical training, since they were demigods of badassery.
There's very little on their PT, which made me think that they must have had a similar perspective to Spartans on how to condition themselves. But there are a few things I found useful.
Some schools of Kenjutsu emphasize high volume training with over-weighted wooden swords to build endurance, and training on wooden targets, reminiscent of a Roman legionary. They also had schools of combat swimming, and the Japanese mace (kanabo) was reputed to involve a lot of strength in its use. A samurai - who's been running, marching, swimming (in a suit of armor), mounting and riding horses, shooting heavy warbows and swinging overweighted wooden weapons on targets for years - would be one tough dude.

As to how to train like a ninja, I think one obvious way is to train your speech and body language, study other people, finally apply it to adopting alternate "personas" day to day. If you can adopt alternate speech, body language, fashion, even fake expertise, you'd be all set to escape pursuit, or infiltrate and stake out an organization. Combine with hard E&E skills (parkour, running fast, "stepping' your escape route, breaking handcuffs) in case you get found out and don't want to star in a cartel snuff film.

[thelobster]

Important thing: Being a Ninja was a profession and Samurai a social standing. And obviously, all ninjas weren't Samurai.
Also maybe consider contacting Metatron, I'm sure he would be delighted to help. Great video btw, happy to see someone mention Anthony Cumming's books.

[petezel]

I trained in the Bujinkan for 5 years and did a reasonable amount of research outside of class. I have to say this is a pretty well rounded, accurate description of the skills and traits that would have been developed. One odd component however was the ability to reach full speed & power without warming up, stretching and 'preparing' but without risking injury. I do not know how this was accomplished - you're up, @TheBioneer !

[batmanlover]

You're channel is a like a drug to me: I can't seem to get enough of it. Awesome channel!

[slowfall]

Yo, dont give up with youtube, I watched your older videos and they are funny, motivating and educational. I just have the feeling you are above the rest of others. good luck

[matthewdamsta]

I always thought ninjas wore orange jumpsuits

[LycanRace]

Well researched in an academic and theoretic way. That's almost everything one could find being outside of the remaining lineages.
There is one thing however that many people seem to misunderstand about martial arts in Ninjutsu (and yes, it was called that, even though the term 'Ninja' was barely in use): different clans or groups specialized in different occupations. Some of them even strived for fighting expertise. The overall training most of them received consisted of many different techniques from various fighting styles and schools. Ninja were mostly normal citizens, craftsmen, farmers and Merchants - and although some emerged from the ranks of Samurai nobility, most did not. Nonetheless did they learn and train in many styles beyond Kenjutsu and Jiujitsu. Assimilating everything that was useful and fitted the overall fighting philosophy (from chinese styles through greek wrestling knowledge up to refined western fist fighting), the hand-to-hand combat part of Shinobi training became one of the first mixed martial arts ever (besides greek pankration and similar mix-ups).
Where it was indeed possible to code i.e. infiltration tactics with poetic names (for example "the art of rain in the village"), you had to show hand-to-hand combat Techniques somehow. Doing so by Sketches and drawings would have been uncodable. So there were barely any handbooks and scrolls on that of course.
Every Clan (often consisting of entire farm villages or trader families including servants and far relatives) handed down their own individual fighting style from master to student through almost nothing else but training.

[lukerichardson]

The man fighting Jackie Chan at 3:00 is Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, a former world champion kick-boxer. I once attended a kick-boxing seminar by him when he visited our dojang some years back.

[OsoBlanco]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your channel. Unique ideas and training methods are a breath of fresh air in a fitness genre on YouTube where most content creators are centered around drama. Keep up the great work and I pass along your videos to anyone I know that might also enjoy them. 💪🏻

[starkiller]

This guy is the coolest and full of knowledge 😎

[Kitten_Maru]

All the little dreams and wishes I secretly had as a child but tried to forget about them because they weren't "practical" in life you research apply and teach, you're amazing ^__^

[rautibTheOriginalTameruInkhan]

Nice vid. When I lived in japan the skills I learned really helped me in my day to day life. But i was trained in America w/ some Vets. Please keep making your vids Bro. take care

[paulmuir]

Well done, a well researched and professionally presented mini doc. I happen to be a ninja myself so it's good to hear some sense spoken about us for a change 😉 Also well done with your own training, excellent.

[dipheadcam]

I’ve been waiting so long for this, and it was well worth the wait

[kratoscraken]

"Ninjas don't exactly what they want you to think 💪

[coffeeizzy]

am i the only person who saw “shinobi” and immediately thought of Naruto?-

[igonin]

Very well done video The Bioneer. Indeed all the information goes along what we know about Shinobi No Mono. As for myself, I believe that ancient teachings and practices were used (like the ones from Yamabushi) to base an holistic kind of men that later would be used in spying and Samurai guerrila warfare. So, I believe that even if there are no more real need for Ninja we can still apply the ancient basilar principles and practices which made such kind of spiritually strong men. As a great Ninja admirer I have been learning, adapting and practicing the more spiritual self-strenghtening tools of Yamabushi (leaving the historical time and space daimio objective/mission dependent role to a more cricumstances independent self sufficient life orienting inclination). Physical and spiritual life long developments over mundane material perenial achievements.