Why are so many people attracted to ninja training and the ancient Japanese martial art of ninjutsu? Could it be because of the “completeness” of the training?
One important aspect of ninja training is that of wilderness survival training. Ninjutsu is not merely another martial art among other conventional “styles.” And that’s because ninja training is not just about self-defense and fighting…
It’s about the entire realm of self protection.
And, as with all aspects of the art, ninjutsu does not limit skill development to just one realm. What I mean by this is that, there are different reasons that you might use each and every skill that you learn. So, you must learn your skills based on scenarios, not just based on a need to know “something,” or because “that’s the way it’s always been done!”
Here’s an example.
If I am stranded on a desert island after a shipwreck or plane crash, I would need skills like fire building, shelter building, and the like for one reason. But, if I were in a para-military or escape and evasion scenario, I would need to apply those same skills very differently.
There are generally three aspects to learning each and every wilderness survival skill. These aspects include:
1) Emergency Survival. This is the application of my skills to maintain life while waiting for rescue or while getting through an emergency situation.
2) Para-military Operation. This aspect is not really about using my skills for survival, but rather being able to maintain comfort and basic needs while avoiding detection by others.
3) Training. Here, it doesn’t really matter how we do each skill as long as we get what we need. We can practice our skills in relative safety because there is no threat – natural or man-made – that we need to be concerned with.
Do you get it?
As a specific example, let’s use our skill of fire building.
In an emergency situation, in addition to warmth and cooking, we want to be able to create as much light by night and as much smoke by day as possible so as to be found by those looking for us. We might also be in an area with sparse supplies of wood or one that has received a lot of rainfall recently – making any wood wet and difficult to burn. Without a knowledge of more than one type of fire structure, I might not be able to create any fire at all – leaving me exposed to the elements and the risk of illness or death.
While, in a para-military operation, we want just the opposite. We want as little light by night and as little smoke by day, so as to avoid detection. Again, the ability to create a small fire, as well as the ability to construct things like a Yukon Stove or other structure to conceal the light, allows me to go undetected by anyone who might be looking for me.
And, in a training seminar or on a camping trip, we can pretty much do as we please. Fire is fire. And any fire that provides the light and heat that we need is sufficient. In this scenario, we are also free to try different structures, lighting methods, and ways to control the fire we create, without fear of the consequences should we fail.
However, in the first two situations, the wrong kind of fire can bring disastrous results!
