Becoming a Ninja

We know you dream of being a ninja who kicks the bad guy's butt (come on - who doesn't?) so check out what it takes!

Ninjas - Silent But Deadly

Ninjas are silent spies who can never show their faces. So except for a small slit around the eyes, cover up in head-to-toe black or some other dark color. The ninja suit has tons of pockets to store weapons such as shuriken (throwing stars) and nunchuks (two sticks connected by a short chain or rope). Ninjas also wear a special type of boot that looks like mittens. It separates the big toe from the rest to make it easier to grip when climbing trees and scaling walls.

Ninjas - The Art of Stealth

It's easy to get the look, but it takes hard work and discipline to become a true ninja. Can you walk, run and jump without making a sound? Can you enter a room without attracting attention? If you can, then you're already halfway there! Ninjas study a form of martial arts called ninjutsu, which means "the art of stealth." Back in feudal Japan, they learned spy techniques such as gathering information, non-detection (appearing "invisible") and escape. There were 18 ninjutsu skills they had to master before becoming a ninja, like sword fighting, disguise and impersonation, training in water, and archery. Today's study of ninjutsu no longer focuses on espionage techniques but on self-defense, just like tae kwon do and karate. You can learn a modernized and westernized version of ninjutsu called To-Shin Do at the Quest Centers, which are located across the US.

Ninjas - Did U Know?

In 14th-century Japan, ninjas were warriors who were hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage.

Think ninjas can really fly, turn into animals, multiply themselves, or disappear into thin air? They can't - ninjas simply encouraged these rumors to make people believe they were extraordinary figures.

Ninjas are extremely popular in books, movies and video games like Mortal Kombat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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