What is Gendai Ninjutsu?
Nindo Ryu Gendai NinJutsu is a reunified system that has captured the root elements of the warrior arts practiced by the ancient warriors of Japan. Through research and mastery of traditional and modern fighting systems, Dai Shihan Carlos Febres has reconceived the Japanese NinJutsu concept and methodology in a uniquely Puerto Rican/American paradigm.
Please Note: Although Carlos Febres has met and interacted with the outside parties named in this article, the Nine Shadows of Nindo Ryu have no official, political, or documentary connection to the interpretation of ninjutsu in the Takamatsuden (known today as budo taijutsu) in Bujinkan, Genbukan or Jinenkan.
Both long and short range fighting is employed, in both armed and unarmed combat modes. As an art designed from conception to develop strategies instead of straight-up fighting skills per se, strength and size demands on the part of the practitioner have been greatly reduced. Also, emphasis has been placed on weapons disarming techniques, as well as normal weapons handling methods.
Escape and evasion tactics have been updated and optimized for today's environment, but preserve the fundamental principles that were brought to Japanese culture by the Chinese.
Gogyo [technique and movement divided into five elements, corresponding to earth, fire, water, metal and wood] There are other systems of NinJutsu that seem to have shied away from use of Gogyo [which is also erroneously referred to as Sanshin]. Nindo Ryu keeps direct focus on the elemental approach for four reasons:
Sanshin is also used as a principle of Nindo Ryu Gendai NinJutsu. It refers to the "three centers": 1) the attacker's center of balance, 2) the defender's center of balance, and 3) the resulting point after the technique is applied. This principle is also referred to as "triangulation" in some Aikijujutsu systems. It is not a concept unique to any art, but a component of any good fighting system.
In summation, Nindo Ryu elemental theory can be most succinctly described as:
The Kyu Grades
Approximately 4 years of study is required to earn your black belt in Nindo Ryu
Gendai NinJutsu. Mastery of the techniques is not required at the kyu level. The kyu grade requirement is to simply show that you have begun to grasp the concepts, and know the required number of ways to apply them. As the student progresses through the kyu ranks, it is also expected that earlier material should 'grow' and become more easily produced by the student. At the Shodan examination, the student should show that they have begun to "unify" what they have learned into a set of skills that are suited to their physical abilities and disposition, and demonstrate the fundamentals of Nindo Ryu technique in a smooth, yet forceful flow.
Meditation - Ritual practice is left outside of the dojo, and is at the sole discretion of the individual.
Other systems: Are there differences?
Our interpretation of NinJutsu might look like other styles of NinJutsu/Ninpo to the untrained eye, but physical demonstration of our style forces the differences to become apparent very quickly. As with the difficulty in understanding the combined/parent argument mentioned above, it is difficult to see the salient unifying principles of Nindo Ryu from an outside perspective. It is a concept that can only be transmitted in person by a qualified Nindo Ryu NinJutsu instructor. In an effort to satisfy the inquiries that have come through interest generated by this site, we have supplied a small sampling of techniques that might help a martial artist understand the unified approach in Nindo Ryu. For a personal demonstration of Nindo Ryu technique, find a local Nindo Ryu NinJutsu Sensei in our Dojo Listing, or join us on the Nindo Ryu Tour of Force, where examples from all Nine Shadows of Nindo Ryu can be experienced.
In order to more directly outline our approach, the following information has been set forth in an effort to increase the understanding of what we consider to be significant about NinJutsu and BuJutsu, and their connections. You must consider these topics from three perspectives: 1) historical, 2) academic, and 3) functional.
--NinJutsu & BuJutsu from the Nindo Ryu perspective--
--Historical ninjutsu and its fusion with BuJutsu (samurai warrior arts)--
--Academics of Gendai NinJutsu technique
Awareness a.
Subversion a.
Evasion - using maneuver to avoid conflict
Flanking - using maneuver to gain tactical advantage
Forestalling - stopping the attack, before its inception, with an attack of your own
Open battle - meeting head-on in the field of battle, hand-to-hand, one-on-one
--Functional aspects of Historical NinJutsu
Tactical
--The Nindo Ryu approach to Modern BuJutsu & Gendai NinJutsu arts
Please Note: Although Carlos Febres has met and interacted with the outside parties named in this article, the Nine Shadows of Nindo Ryu have no official, political, or documentary connection to the interpretation of ninjutsu in the Takamatsuden (known today as budo taijutsu) in Bujinkan, Genbukan or Jinenkan.
Both long and short range fighting is employed, in both armed and unarmed combat modes. As an art designed from conception to develop strategies instead of straight-up fighting skills per se, strength and size demands on the part of the practitioner have been greatly reduced. Also, emphasis has been placed on weapons disarming techniques, as well as normal weapons handling methods.
Escape and evasion tactics have been updated and optimized for today's environment, but preserve the fundamental principles that were brought to Japanese culture by the Chinese.
Gogyo [technique and movement divided into five elements, corresponding to earth, fire, water, metal and wood] There are other systems of NinJutsu that seem to have shied away from use of Gogyo [which is also erroneously referred to as Sanshin]. Nindo Ryu keeps direct focus on the elemental approach for four reasons:
- it avoids use of myriad Japanese words that boil down to simple elemental theory,
- it avoids having to catalog, in English, various movements that fall under one elemental category,
- it helps the student to intellectually understand complex body movement with a simple concept, and have the concept until they gain a physical appreciation of the details, and
- it works.
Sanshin is also used as a principle of Nindo Ryu Gendai NinJutsu. It refers to the "three centers": 1) the attacker's center of balance, 2) the defender's center of balance, and 3) the resulting point after the technique is applied. This principle is also referred to as "triangulation" in some Aikijujutsu systems. It is not a concept unique to any art, but a component of any good fighting system.
In summation, Nindo Ryu elemental theory can be most succinctly described as:
- Earth - stability
- Fire - consuming
- Water - flowing
- Air - maximum movement, minimum contact
- Void - either all of the above, or none of the above
The Kyu Grades
Approximately 4 years of study is required to earn your black belt in Nindo Ryu
Gendai NinJutsu. Mastery of the techniques is not required at the kyu level. The kyu grade requirement is to simply show that you have begun to grasp the concepts, and know the required number of ways to apply them. As the student progresses through the kyu ranks, it is also expected that earlier material should 'grow' and become more easily produced by the student. At the Shodan examination, the student should show that they have begun to "unify" what they have learned into a set of skills that are suited to their physical abilities and disposition, and demonstrate the fundamentals of Nindo Ryu technique in a smooth, yet forceful flow.
Meditation - Ritual practice is left outside of the dojo, and is at the sole discretion of the individual.
Other systems: Are there differences?
Our interpretation of NinJutsu might look like other styles of NinJutsu/Ninpo to the untrained eye, but physical demonstration of our style forces the differences to become apparent very quickly. As with the difficulty in understanding the combined/parent argument mentioned above, it is difficult to see the salient unifying principles of Nindo Ryu from an outside perspective. It is a concept that can only be transmitted in person by a qualified Nindo Ryu NinJutsu instructor. In an effort to satisfy the inquiries that have come through interest generated by this site, we have supplied a small sampling of techniques that might help a martial artist understand the unified approach in Nindo Ryu. For a personal demonstration of Nindo Ryu technique, find a local Nindo Ryu NinJutsu Sensei in our Dojo Listing, or join us on the Nindo Ryu Tour of Force, where examples from all Nine Shadows of Nindo Ryu can be experienced.
In order to more directly outline our approach, the following information has been set forth in an effort to increase the understanding of what we consider to be significant about NinJutsu and BuJutsu, and their connections. You must consider these topics from three perspectives: 1) historical, 2) academic, and 3) functional.
--NinJutsu & BuJutsu from the Nindo Ryu perspective--
--Historical ninjutsu and its fusion with BuJutsu (samurai warrior arts)--
- Most traditional assassination-type techniques were NOT one-on-one; they were almost always a coordinated attack or ambush. Airborne weaponry and traps were used to attempt to balance the battlefield advantage of the samurai.
- The gathering of information was geared toward understanding the specific advantages of the well-trainined samurai, and thereby devising tactics and strategies to overcome those advantages.
- To counter the ninja, samurai had to become much more aware of "low level" combat tactics and strategy. They had to learn those techniques to train effectively in their counter, thus developing their own interpretation of ninjutsu. Later, they co-opted ninjutsu schools into their ryu, and their general bujutsu curriculum.
- When Hattori Hanzo became the head strategist to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the change in ninjutsu and samurai fighting arts had solidified on academic, functional, tactical, and strategic levels into an even mixture of open battlefield and low level conflict (i.e. ninjutsu) modes.
- The last remaining pure ninjutsu tradition died out in Japan in the 1960's. All that is left are interpretations of that art.
--Academics of Gendai NinJutsu technique
Awareness a.
- self - shugyo - arduous training
- environment - mapping, tracking c.
- adversaries - study of opposition, spying
Subversion a.
- disruption of communication
- low level conflict - ambush, guerilla tactics
- disruption of support - sabotage of supplies, etc.
Evasion - using maneuver to avoid conflict
Flanking - using maneuver to gain tactical advantage
Forestalling - stopping the attack, before its inception, with an attack of your own
Open battle - meeting head-on in the field of battle, hand-to-hand, one-on-one
--Functional aspects of Historical NinJutsu
Tactical
- unarmed combat
- weapons systems
- battlefield recovery and evasion
- misinformation - allowing overconfidence of enemies
- removal of opposing leadership - take 1 to defeat 10,000
- attrition - open battle, siege, covert operations
- co-optation - adopt adversary into your own group
--The Nindo Ryu approach to Modern BuJutsu & Gendai NinJutsu arts
- eliminate historical misconceptions
- interpret and incorporate valuable research and history
- learn from samurai arts that borrow from ninjutsu traditions
- develop effective fighting techniques that obey the ancient principles
- systemize the concepts and tactics into a modern, unified approach
- measure the techniques against real-world utility standards
- develop a curriculum into a set of understandable and obtainable skills
- teach the art in an open environment to new practitioners in a modern forum
- create an avenue for martial artists to directly experience, learn and share