THE RETRO IMAGE OF THE NINJA

Despite what some internet ass hole self appointed know it all wannabe claims on YouTube it seems that the retro image of the Ninja from the 80's is indeed alive and well. In recent years with block buster movies have pushed the black clad ninja image into the forefront.  Sword wielding assassins with demonic fighting abilities are laying waste to such internet braggadocio.  The list of movies range from "Batman Begins and its sequels", "Ninja Assassin", “Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear” which starred Scott Adkins "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films to the “G.I. Joe” films that featured the ninja character Snake Eyes. And if there is any any doubt Ninja aren't still going strong in pop culture Snake Eyes gets his own upcoming solo movie. 

The retro image of the black clad assassin is what initially brought droves of students, myself being one of them to the art of ninjutsu and what kid in the 80's didn't want to be a ninja. Now, it was always known that the image may not be entirely accurate and more Hollywood driven. This image however has taken such a strong hold that there are now ninja museums and themed parks in Japan all capitalizing on the Hollywood image of the black clad shadow warrior. Even Documentaries on the ancient ninja of Japan depict more often than not, an intimidating vision of a black clad ancient elite special forces operative capable of  demonic like stealth who possess almost super human combat abilities and as master assassins. The ninja are back and are more lethal than ever.

During the late 70’s to the early eighties I was a teenager. My instructors were heavy into the ninja boom during the eighties and nineties. My instructors would travel to go to ninjutsu seminars and camps given by people like Stephen Hayes and Robert Bussey. It was always a treat for us in class when they returned to share what they had learned and picked up from these instructors. 

The real ninja boom in the United States was brewing back in the '70's. According to Black belt magazine Stephen Hayes, Robert Bussey and Ronald Duncan were responsible for the spread of Ninjutsu in the united states.  These men became predominant thru the leading martial art magazines at the time. According to Black belt magazine Ronald Duncan was teaching Ninjutsu in the 60’s and 70’s before the ninja craze hit America. In the 70’s Stephen Hayes and Robert Bussey had traveled to Japan to train with Massaki Hatsumi in Togakure ryu ninjutsu. Hayes had a successful run with several books and videos that helped to bring traditional ninjutsu to light. Bussey who had also traveled to train in Japan with Masaaki Hatsumi brought back a more progressive and openly aggressive and modified form. 

The name Ninja has been associated with an ultimate warrior capable of explosive skills, intellect, a wide range of infiltration skill and diverse fighting ability. The Ninja were for all intensive purposes were the forefathers of the special forces operatives and espionage agents used by military forces around the world today. These elite units combine combat skills, stealth, and technology to infiltrate enemy strongholds, gather secret information, and spread disinformation and operate in small units very much like the ninja of feudal Japan.

The word “ninja” is more of a modern term. In Japanese, during feudal Japan, they were called shinobi no mono, though in contemporary Japan people will also say "ninja". According to The Oxford English Dictionary, which tracks the emergence of new slang into English, one of the first western uses of the word "ninja" may have been in Ian Fleming's 1964 James Bond novel You Only Live Twice.

The first appearance of a ninja in a popular western work was in 1964 in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel “You only live twice”. In 1967 Fleming’s book was turned into a movie and presented the ninja for the first time to the English speaking world in a way that no book could ever do.

My earliest remembrance of the eighties ninja came about in September of 1980 the TV miniseries Shogun aired and featured a scene of a raid by ninja. In 1981 "Enter The Ninja" starring Sho Kosugi set off the ninja explosion of the 80's which is still with us to this day as evidenced by Snake Eyes in  the “GI Joe” movies, “Elektra” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” all still being around as they were birthed by it.

To this day, the iconic image of the ninja stretched far beyond that of the martial arts into pop culture. In fact, the influence of the image of the ninja on pop culture and martial arts was and still is massive!  Who didn't want to be a ninja back then? How many American teenagers from the 80’s were inspired to train in the martial arts because of Sho Kosugi. How about the 1985 cult classic “American Ninja” starring Michael Dudikoff. I was a young man in the service when I saw that one. Still is one of my favorites albeit a guilty pleasure.

The iconic  image  of the ninja not only determined how most school kids and pretty much everyone here in the west imagined ninja to be but it also motivated students to train harder to become better  at their perspective martial art it didn't matter if it was ninjutsu or karate. The image of the ninja was adopted whole heartedly in the 80's and has since become almost inseparable from mainstream American heroism. Never has there been such a greater force than the blade wielding black clad ninja assassin.

So what’s wrong with the retro image of the ninja or ninjutsu?  Answer: AS FAR AS I AM CONCERENED, NOT ONE GOD DAMN THING!!!!