What are the 18 Skills of Ninjutsu?

Throughout the world of martial arts, you’ll often find a special number of rules of tenets to live by. Ninjutsu is no different and has 18 rules that are often taught to students who are starting out in the martial art. These 18 skills act as a rule set to follow and show certain behaviors and actions to live by.

Remember, Ninjutsu follows the lifestyle of the Ninja who were linked with Samurai culture in feudal Japan. Because of this, Ninjutsu is as much a way of life as it is a martial art. Many Ninjutsu practitioners follow these 18 rules closely as they will not only improve your physical training, but also your entire mentality and philosophy on a spiritual level. Here we shall look closely at the 18 skills and what they mean.

Seishin-teki kyoyo – Spiritual refinement

This means you should try to become as spiritually enlightened as possible. In other words, the idea of the Ninja is to think clearly and behave in a certain way. You shouldn’t be letting emotions or temptations get in the way of self improvement. Of course, everyone is human but we can all strive to achieve a better spiritual line of thought.

Taijitsu – Combat without weapons

This is the art of fighting without using weapons. In other words, sometimes you will fight using only your hands. Taijitsu is a martial art in its own right, but is also incorporated into Ninjutsu. The point is that sometimes you’ll have to fight whilst being unarmed. This is where Taijitsu training comes in handy and relying on striking and grappling skills will come into play.

Kenjutsu – Sword fighting

Returning to the ancient times of the Ninja, sword fighting was also a big aspect of their training and to be a Ninja, you’d have to be smart with handling weapons and swords. Like Taijitsu, Kenjutsu is a martial art on its own. However, in battle Ninjas would have to be well versed in sword fighting. If you practice Ninjutsu today, then learning Kenjutsu is equally as handy for modern self defense training as well.

Bojutsu – Staff fighting

If you follow traditional martial arts, then you may be aware of the Bo. The bo is sometimes used in arts such as Aikido, Karate, Hapkido and other disciplines. It’s basically a long, thin wooden staff that is used to strike enemies. This can be used for offense and defense and is also incorporated into the Ninja lifestyle.

Shurikenjutsu – Shuriken throwing

Shuriken are also commonly known as throwing stars and are used to attack enemies from distance. In times of the Ninja, Shuriken would be used almost like a gun, in that you could kill someone by aiming and firing a star at them, without physically touching them. This method of killing was especially useful when Ninjas would be attempting assassination. These days, whilst the art of Shuirkenjutsu is less common, it’s still a fun activity to delve into.

Sojutsu – Spear fighting

Sojutsu is yet another martial art that was used by the Samurai. In the modern age, a lot of people think of spears as relatively short, but these were incredibly long and would need both hands to control. For instance, a typical Japanese spear maybe twice the size of a Bo or even longer. Typically, these would have sharpened ends though that would be used to penetrate the enemy and kill.

Naginatajutsu – Naginata fighting

The Naginata is a form of Japanese spear that has quite a unique design. This design almost mimics a hockey stick, where the spear is curved at the end. Originally, this curve would be a sharp blade that was attached to the wooden pole. However, these days most people train with wooden Naganita’s instead. Although similar to spears and the Bo, this stick has its own style of use and handling.

Kusarigamajutsu – Kusariga fighting

This fighting involves the use of the Kusariga which is another Japanese weapon that originated from the island of Okinawa. As a result, it’s no surprise that this resembles a farmer’s scythe. As you can imagine, these blades are deadly in the right hands are would be used by Ninjas as they were practical and easy to carry. Sometimes, you can witness Kusariga competitions these days that use blunt instruments instead of blades.

Kyakujutsu – Using bombs

Back in the days of Ninjas, they would be able to craft and use explosives to assassinate their opponents. This means that before major wars or terrorism, Ninjas did it first. This would take a technical understanding and an element of intelligence that proved Ninjas were beyond that of ordinary fighters or warriors, instead they were smarter than that. For obvious safety reasons, Kyakujutsu isn’t really taught these days.

Hensojutsu – Disguise

Hensojutsu is one of the main disciplines of Ninjutsu that survived into the modern era of combat. Translated into English, it roughly means disguise and is used by spies on a regular basis. This would mean hiding your personal image, or impersonating someone to extract information. This is just one of many examples of how broad Ninjutsu is. A lot of people think of martial arts as a physical act that involves combat, whereas this is more of a mental skill.

Shinobi-iri – Stealth

Remember the SEGA game Shinobi? It was based on a Ninja who would kill his enemies. In short, Shinobi-iri is based on stealth and being able to slip in and out of physical locations without notice. Sound familiar? Like Hensojutsu, this method has also survived into modern day and is still used by spies and people looking to enter buildings where they don’t belong.

Bajutsu – Horse riding

Again, this is a part of Ninjutsu that was commonly used by the Samurai. In times before cars, people would often travel miles on horseback. This wasn’t just based on horse riding though. Like Mongolians and Native Indians, the Japanese Samurai would use horses in battle and would fire arrows and other weaponry whilst riding their horse. For this you would need excellent co-ordination and like all martial arts, this was a skill that required hours of practice.

Sui-Ren – Swimming

As Ninjas were like commandos or Navy SEALS, they were required to partake in Sui-ren which meant learning to swim as efficiently as possible. This would mean stuff like holding your breath under water whilst swimming, or hiding from enemies. In some cases, it also meant being able to fight whilst in water, which is a tricky skill to learn. Whilst not that common, Sui-ren is a good example of just how multi-talented a Ninja had to be.

Boryaku – Military strategy

Once more, Boryaku is one of the more relevant areas of Ninjutsu that is just as relevant today as it was back when Ninjas were using it. Basically, it means military strategy. This would mean organizing attacks and skirmishes, as well as assassination missions. As you can imagine, these plans would have to be as creative and meticulous back then as they are these days.

Choho – Espionage

Again, espionage is truly still alive and well in today’s society. This describes the act of infiltrating a foreign country or enemy to extract information. These days, this can be done by hacking software. However, back then it would mean blending in as a local and gaining trust, only to double cross the infiltrated group and return to your own people with the newly acquired information.

Intonjutsu – Escaping

Intonjutsu was used to physically escape places of danger by Ninjas. For example, you could have stolen valuable documents by a town and now you need to escape without bringing attention to yourself. This would mean blending in with the locals. Taken a step further, it can also mean the art of escaping prisons or escaping being held captive.

Tenmon – Meteorology

Yes, meteorology was genuinely used by Ninjas. Thinking about it, this strategy actually makes perfect sense. As stated earlier, Ninjas would have to be very careful and plan their missions perfectly. This would also involve nailing down the weather to see how things would play out. Whilst meteorology back then wasn’t as advanced as it is now, they would still look out for the weather. For example, you could sneak into a village easier if it was foggy, compared to if it was bright.

Chimon – Geography

Similar to Tenmon, Chimon was essential for Ninjas that liked to plan things and scope out locations before entering them. This could mean looking at the geographical area of a local battlefield, or also looking at the geography of a town to see if you can use a hill or river to your advantage. WIth this in mind, Ninjas truly were ahead of their time and sophisticated.

Conclusion

As you may have gathered by now, Ninjutsu was highly developed and technical, especially for its day. This meant that to master Ninjutsu, you truly were a fearsome martial artist. This wasn’t just in terms of physical combat skills, but also in terms of thinking and being to outwit the enemy in every sense.

Whilst some people may laugh at modern day Ninjutsu, it’s fair to say that many of these skills are still used daily by governments and agents. This means that whilst Ninjutsu may not be as physically visible these days, it still goes on and is arguably more relevant now than it ever has been.

Want to learn more about Ninjutsu and its culture? Check out this classic book by Masaaki Hatsumi