It was the darkest of nights; the guard stood a top his post aware and watching for anything out of the ordinary.  The guard was feeling like any other night when a quick bee sting hit him on the neck.  As he reached up to touch the area effected he noticed a dart, within seconds he was rendered unconscious.  This could of come directly out of any Ninja movie, I always envisioned myself running around in the middle of the night completing missions of the utmost importance and extreme.  Since an early age I loved James Bond and any other secret agent there was on television. When I saw the first Ninja on television I knew I wanted to be one.  Just like many of us the allure of Ninjutsu is what has brought us to the study of this art.  Interestingly enough, many martial artists even the ones that do not study Ninjutsu always have been intrigued by our style. 

Although I had been training in the martial arts since the age of 3 years old, the martial arts I knew only talked about the Ninja as if they were folklore.  In the early 1980’s the Ninja became famous in Hollywood with the help of martial art legend Stephen Hayes who brought Ninjutsu to mainstream recognition.                      

            Although Hollywood’s depiction of Ninjutsu was of assassination and deceit I knew the Ninja had much more to offer.  I began a quest to find qualified Ninjutsu teachers within the United States and stumbled by accident on a man by the name of Shihan Felix Vazquez of the “Circle of One System.”  Shihan Vazquez was an amazing man who possessed skills that almost were superhuman in many respects.  As I began training with him I realized it was discipline and desire that made him who he was and of course his offiliation with Grandmaster Ronald Duncan of “the Way of the Winds System.” I later moved on to becoming one of the highest-ranking students ever to be promoted within Shihan Vazquez’s martial arts organization with the title of Renshi – 4th dan in 1990. 

            Through Shihan Vazquez I met Tanemura Soke from Saitama Japan.  He is the head of the Genbukan Ninpo Bugei and Kokusai Ju Jutsu Renmei among others.  I began traveling to Japan starting in the early 1990’s with my last trip in 2005 totaling 14 trips through my travels I have witnessed many things and continue to share them with my students to this day. 

Legitimacy of Ninjutsu

            Without writing another article of the likes you have read many times before I want to point out, Ninjutsu is an art that is very political.  I have seen thousands of posts on message boards spewed with venom on legitimacy of martial arts masters and their right to the title of Ninja Grandmaster and instructor.  I have been the topic on many pages stating that I am not legitimate and it wasn’t only by people who don’t know me but from people of the same system that I was brought up in. 

            So why do you think Ninja’s continually bash their training brothers.  The answer to that question has perplexed me for many years.  I have met amazing teachers and some not so impressive but in Ninjutsu it always comes back legitimacy.  In one message board someone said I never tested for Renshi Title when in fact I have two times one with Shihan Vazquez and another in front of 200 people with Tanemura Soke.  I never quite understood why people care all that much. 

            I am beginning to see the light and the confusion of why people feel discrediting another can make their training more real.  I know this first hand having trained in Japan, the Japanese teacher will establish a relationship with you, this relationship is personal in nature making you believe it to be special, so special the belief is no one else has the same relationship making you privileged to be one of the few.  I know I felt this way for years.  I thought in my head at times I received information that no one else had. I also felt the way I was taught was the correct way, so if someone else learned it differently, they would incorrect.  

            I realize now, that this is why Ninjutsu has been broken into many factions, Genbukan, Bujinkan, Geninkan and a large assortment of ryu’s that are individually designed by specific teachers.  It is my goal to point out to all Ninjutsu Practitioners martial arts is not about ownership and only legitimacy it is about self-development and perseverance.  Why is it grandmasters Hatsumi and Tanemura can develop their own systems and not receive any trouble?  If an American did the same they would be discredited in the martial arts community of Ninjutsu. 

            The very essence of Ninjutsu is to adapt and persevere. Without this attitude Ninjutsu would have been killed off hundreds of years prior.  Our goal as Ninja’s should be to ban together and form an international understanding.  Not an international organization although that would be nice.  We should look to appreciate each other’s strengths and contributions as well as ability.  It is my goal to create awareness.  I want as much as anyone to preserve the pure traditional arts, but what I would love to see is Ninjutsu Practitioners banning together and working on the growth of our international community.  Sharing with each other many aspects and utilizing our art for the betterment of society. 

I am very lucky by having found a system to teach Ninjutsu to the masses.  I have created success for myself both financially and spiritually and can lay my head to rest at night knowing that I am doing justice for my art.  I want to help others to realize that similar mentality without sitting behind a computer or on a message board and talking negative. It is my goal to help others reach this level of understanding while at the same time spreading the word of our art and the many benefits it has to offer.  In my school the L.I. Ninjutsu Centers we have a saying “its not just kicking and punching, its martial arts and beyond.”  We consider our school a life-skills institute sharing many aspects of success from technologies shared by Tony Robbins as well as N.L.P – Nuero linguistic programming, Remote viewing, mentalism and methods I have developed in my 39 years of practice.  I hope that many of the Ninja teachers throughout the world take a similar approach and adapt Ninjutsu to the 21st century.