The Grandmaster's book of Ninja training

VIII
Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi
lack of adventure in their own lives? Is it the patterned
violence and simulated manliness that a host
of self-promoted ninjutsu "masters" would sell to unsuspecting
young people who are unfortunate enough
to be lured into their makeshift academies? Is it
really being a wizard, or a black-clad mountaintop
recluse, or a lone commando-for-hire? Is the essence
of the ninja's art more than this, less than this, or
something altogether different?
This book has some glimpses at ninjutsu history's
truth, as it is manifested in the twentieth-century
world. At the same time, Dr. Hatsumi carefully, even
subtly, avoids too direct and therefore limited a definition
of the ninja tradition as it was handed down to
him through the centuries and generations of Japanese
history. Is there perhaps some sort of hint for the
reader there, in the very contradictions that the
grandmaster himself seems to weave around the sensitive
subject of just what makes up the ninja's way of
life?
In the world of Japan in the later half of this century,
the warrior arts are often regarded as an
anachronism left over from an ancient age characterized
by radically different needs. Gone are the days
when military might, the ability to construct intricately
balanced alliances, and the capability to conduct
effective intelligence-gathering operations constituted
a three-sided spear point that guaranteed
peace and security for the victor's family. In the modern
advanced order of things, the Japanese conquer
through investment, and build up their personal and
national security by carefully monitoring the world
markets for opportunities to provide what others cannot
or do not choose to offer. It is only natural that the
texture, make-up, and even purpose for existence of
the traditional martial arts of Japan would undergo
an extreme metamorphosis as well. Is it any wonder
that in the midst of such radical change, (he
The Grandmaster's Book of Ninja Training
nially misunderstood art of ninjutsu would allow its
surface appearance to adapt to the pressures of the
values and world view generated by the current age?
Enjoy the book. That is what Dr. Hatsumi would
want his readers to do with it. Use it as another set of
perspectives from which to further explore the value
of the warrior legacies in your own life. If some of the
contents spark further questions, bring new insights,
or even offend, that is good. Keep questing on, keep
searching, keep going. Do not expect easy answers or
simple solutions here on these pages. Even I have
found some things in this volume that reflect stances,
opinions, and possibilities that seem to go completely
against some of the things that Dr. Hatsumi has expressed
to me at other times. But then that is the fun,
the excitement, the joy of involvement in the warrior
arts of accomplishment—ever the challenge that
taunts us with the haunting questions, "Just how
much can you take? Just how long can you keep on
going?"
It has been many years since that night I first met
Masaaki Hatsumi and asked him to accept me as a
student of his art. I have grown immensely from the
experience of ensuing years. It pleases me no end to
see the world at large now welcoming the knowledge
of ninjutsu's ages in the form of these books by the
art's grandmaster. If only such books as this one had
existed at the time I began my apprenticeship with
the ninja! Profit well from the advantage this volume
affords you now.
ix
Stephen K. Hayes