get your discount here. If that deal has ended, still have a look. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-unofficial-guide-to-tolkiens-world-antony-cummins/1143353829
Because when they say when it comes to printing the history or printing the myth , you print the myth, because it's more marketable. When you shine a light on the non superhuman ninja or the dishonourable samurai you break the myth , you make them human and therefore flawed. People like the stereotypes precisely because they represent an idealistic view of what we would want the samurai and ninja to be, when in truth they were as flawed and human as we are
Truly honoured to be featured mate. I meant it sincerely, and believe it wholeheartedly. Thoroughly engrossed in your superb books. Keep up the great work. Looking for your Tolkien's guide now to add to my list. Just got to finish Silmarillion (too)!
I think there were exceptional shinobi, some were good at breaching obstacles some were good swordsman (they were descendants of various samurai schools) some had good unarmed combat skills. But history has compacted all these traits into every shinobi. I worked with American Special Forces in my youth and some were good at movement and others sounded like elephants in the woods. Some could climb a wall or a rope like monkeys others really had to work at it. Many weren't even good shots and others were legendary. My point is that all it takes is one outstanding fighter to stomp a group of soldiers and suddenly all shinobi become invincible especially when looking through a 300 year paradigm.
I never believed you failed anything. I backed off due to the drama. There was too much fighting and arguing, and not enough communication. Open mindedness kind of flew out the window, and myself and some others just got burned out. The material is difficult, but not impossible to learn. It's just a matter of finding the time to study, getting out of a comfort zone, and learning something. Most just go back to what they feel comfortable with i.e. martial arts, and forget about the same book work, that the Shinobi themselves would have needed to learn. Keep up the good work mate, you didn't fail anything or anyone.
Personally, I think there was way too much in-fighting (2012-2017), even among "experts" that had questionable backgrounds. At some point the "ninja community" became a mish-mash of three different communities: Historical/Practical research, "Bullshido"/Skeptics, and Questionables/Con artists. There was a lot of well intent in outing frauds (in an unprofessional, immature manner), but it became a main focal point and eventually descended into toxicity that permeated among various groups. There were even threats and "fights" set up. It became ridiculous. A lot of people left these communities post-2017 because there was too much of a focus on drama and "dominance"; it was absurd and taxing. It's important to separate fact from fiction and to out frauds and abusers, but things descended into a shxtshow pretty quickly and stayed there for a long time.
From the outside, the martial arts community looks pretty low-end and dysfunctional, like high school bullies challenging each other to fights and grifters trying to sell people fake weed. Best thing for the ninja community is to distance itself from that scene, which Antony has done. There's no reason for ninjutsu to have anything to do with the martial arts crowd; they failed ninjutsu, ninjutsu didn't fail them.
the Hollywood ninja narrative got people interested in martial arts back in the 70s and 80s. So, we as kids were obsessed with such stories, even if they had no grounding in History. However, for those interested in martial arts, they have moved on to MMA, rather than the re-imanagined Japanese martial arts of the 19th and 20th century. Then there's people who are interested in period martial arts, but they've taken to grass routes European stuff. Basically because there's no commercial interest, there's no new blood entering the world trying to separate the Hollywood fantasy from the historical facts anymore. If fighting is associated with masculinity, you've got more chance of young lads playing with Barbie or wasting their masculinity on Football and why some Spanish coach kissed a dyche player!
I like anime and games that depict samurai and ninja in epic fantasized stories, but I'm not gonna pretend that's reality. While I really enjoy fiction, I also find history very interesting. I appreciate being able to learn the true and accurate depictions of how life really was back then.
Exactly. I got into the history of Ninja because of my love of the fantasy tropes and stuff I grew up with in the 90's. I was born in the mid 80's, around the time a lot of 'ninja' stuff was coming about as I grew up...Ninja Turtles was the big one, 3 Ninja, the Ninja Gaiden game series, Snake Eyes in G.I Joe, Surf Ninjas (which...really had nothing to do with Ninja actually)...lots of stuff and characters that had "ninja" in the name or were pretty stereotypical ninja. As I got older and resources to study became easier to get, that's when I really kicked off...but if it wasn't for my love of the fantasy stuff I may never have gotten into the actual history.
I agree with the comment...I DO think the work you have done is stellar..n its inspired me to try n keep the practice alive n not just as a hobby/interest...I also think the misinformation from Hollywood and long runing gobal Suppression of data/history plays a big factor...
There is no community that is the problem. Division. I knew something was wrong when people did not give you credit for translating the manuals into english. How can you not see the value and appreciate what he is doing? They would rather discredit you as a historical researcher for not being able to speak Japanese because they don't want their Takamatsuden bubble bursted and their Ninja Fantasy ruined. Tragic.😢
How about searching for a living relative of one of these ninja families who still practices and has modified it for modern times?... or even just a relative period but doesn't use the art...or how about searching for the original bansenshukai, (the one that went missing) or how about videos about applying techniques in modern times?
Hey Antony, I've been following your content for many years as well as took part of Natoriryu (#215). To give you some of my background, I've studied many different styles of martial arts "Ninjutsu" being one of them. I came from Ronald Duncans Kogaryu Lineage. I can not speak for everyone, but I can tell you my personal observation. I have been invested in Ninjutsu for almost half my life. I can provide atleast some type of nuance. I don't think the ninjutsu community has failed nor have you failed. I feel like its more layered and nuances than that. The reality is in the Ninja community you have people who took Ninjutsu for different reasons. Some people took it for fantasizing the shinobi and then some took it for self defense and centering your mind (really the hard skills Taijutsu and the soft skills aka ninjutsu). In the Ninja community there are people who care for Ninjutsu as in the historical aspect, but then there are people I know who are all about adapting. I know many people in the ninja community who have your translation of the scrolls , but also in essence practice real ninjutsu such as having jobs such as security, executive protection, FBI, etc. These people are not caught on the aspect of just the past. In my personal opinion, ninjutsu has not failed. Not by a long shot. Just one example. right now Hurricane Lee will hit hard in the side of canada im at. I have a survival tool that is a saw, knife, can make fire, measure, open cans, and more. Without a doubt a modern shinobi would have this multi purpose tool. And the people I know would agree with me. So there are different motives and intentions with people who practice ninjutsu, is what im saying.
Thank you for taking the time. to read my comment. My partner was in a severely bad accident..that caused the death of my step son and my partner being in a coma.. Natoriryu has been on pause since then..but I will be back as things are now beginning to die down.. Im good friends with Tobi in real life. I know you definitely know him. Thanks again for taking the time. Osu! Also if you need help with any editing or color grading videos, please do not hesitate to reach out. I'm happy to help in any way I can. @@AntonyCummins
#261 here! These comments are excellent and hit all of the points I could make. My opinion is the ninja community is broken down into smaller communities that have a leader of sorts that relays the information to the community since most practitioners are merely followers at heart. Sadly, in the US, most leaders of ninjutsu communities are overweight and egotistical Bujinkan fanatics that absolutely worship Hatsumi or SKH. Or they made up their own style and spread information on whatever they please. One popular "ninja" RUclipsr comes to mind. They couldn't survive a week in the wilderness or fight their way out of a wet paper bag. That said, it's very hard to spread the true word of the essence of ninjutsu to anyone interested. I've tried to teach others what I know, using your books as reference alongside my own experience, but they never seem to keep interest long enough to really grasp anything. I feel there will be a ninja revival at some point in my lifetime, like in the 1980s, but it's going to be something big that brings it about. Hopefully, it's not a refresh of the 1980s. I mentioned a Natori ambassador "program" in another comment that I hope you'll entertain. I think proactive attempts at spreading the information on a localized level will be beneficial.
I understand and appreciate your perspective. The fact is that the ninja community is insignificant. That's the truth. This is why the myth lives on because of propaganda and all that you point out as fake. To help, you yourself say that you killed the Ninja. The delegation from Mie with professors Yuji, Yoshimaru, and the "Mascot of Iga" Kawakami, governors of Mie, etc., etc., were here in Brazil. The truth is that they want the Historical Ninja to go to hell. For them, only commerce and tourism matter, and this became very clear here. All they know is about entertainment, and as some are frozen in a period of history they consider to be real historical data. Imagine in 500 years, when all this mess becomes "old data," who will be the Historical Ninja? Kawakami and Mie's "research"? I think, dear Antony, it's still too early to make such statements or be so sure of things. Especially considering Japan at a certain point in history had isolated tribes with their cultural peculiarities, we cannot ignore the fact that the information we have is still very limited to determine anything. When you say you traveled all over Japan, that you explored every corner, I think you may have exaggerated a bit. Your attempt to prove what everyone knows is a shot in the foot, it distances you and prevents you from perhaps checking what could be relevant documents for your research on Ninjutsu. These Ninjutsu masters from the Japanese Ninja Boom ended up collecting many treasures, as well as many things related to pop culture. It is with them that you will find good documents or good clues. Hatsumi Sensei, in my opinion, is the greatest lover of ninja art. Imagine what he must have in his collection, imagine what you could not discover there. Or with any other master. You have just arrived, my friend, and you already want to kill the Ninja? Your work is interesting to me and others who love Ninjutsu, but for the lay public, it all says one thing. We're lost! But we will get there, and I hope you abandon this idea of killing the Ninjas and their modern schools, which in the future will indeed be the "traditional" schools of Ninjutsu. Be friends with people, with the "Ninjutsu" masters; their collection of information and scrolls is undoubtedly larger than yours. It would be a good place to look. Don't try to kill anyone. Be a Ninja. It's still early, my friend, for so many affirmations. Stay strong! I admire your passion, your work, and I hope for your success.
I wonder if it might not be a microcosm, really. People seem less and less interested in history, all the time, I'm sorry to say. As someone with a couple History degrees... I wish it weren't so.
The wider ninja community has failed because it was pushed as shitty martial arts... That's all went away because a lot of people were trying to be seen in the beginning doing historical ninjutsu. But, people either want an effective MA or a ninja themed adventure class. That's the reality because thanks to you well now know everyone was full of it.
My personal thoughts is well I still enjoy Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles and Batman, or Last Samurai. They're all awesome fictions, and yes adding a little authentic Ninjutsu would make aspects more interesting, but at the end of the day, these are not documentaries. I love learning as much as I love good fiction. My favorite dinosaur movies is Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, and for the latter realism helps, but the books and the movies both make a compelling argument that none of the dinosaurs may be actually realistic, only realistic based on our current understanding of dinosaurs. Nothing is natural, it's an illusion. At the same time I enjoy Walking With dinosaurs. While there's some outdated information, such documentaries were when most tried to educate and not purely entertain. Enjoy fiction and reality as they are. Enjoy a fine painting of a mountain... then go see that mountain and enjoy it in reality
I think this whole thing is a communication problem. As far as I understand you, and I'm kinda new to Ninja stuff, what you're saying is that there are no Ninja specific fighting styles, as in hand to hand combat but that Ninjutsu is actually a different aspect entirely. You also say, you killed the Ninja as we know it. But did you really? I assume that there were black dressed Ninjas, breaking into a house, and if they got caught and couldn't get away they would have used martial arts. Now it would have been Samurai stuff that they used, yes, not specific Ninja stuff. But then you still have a black dressed ninja using martial arts. So I don't see the problem. On top of that, there have been a lot of other aspects contained in Ninjutsu, also not a problem. Today there are a lot of "modern" Ninja depictions where they wear white and green and all the colours. So you didn't kill the Ninja, in my book, if you pardon the pun. You just redefined what being a Ninja is. Some of them were not at all like the Ninja we know, but, and that is important, some of them, even if it's only a very small fragment, some of them were! Some of them were using throwing weapons, and some of them were more skilled in fighting or hand to hand combat, or sword fighting or whatever. And some of them were probably even fighting Samurais at some point in history. So I wouldn't say you killed the Ninja. The modern Ninja image is beloved. I have been in the Ninja craze in the 80's, I used a throwing star a friend got over seven corners and sharpened it himself, and there was nothing cooler than a Ninja in these days. Everybody though had his own image of what that was. I find all your research extremely important and I have not found any problems with it. But the way you communicate it sometimes sounds like: Sorry, you are all stupid, this is not what a Ninja did (in a respectful way ofc.). And then you also say that a Ninja is a Samurai and is also fighting like a Samurai. What you could say instead is: What you call Ninja is actually part of being Samurai, other than that there is no problem. (Which I know you already said, but it's buried somewhere in one or two videos.) What you could say instead is: The man who resurrected the Ninja. Because that is what you do here. Translating those scrolls is all that needs to be done, you're already on the right track. But the Ninja community will not be happy if you try to take away their Ninja, no matter how nice you are about it. And I say, there is no need. If you communicate this properly we get a new Kind of modern Ninja, one that is also a Samurai but has all the skills needed to become a shinobi no mono.
...or *you could grasp the nettle* and actually make a full in depth examination of togakure ryu its skills and alleged history and see if anything parses with historical ninjutsu. Not Gyokko Ryu. Not Koto Ryu. Not Kukishinden Ryu. TOGAKURE RYU. You came so close a few videos back when you said that the secret inside pocket for metsubushi was ahistorical. I was pumped! He was finally going to go in depth and address the elephant in the room ....and then nothing. GRASP THE NETTLE. Cover Togakure ryu in depth. DO IT.
The community isn’t dead. It’s just changing. Anyone who’s been training this art for the past three decades knows what’s occurring is natural. You didn’t “kill” anything Antony. And nothing is dead. Things are merely changing shape and form. You thinking you are the catalyst for this, or that you are the check & balance is a bit self-serving wouldn’t you say??? I think you have many talents, and are probably a really nice person, but you seem to paint a whole group of people by citing the low-hanging fruit as the standard. You used to be a firebrand critic, very brash, all that’s different now is that you seem to have adopted a passive-aggressive critique form and abandoned your prior more direct form of being a contrarian. Your motives seem sketchy. Which makes you hard to take serious.
get your discount here. If that deal has ended, still have a look.
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-unofficial-guide-to-tolkiens-world-antony-cummins/1143353829
Because when they say when it comes to printing the history or printing the myth , you print the myth, because it's more marketable. When you shine a light on the non superhuman ninja or the dishonourable samurai you break the myth , you make them human and therefore flawed. People like the stereotypes precisely because they represent an idealistic view of what we would want the samurai and ninja to be, when in truth they were as flawed and human as we are
Truly honoured to be featured mate. I meant it sincerely, and believe it wholeheartedly. Thoroughly engrossed in your superb books. Keep up the great work. Looking for your Tolkien's guide now to add to my list. Just got to finish Silmarillion (too)!
I think there were exceptional shinobi, some were good at breaching obstacles some were good swordsman (they were descendants of various samurai schools) some had good unarmed combat skills. But history has compacted all these traits into every shinobi. I worked with American Special Forces in my youth and some were good at movement and others sounded like elephants in the woods. Some could climb a wall or a rope like monkeys others really had to work at it. Many weren't even good shots and others were legendary. My point is that all it takes is one outstanding fighter to stomp a group of soldiers and suddenly all shinobi become invincible especially when looking through a 300 year paradigm.
That was a nice comment 👍🏻 All I can say is keep up the great work and providing us with quality accurate information
I never believed you failed anything. I backed off due to the drama. There was too much fighting and arguing, and not enough communication. Open mindedness kind of flew out the window, and myself and some others just got burned out. The material is difficult, but not impossible to learn. It's just a matter of finding the time to study, getting out of a comfort zone, and learning something. Most just go back to what they feel comfortable with i.e. martial arts, and forget about the same book work, that the Shinobi themselves would have needed to learn. Keep up the good work mate, you didn't fail anything or anyone.
Personally, I think there was way too much in-fighting (2012-2017), even among "experts" that had questionable backgrounds. At some point the "ninja community" became a mish-mash of three different communities: Historical/Practical research, "Bullshido"/Skeptics, and Questionables/Con artists. There was a lot of well intent in outing frauds (in an unprofessional, immature manner), but it became a main focal point and eventually descended into toxicity that permeated among various groups. There were even threats and "fights" set up. It became ridiculous. A lot of people left these communities post-2017 because there was too much of a focus on drama and "dominance"; it was absurd and taxing. It's important to separate fact from fiction and to out frauds and abusers, but things descended into a shxtshow pretty quickly and stayed there for a long time.
Spot on
From the outside, the martial arts community looks pretty low-end and dysfunctional, like high school bullies challenging each other to fights and grifters trying to sell people fake weed. Best thing for the ninja community is to distance itself from that scene, which Antony has done. There's no reason for ninjutsu to have anything to do with the martial arts crowd; they failed ninjutsu, ninjutsu didn't fail them.
the Hollywood ninja narrative got people interested in martial arts back in the 70s and 80s. So, we as kids were obsessed with such stories, even if they had no grounding in History. However, for those interested in martial arts, they have moved on to MMA, rather than the re-imanagined Japanese martial arts of the 19th and 20th century. Then there's people who are interested in period martial arts, but they've taken to grass routes European stuff.
Basically because there's no commercial interest, there's no new blood entering the world trying to separate the Hollywood fantasy from the historical facts anymore.
If fighting is associated with masculinity, you've got more chance of young lads playing with Barbie or wasting their masculinity on Football and why some Spanish coach kissed a dyche player!
I like anime and games that depict samurai and ninja in epic fantasized stories, but I'm not gonna pretend that's reality. While I really enjoy fiction, I also find history very interesting. I appreciate being able to learn the true and accurate depictions of how life really was back then.
Exactly. I got into the history of Ninja because of my love of the fantasy tropes and stuff I grew up with in the 90's. I was born in the mid 80's, around the time a lot of 'ninja' stuff was coming about as I grew up...Ninja Turtles was the big one, 3 Ninja, the Ninja Gaiden game series, Snake Eyes in G.I Joe, Surf Ninjas (which...really had nothing to do with Ninja actually)...lots of stuff and characters that had "ninja" in the name or were pretty stereotypical ninja. As I got older and resources to study became easier to get, that's when I really kicked off...but if it wasn't for my love of the fantasy stuff I may never have gotten into the actual history.
I agree with the comment...I DO think the work you have done is stellar..n its inspired me to try n keep the practice alive n not just as a hobby/interest...I also think the misinformation from Hollywood and long runing gobal Suppression of data/history plays a big factor...
Not enough truth and transparency (ironically)
There is no community that is the problem. Division. I knew something was wrong when people did not give you credit for translating the manuals into english. How can you not see the value and appreciate what he is doing? They would rather discredit you as a historical researcher for not being able to speak Japanese because they don't want their Takamatsuden bubble bursted and their Ninja Fantasy ruined. Tragic.😢
Ego, delusions, ego, more delusions.
How about searching for a living relative of one of these ninja families who still practices and has modified it for modern times?... or even just a relative period but doesn't use the art...or how about searching for the original bansenshukai, (the one that went missing) or how about videos about applying techniques in modern times?
there are none. not any found yet.
Hey Antony, I've been following your content for many years as well as took part of Natoriryu (#215). To give you some of my background, I've studied many different styles of martial arts "Ninjutsu" being one of them. I came from Ronald Duncans Kogaryu Lineage. I can not speak for everyone, but I can tell you my personal observation. I have been invested in Ninjutsu for almost half my life. I can provide atleast some type of nuance. I don't think the ninjutsu community has failed nor have you failed. I feel like its more layered and nuances than that. The reality is in the Ninja community you have people who took Ninjutsu for different reasons. Some people took it for fantasizing the shinobi and then some took it for self defense and centering your mind (really the hard skills Taijutsu and the soft skills aka ninjutsu). In the Ninja community there are people who care for Ninjutsu as in the historical aspect, but then there are people I know who are all about adapting. I know many people in the ninja community who have your translation of the scrolls , but also in essence practice real ninjutsu such as having jobs such as security, executive protection, FBI, etc. These people are not caught on the aspect of just the past. In my personal opinion, ninjutsu has not failed. Not by a long shot. Just one example. right now Hurricane Lee will hit hard in the side of canada im at. I have a survival tool that is a saw, knife, can make fire, measure, open cans, and more. Without a doubt a modern shinobi would have this multi purpose tool. And the people I know would agree with me. So there are different motives and intentions with people who practice ninjutsu, is what im saying.
Thank you. I hope you are still active in Natori Ryu
Thank you for taking the time. to read my comment. My partner was in a severely bad accident..that caused the death of my step son and my partner being in a coma.. Natoriryu has been on pause since then..but I will be back as things are now beginning to die down.. Im good friends with Tobi in real life. I know you definitely know him. Thanks again for taking the time. Osu! Also if you need help with any editing or color grading videos, please do not hesitate to reach out. I'm happy to help in any way I can. @@AntonyCummins
#261 here! These comments are excellent and hit all of the points I could make.
My opinion is the ninja community is broken down into smaller communities that have a leader of sorts that relays the information to the community since most practitioners are merely followers at heart.
Sadly, in the US, most leaders of ninjutsu communities are overweight and egotistical Bujinkan fanatics that absolutely worship Hatsumi or SKH. Or they made up their own style and spread information on whatever they please. One popular "ninja" RUclipsr comes to mind. They couldn't survive a week in the wilderness or fight their way out of a wet paper bag.
That said, it's very hard to spread the true word of the essence of ninjutsu to anyone interested. I've tried to teach others what I know, using your books as reference alongside my own experience, but they never seem to keep interest long enough to really grasp anything.
I feel there will be a ninja revival at some point in my lifetime, like in the 1980s, but it's going to be something big that brings it about. Hopefully, it's not a refresh of the 1980s.
I mentioned a Natori ambassador "program" in another comment that I hope you'll entertain. I think proactive attempts at spreading the information on a localized level will be beneficial.
I understand and appreciate your perspective. The fact is that the ninja community is insignificant. That's the truth. This is why the myth lives on because of propaganda and all that you point out as fake. To help, you yourself say that you killed the Ninja. The delegation from Mie with professors Yuji, Yoshimaru, and the "Mascot of Iga" Kawakami, governors of Mie, etc., etc., were here in Brazil. The truth is that they want the Historical Ninja to go to hell. For them, only commerce and tourism matter, and this became very clear here. All they know is about entertainment, and as some are frozen in a period of history they consider to be real historical data. Imagine in 500 years, when all this mess becomes "old data," who will be the Historical Ninja? Kawakami and Mie's "research"? I think, dear Antony, it's still too early to make such statements or be so sure of things. Especially considering Japan at a certain point in history had isolated tribes with their cultural peculiarities, we cannot ignore the fact that the information we have is still very limited to determine anything. When you say you traveled all over Japan, that you explored every corner, I think you may have exaggerated a bit. Your attempt to prove what everyone knows is a shot in the foot, it distances you and prevents you from perhaps checking what could be relevant documents for your research on Ninjutsu. These Ninjutsu masters from the Japanese Ninja Boom ended up collecting many treasures, as well as many things related to pop culture. It is with them that you will find good documents or good clues. Hatsumi Sensei, in my opinion, is the greatest lover of ninja art. Imagine what he must have in his collection, imagine what you could not discover there. Or with any other master. You have just arrived, my friend, and you already want to kill the Ninja? Your work is interesting to me and others who love Ninjutsu, but for the lay public, it all says one thing. We're lost! But we will get there, and I hope you abandon this idea of killing the Ninjas and their modern schools, which in the future will indeed be the "traditional" schools of Ninjutsu. Be friends with people, with the "Ninjutsu" masters; their collection of information and scrolls is undoubtedly larger than yours. It would be a good place to look. Don't try to kill anyone. Be a Ninja. It's still early, my friend, for so many affirmations. Stay strong! I admire your passion, your work, and I hope for your success.
The ninja community realizes now that to be a real shinobi is alot of hard work and time consuming.
Grear topic I totally agree indeed!
I wonder if it might not be a microcosm, really. People seem less and less interested in history, all the time, I'm sorry to say. As someone with a couple History degrees... I wish it weren't so.
The wider ninja community has failed because it was pushed as shitty martial arts... That's all went away because a lot of people were trying to be seen in the beginning doing historical ninjutsu.
But, people either want an effective MA or a ninja themed adventure class. That's the reality because thanks to you well now know everyone was full of it.
My personal thoughts is well I still enjoy Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles and Batman, or Last Samurai. They're all awesome fictions, and yes adding a little authentic Ninjutsu would make aspects more interesting, but at the end of the day, these are not documentaries. I love learning as much as I love good fiction. My favorite dinosaur movies is Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, and for the latter realism helps, but the books and the movies both make a compelling argument that none of the dinosaurs may be actually realistic, only realistic based on our current understanding of dinosaurs. Nothing is natural, it's an illusion.
At the same time I enjoy Walking With dinosaurs. While there's some outdated information, such documentaries were when most tried to educate and not purely entertain.
Enjoy fiction and reality as they are. Enjoy a fine painting of a mountain... then go see that mountain and enjoy it in reality
I feel like it’s just people loose interest in ninja culture but your core audience and fans still care about ninjas let’s go
I mean... there isn't much left to say about the ninja community. It was built upon a lie there no way something like that would flourish
I always say you: PEOPLE NOT WANT KNOW AND LEARN REAL SHINOBI NO JUTSU AND SHINOBI NO DEN...
It's the martial arts community as a whole tbh, thay need to stop sniffing their own farts and grow up.
I think this whole thing is a communication problem. As far as I understand you, and I'm kinda new to Ninja stuff, what you're saying is that there are no Ninja specific fighting styles, as in hand to hand combat but that Ninjutsu is actually a different aspect entirely. You also say, you killed the Ninja as we know it. But did you really? I assume that there were black dressed Ninjas, breaking into a house, and if they got caught and couldn't get away they would have used martial arts. Now it would have been Samurai stuff that they used, yes, not specific Ninja stuff. But then you still have a black dressed ninja using martial arts. So I don't see the problem. On top of that, there have been a lot of other aspects contained in Ninjutsu, also not a problem. Today there are a lot of "modern" Ninja depictions where they wear white and green and all the colours. So you didn't kill the Ninja, in my book, if you pardon the pun. You just redefined what being a Ninja is. Some of them were not at all like the Ninja we know, but, and that is important, some of them, even if it's only a very small fragment, some of them were! Some of them were using throwing weapons, and some of them were more skilled in fighting or hand to hand combat, or sword fighting or whatever. And some of them were probably even fighting Samurais at some point in history. So I wouldn't say you killed the Ninja. The modern Ninja image is beloved. I have been in the Ninja craze in the 80's, I used a throwing star a friend got over seven corners and sharpened it himself, and there was nothing cooler than a Ninja in these days. Everybody though had his own image of what that was. I find all your research extremely important and I have not found any problems with it. But the way you communicate it sometimes sounds like: Sorry, you are all stupid, this is not what a Ninja did (in a respectful way ofc.). And then you also say that a Ninja is a Samurai and is also fighting like a Samurai. What you could say instead is: What you call Ninja is actually part of being Samurai, other than that there is no problem. (Which I know you already said, but it's buried somewhere in one or two videos.) What you could say instead is: The man who resurrected the Ninja. Because that is what you do here. Translating those scrolls is all that needs to be done, you're already on the right track. But the Ninja community will not be happy if you try to take away their Ninja, no matter how nice you are about it. And I say, there is no need. If you communicate this properly we get a new Kind of modern Ninja, one that is also a Samurai but has all the skills needed to become a shinobi no mono.
...or *you could grasp the nettle* and actually make a full in depth examination of togakure ryu its skills and alleged history and see if anything parses with historical ninjutsu. Not Gyokko Ryu. Not Koto Ryu. Not Kukishinden Ryu. TOGAKURE RYU. You came so close a few videos back when you said that the secret inside pocket for metsubushi was ahistorical. I was pumped! He was finally going to go in depth and address the elephant in the room ....and then nothing. GRASP THE NETTLE. Cover Togakure ryu in depth. DO IT.
The community isn’t dead. It’s just changing. Anyone who’s been training this art for the past three decades knows what’s occurring is natural.
You didn’t “kill” anything Antony. And nothing is dead. Things are merely changing shape and form. You thinking you are the catalyst for this, or that you are the check & balance is a bit self-serving wouldn’t you say???
I think you have many talents, and are probably a really nice person, but you seem to paint a whole group of people by citing the low-hanging fruit as the standard.
You used to be a firebrand critic, very brash, all that’s different now is that you seem to have adopted a passive-aggressive critique form and abandoned your prior more direct form of being a contrarian.
Your motives seem sketchy. Which makes you hard to take serious.
It's whether you're liked or not.
You have done well mate. 🥷