Ninjutsu (忍術) sometimes used interchangeably with the term ninpō (忍法) is the martial art, strategy, and tactics of unconventional warfare and guerrilla warfare as well as the art of espionage purportedly practiced by the shinobi (commonly known outside of Japan as ninja).While there are several styles of "modern ninjutsu," the historicity and lineage of these styles is disputed. Some schools and masters claim to be "the only true and legitimate heirs" of the art, but Ninjutsu is not totally centralized like modernized Martial Arts such as Judo or Taekwondo.
Etymology
The main character nin (忍) is a phono-semantic compound composed of two greater characters. The upper character ha or jin (刃) is the phonetic indicator; its meaning of "edge of the sword" is therefore irrelevant here. The lower character kokoro or shin (心) means "heart" or "soul". The compound means "stealth", "secrecy", "endurance", "perseverance", and "patience". Jutsu (術) means "art" or "technique". Hō (法) meaning "knowledge", "principle", "law" or "system" when found with the prefix "nin" carries the meaning of ninja arts, higher order of ninjutsu.18 Skills
According to Bujinkan members Ninja Jūhakkei, the eighteen disciplines (jūhakkei < jūhachi-kei) were first stated in the scrolls of Togakure-ryū. Subsequently they became definitive for all ninjutsu schools by providing total training of the warrior in various fighting arts and agarter.
Ninja jūhakkei was often studied along with Bugei Jūhappan (the "18 samurai fighting art skills"). Though some are used in the same way by both samurai and ninja, other techniques were used differently by the two groups.
The 18 disciplines are:
Seishinteki kyōyō (spiritual refinement)
Taijutsu (unarmed combat)
Bōjutsu (stick and staff techniques)
Sōjutsu (spear techniques)
Naginatajutsu (naginata techniques)
Kusarigamajutsu (kusarigama techniques)
Shurikenjutsu (throwing weapons techniques)
Kayakujutsu (pyrotechnics)
Hensōjutsu (disguise and impersonation)
Shinobi-iri (stealth and entering methods)
Bajutsu (horsemanship)
Sui-ren (water training)
Bōryaku (tactics)
Chōhō (espionage)
Intonjutsu (escaping and concealment)
Tenmon (meteorology)
Chi-mon (geography)
