The Mystic Arts of the Ninja

Like a lot of pre-teen kids in the mid 1980's, I fell under the trance of the mysterious Ninja. This ambiguous figure and its legendary arsenal of devastating martial arts skills and exotic weapons was just what we kids needed to fuel our imaginations. I was 11 years old in 1985, and the highlight of, at least some, of my Saturdays was going to Waldenbooks and/or B Dalton's at the mall for the latest issue of Black Belt Magazine and to scan the martial arts books in the Sports section of each bookstore. I quickly learned of Stephen K. Hayes' status in the "real" martial arts" community, and his impressive bibliography. The Mystic Arts Of The Ninja was the first of many of Hayes' books that I would eventually own. The Mystic Arts Of The Ninja still stands out as my favorite of Hayes' books. This book covers, in detail, a variety of aspects of Ninjutsu, including accurate historical narratives, complete with photos, detailed text and photo descriptions of traditional fighting techniques, weapons, including the sword and shuriken, and advice for readers wishing to further their own training. This book covers enough material to keep the casual reader interested, while avoiding the theatrical and fictitious nonsense perpetuated in the movies. Hayes has come a long way since releasing this book, yet it still stands up as one of my personal favorites.

ok...we know hayes has lost touch with certain elements of ninpo...and people say things about his godai system yet i know alot of people who even in japan say mikkyo is ninjutsu..so to the book hayes was still studying with hatsumi when this came and theres one good thing about this book the stealth part which also was taught to bussey and a few others back then as was so kajutsu(fire) this was before the whole terroist stuff...so now as you know this is not taught much any more in public or in many dojos because of this..that being said this is the only reputable book you will find these stealth skills as they were taught to him and his interpretation of them which resemble busseys a lot so obviously he didnt just make them up..unfortunately these are the only 2 guys that put this out to the general public(there was hatsumi hard to get dvds that even featured hayes back then it also contained some stealth) so this is what you have to work with as far as old school togakure ryu ninpo before it became budo taijutsu...and yes these are the differences...less focus on the ninja stuff..which has led to many new authors attacking the bujinkan but i think hatsumi made the decision to not teach any terrorist/guerilla type tactics(as many thought this i dont think hatsumi said anything like this) as did other kans in the 90s openly..so yea wait on the authors to stick out there books snatch them and compare...but these 2 big books by hayes are cheap this and the white one i suggest to get them even if you cant get ninja 1-5 which i would suggest along with hobans and daniels books. there are some other stuff out there as well by other masters but again careful on the path and do your OWN homework to figure out what is what.its simple...does it work ? or is it so fake it dont?

Great book, very informative in some areas and less so in others, but Ninjutsu is a very broad field of study that takes a lifetime of learning and dedication. This book deals with some things not readily discussed in this fantastic author and To-Shin-Do Ninjutsu masters other books such as technique and kata, concealment, the proper way to climb, the proper use of projectiles and throwing blades step-by-step with black and white photos, hanbo and sword technique, the use of the 5 elements, stealth walking in various substrates and mental applications. An enjoyable read as are all of his books. Highly recommended for students of the Art.

The Mystic Arts of the Ninja begins with a discussion of the history of ninjutsu and some of its historical figures such as: Hattori Hanzo, Fujibayashi Nagato, and Kato Danjo. This historical view of ninjutsu is then compared with the limited conventional view of the day revolving around moonlit nights with black masked assassins murdering their enemies.Following this discussion of history, Stephen Hayes then explains the Fu No Kata, and how fighting skills for self-protection are much different than the martial arts often taught in sport focused schools. Japanese ninjutsu evolved from the need for pragmatic self-protection under difficult odds in a time of continuous civil warfare.The Mystic Arts of the Ninja then continues with a discussion of ninja aruhi ~ stealth and ningu ~ ninja tools to include the han-bo and ninja sword. Both of these sections contain several photos (as does the whole book) helping the reader learn the techniques described.In-ton the art of concealment and camouflage is discussed next. This chapter includes a discussion on gontonpo ~ the five element concealing and escaping methods. Gontonpo looks at general combat and escape strategies as represented by the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.Stephen Hayes continues with a discussion of the shuriken. Although often thought of as a "ninja weapon" many other Ryu included shurikenjutsu as part of their training. Here however we see the way the shuriken is employed within the art of ninjutsu.The book concludes with a brief discussion of saiminjutsu ~ the ninja's power of directing the mind.I enjoyed reading The Mystic Arts of the Ninja, and found it to be well written and illustrated with numerous photographs. This book should be in the collection of any student of ninjutsu.

Well written and demastrated

this book has one unique set of theory, that i have never seen anywhere else, about the application of ba gua to battle strategies. it is one of those theories that sheds much light on historical battles and power struggles of all kinds.

a great read that's full of information and pictures. recommend to all my friends that like this type of read.

Good read on Ninjustu history, technique and culture. :)

excellent history behind the myth of the ninja, and also good information on techniques, weapons and so on.admittedly you will never encapsulate everything from a culture that stretches back to the late 1500's in one book, but this is a good place to start.

A beginners manual in the concept of ninjitsu. Stephen studied under Dr Hatsumi the Grandmaster of ninjitsu so therefore authenticity is assured.

Nice book, like all Hayes books...arrived on time !thank you!

this book contains nothing wich is really interesting...just a little intro for all the myths and storys you already knew from the american ninja

This book makes a very pleasant read, both for people who practise ninjutsu as well as people who wonna know more about this martial art. The book of course won't give you a full insight in ninjutsu, but it is much better and clearer than most others. If you buy this, you should take "ninjutsu, the art of the invisible warrior" as well, as they supplement each other.