Coming from a very successful grading event in Pretoria were I was fortunate enough, together with 41 other students, to be given the opportunity to advance in grade, It excites me to say that Ninja SA is alive and kicking, and not just that, Ninja SA has shown significant growth in both body and spirit with Randpark ridge dojo grading two black belts and Edenvale one.
One of our students, Deon Venter, has taken the leap of faith and with only an eighth kyu grade and committed himself by opening up our fifth study group in Ninja SA. He himself together with one other student graded successfully in Pretoria, Congratulations Deon, you make us proud, keep it up!The second half of the year promises to be a humdinger with the Honeydew dojo attracting on average 16 students every class which is about capacity and two black belt grading students for December and similar patterns are emerging from the other dojos.
Shidoshi Nathan Lee has taken an active approach with dojo performance with the top dojo Award. The Randpark Ridge dojo is currently the title holder but in an interesting change of events Shidoshi Lee announced that a dojo can hold this award for no longer than two years and according to my calculations next year he’ll have no choice but to concede defeat to Honeydew at the end of 2012.Another exciting development is the continuation and renewed commitment to courses and seminars Ninja SA offers and promise to offer in the future. The very successful sword course was presented at Randpark Ridge dojo and we had a massive student turn out. The word in the dojo is that a walking cane course is soon to follow and my only question is “When are we opening these up to the public?”
Remember your suntan lotion for the next course; it’s going to be a hot one.
Stiff Wrists!
Hi Ninja Phil, please help me to loosen these old stiff wrists of mine. :( They are very stiff, struggle to do some of the Ninja SA moves. Will appreciate any help. Thanks Andre
Hi Andre, I found a nice website with some hand exercises for you Andre. It’s even got some pictures of a pretty lady showing you how. Enjoy. Click here Gym Program
Hey Ninja Phil, I was wondering if there is a program one could follow in the gym to tune your body and build the right muscles needed for this art? – Behemoth
Hello Behemoth, Increased weight training is important if you want to advance and get fit, remember the black belt grading is 9 hours long so you better be fit. You can do push-ups and pull-ups and dumbbell curls and squats and lunges, all the exercise you would normally do, but keep the reps high and the weight low. Here is some exercises you can do at home with a medicine ball Click Here If you have any question you would like to ask the big guns, email them to us and we might just publish our response in the next newsletter. Remember we also have a forum on Ninja SA site and I am happy to answer your question there as well.
What is your full name and Title?
Non Ninjitsu people = Master Nathan Lee - Ninjitsu Students = Shidoshi Nathan Lee
How long have you been involved in Martial Arts and what was your
first style and in which art was it?
I started out in Karate, but found the art extremely boring, so gave it up after getting to Orange Belt, about two years later , a mate of mine suggested that we try Kung-Fu, we signed up with Shaolin , but I found it too physical, it wasn't what I wanted, after grading to Si Dai, 1 Nunchang, I decided to give it up, and went into Bodybuilding for 3 years, don't know where it all went, used to have a six pack, now I have a Keg, my best mate was doing Ninjitsu , under Master Barry Pictor and suggested I join him one night, I did and found that this is the style I was looking for, and have been in this art for 25 years now.
When you started Ninjitsu, what was then single biggest motivation for
your perseverance?
I always wanted to be as good as my Master, he was a 6th Dan, I set my sights on reaching 4th Dan, and when I did, found I still had more to give, so decided to persevere and see how far I could get, I retired from the art twice, the first due to a cartilage operation in both knees, but after a year decided to re-join, then after the Black Dragon fiasco , retired again , but once you are hooked by this art, you can never give it up, after a year I was going nuts, and asked David to allow me to open a dojo under his name, he allowed me back, but there was only one night available at his Dojo, Thursday nights, after 6 months, I decided that , it was not working for me, and that is when I started up Randpark Ridge.
Who was your super hero when you were a boy?
Superman - I was envious of his ability to fly.
Who is your Super hero today?
Iron Man (Just so cool) & Wolverine (I love his F__k the world attitude)
Who or what inspires you?
I don't have inspirations, that is for people who have lots of money do the things they have always wanted to do, I live life to the fullest, do what I can when I can, and enjoy the ride.
If you had enough resources to change the world, what would be the
first thing you do?
Fire all the politicians
What is your favourite board game and why?
Careers - It prepares you for the business world, and get rich in the process, totally unrealistic
What is the single most irritating thing?
I don't suffer fools easily
What are your hobbies?
Plenty
1) I collect weapons, I have all the Ninja weapons, 7 swords, about 40 knives, quite extensive.
2) Love movies, I have seen every Sci-Fi or Fantasy movies in the country, I have seen 3310 movies to date, I keep a record because I have seen so many, I also have about 700 movies in my collection
3) I enjoy music, I have a wide variety of taste, Opera, classical, Esoteric, pop , rock, in fact I enjoy everything except underground, heavy rock, sakkie sakkie, and the rubbish teenagers listen to today ( I am sure our parents used to say the same thing)
4) I enjoy reading, I read about 80 books a year, and have read in excess of 2,000 books, I have 400 in my collection
5) I am an avid PC Gamer, I have played 295 games to date, I enjoy any first person shooter, but it must have guns involved, I do not enjoy swords or hand to hand combat, and I cannot handle games where there are little people involved
What is your vision for Ninja SA?
I see us growing exponentially and launching ourselves as an enterprise. Our committed students are reaching Black Belt level and with our support and guidance we groom them for about a year till they are ready to open their own schools. Our aim is the one in three Black Belts should open a school. This will give us more exposure and reach and as my Dojo currently has 7 BB's this year, of which we will get at least 3 dojo's from them, not everybody is cut out to be an instructor, but opening your own school is what it all is about.
What do we need to do to realise your vision?
Everything is on track, we will have an additional 6 schools within the next two years, and we can now put Ninja SA on the map.
How can this newsletter help?
This opens up peoples eye's into what Ninjitsu is all about, we are not just another Martial Art, we are the Martial Art, people need to get past the Stigma that Ninja's were just assassins, they were also experts at philosophy, herbs, strategists, people need to take a chance and try our art instead of just criticizing it
What is the one thing people will remember you for?
Beats me, I hope it's not all bad
How many black belts have past under your teaching?
I had 3 at Turfontein, 2 at Linden, so have never been the holder of the trophy , as the bigger dojo's always had that privilege, but now it is my turn, I had two BB's in June, and another 5 in December, at last I can have a lot of BB's behind my name, this to me is a huge achievement, another is where one of your Black Belts goes on to achieve big things, I am proud to say that Sensei David Field, was one of my Black Belts, he has gone on to create the biggest art in Ninjitsu in this country, and he has excelled beyond his Master, he should hold that title, there are few Martial artists that rate highly in my book, at present there are only 2 and they are Master Barry Pictor and Sensei David Field
If there is one thing you can say to anyone who ever reads this newsletter what would it be?
Try Ninjitsu out, you will find it provides for all your needs and gives peace of mind, that you can handle yourself in any situation, if you want your kids to try it, it goes a long way in teaching discipline and attitude, once involved, you get hooked, as it is the only art that along with unarmed combat, you learn 9 different weapons, and you continue to learn and grow all the time, then once you achieve instructor status, then your life in the art really starts, because then you can introduce your own ideas, you only start learning, when you start teaching, before that, you were just going through the motions.
What is it about Ninjitsu that kept you from moving on to another Art?
To me this is the ultimate art, it has discipline, but not so strict that you cannot enjoy what you do, you get to learn weapons, and it has an incredible form of comradery.
What do you say to people who believe "their" art is better then what Ninja SA has to offer?
Everybody is welcome to their opinion, everyone will tell you that their art is the best, I can only comment on what I have tried, and I can definitely say that our form of Ninjitsu is definitely the best, look at how we have grown, we have a brilliant martial artist at the head not only is he a good combat specialist, but look at our website, plus the instructors have their own website, he is a brilliant administrator, and strives to improve all the time, so what if others think their style is better, we know that ours is the best.
What is your first thought when you know "now you have to fight"?
I am confident that I can handle myself in any situation, I have only had to use it once, and I kicked butt, that was 15 years ago, people can recognise the fighting spirit in you, they can sense your aura, so they leave you alone, but if it happens, then there is only one thing to say "Bring it on".
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Don't you think that I have said enough for now, but if I think of anything else, you will be the first to know?
Have a Ninja day
Regards
Shidoshi Nathan Lee
There are a lot of myth and speculation about who and what a Ninja was. Japanese folk lore suggests the ninja were descendant from a demon that was half man and half crow. This, like modern witchcraft, only attributed more fear and mystery to the shadow warrior assassins, better known as Shinobi.
It seems more logical that the ninja slowly evolved due to pressure from the emperor and his henchmen guards, the Samurai in early feudal Japan. The Emperor demanded their land and forbid them from wearing any swords. The Samurai enforced the emperor’s will and law and could cut down any peasant who dare oppose. The peasants came up with all sorts of clever ways to survive and learning how to fight with farm implements were one of them.These peasants weren’t bound by the Samurai code which made them very unpopular and dangerous. No strike or technique was frowned upon and anything that worked was welcomed. The Ninja began training in all sorts of disciplines such as espionage, survival as well as assassination and soon they began to playing one samurai clan off against the other causing war between the Samurai clans and moving the focus away from themselves.
The Samurai in turn came up with clever ways to expose a ninja. By recruiting a child playing with a spinning top and stationing the child at a place where ninja were suspected to pass, the child was ordered to throw the top at the feet of passersby. If the child scored a hit, then the person was not considered a threat, but if the targeted person nimble footedly side stepped the incoming top, well that had to be a ninja for only years of specialist training in ninjutsu could provide such agility. Suspects were often subjected to summary execution.
Japan was separated into provinces and each province was over
seen by a daimyo. Politics being what it was, and still is, soon drove the daimyos to more sinister acts of underhanded tactics, which was strictly forbidden by the Samurai code. The idea of avoiding a direct fight goes directly against this code and this is where the Ninja came in. The daimyos hired the Ninja to do the dirty work of sneaking around, spying and assassination of specific targets. In modern day terms based on the history behind the Ninja and their deadly art Ninjutsu... well we’re training dangerous assassins! Strike one.
Most fighters need to measure their strength and skill against another worthy opponent and Ninjutsu is a non-competing martial arts form, purely because it’s too dangerous. Strike two.
People are dishonest and with Ninjutsu being the mystery that it will remain to be, people take chances, even when they call themselves Sensei. So many false claims have been made and so much poor training and administration has been provided that most online communities agree that Ninjutsu is just a pure waste of time and money. Strike three.
I am glad I didn’t see it that way when I decided that nothing will stop me from starting and persisting as a student in Ninjutsu. I have had the time of my life since I started Ninjutsu. I have gained ten kilograms in muscle in a year and I feel better than ever. Ninjutsu had forced me to re-evaluate believes about everything from family values all the way through to nutritional dietary requirements and physical exercise.
Here at Ninja SA we practice a hybrid form of Ninjutsu. That means that no, we don’t have a long lineage of Ninja Masters that dictate our style. We don’t have a strict two thousand year old syllabus that we follow teaching us everything from riding a horse and firing a bow to concocting poison potions but yet there are elements of tradition in our art. Our syllabus keeps evolving. We adapt with the times and constant improvement is part of our philosophy. We train hard and bruises are common in class. We are a team and don’t engage each other in competition except for the sake of getting accustom to a fight situation. We have great leadership within the organisation and pride ourselves as responsible and controlled Martial artists.I am sure a lot of people can give you a lot of reasons not to try Ninjutsu and to steer clear and try karate instead, but can you find one good reason to look up a Ninja SA dojo during the week and pop in one evening with tekkies and an open mind? I dare you.
I have picked 5 Japanese words that I want you to learn. But there is a catch. You have to do a bit of searching to find them. The correct answers will be entered into a draw and the winner will get a Ninja SA Cap worth R80 Mail your entries to editor@ninja.co.za The Number of moves in the Kata Dante.
It’s the latest craze in Japan, and your love of shooting poison darts from it can lead to weight loss.
When your opponent strikes you and you use Fire.
The word we use to start a fight or training session.
This Ninja will be the captain of the team.
- Stick fighting and ASP Baton course (15th of October 2011)
- Internal dojo grading start from the beginning of September 2011.
- National grading is planned for the 3rd of December 2011
Keep an eye on the forum and ninja.co.za for more details! When joining a dojo in South Africa you get your first two weeks free! To find your closest dojo please follow this link Dojo listing Dojos available in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Ninja SA would like to offer you two weeks free training at the venue of your choice. Click here to download your voucher :Free Training Voucher The Honeydew dojo has a NINJA KIDS class from 18:00 - 19:00 every Tuesday and Thursday evening, not including school or public holidays, that accommodates Kids aged 8 - 13 yrs. The kids will be taught similar techniques as the adult class, however, the focus lies with discipline, control and self confidence. The ninjutsu techniques are taught in a self defence manner. For more info on the Ninja Kids class, Contact Sensei Alex:info@ninja.co.za 
Have a look at our syllabus break down, and see how you can earn your Black Belt First Dan grade.Ninja SA teach a very structured but dynamic art. Join us now and start your training, there are 9 levels to Black Belt we estimate it will take you three years to earn your 1st Dan grade. Follow this link to see what you will learn each level The 9 kyu levels
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