Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Marvelous Ninja Gear Options

By Steve Thibeault

In Japanese history, a ninja is a warrior, trained in martial arts, who specializes in a variety of unorthodox acts of war. A lot of the tradition from this movement has been carried forward to today and ninja gear is quite popular, with their weapons and tools finding use in the modern era.

One of the beauties of ninja gear is that it is multipurpose. Ninja warriors were very creative and could adapt existing weapons to different circumstances and situations. For example, they might hide smaller weapons inside larger weapons and were also known to dip blades into poison to make them more lethal. The range of weapons and tools were highly versatile and would enable the ninja to adapt to most threats.

Much of the ninja gear was made up of a variety of different types of weapon. Knives, axes, sawing tools and swords comprised their blade-based weapons. The ninja would use some of the swords to cause internal damage to foes or to break bones, as surprisingly, they were not particularly sharp. Wooden swords were used sometimes and these were advantageous insofar as they could be painted and used for camouflage protection.

The ninja were very often stealthy. All staffs made of hardwood would be carried, which would not look particularly impressive to the enemy. However,knives or poison darts were hidden within and were deployed when the staff was quickly flicked by the ninja.

Projectile weapons, including creative hollow eggs and poison darts, were part of the traditional ninja gear. The eggs were filled with tiny poisonous items to be thrown at the enemy to blind them. A throwing star, also known as a Shuriken, could be thrown at pursuers, but not used as an offensive item. Today, the stars are thrown at a ninja target board by enthusiasts.

Ninja often used chain-based weapons, either to swing something with greater force or to entangle the enemy. They could attach a variety of different weapons to these chains and cords for greater effect.

Very creative water crossing devices were often included within the ninja gear. They were also very clever at camouflaging themselves and would often leave a false set of tracks by wearing carved wooden pads on their feet. Highly creative water crossing devices allowed them to cross swollen rivers and they could also wear spiked claws to climb out of trouble.

The wide variety of ninja gear carried by these feared warriors is what holds them in such high revere to this day. Enthusiasts marvel at their creativity and love to collect items of weaponry, tools and survival gear. Would-be ninja gear owners are cautioned, however, that many of these items from Japanese history and folklore can be very dangerous if not handled carefully.

About the Author:

No comments: