James Loriega

Japan's last formal use of shinobi took place in the years before and during the Second World War; and it is only because they existed in recent history, and because their deeds were vile and atrocious, that the Japanese spies of WWII are not yet graced with the appellation "ninja." Their many covert actions are recounted here. The objective of this book is not to glorify or validate their abhorrent actions, but merely to ensure we keep an accurate historical perspective of who we are emulating in our practice of the ninja arts.

This book, part of the Shinrigaku series, is an abridged version of A Legacy of Lost Arts. It is designed to serve as a quick reference on the basic mental skills of the shinobi, but excludes the historical context found in Legacy. In its current form, it can be used as a checklist for the development and continued maintenance of the disciplines described, which are a defining component of ninjutsu. If these mind disciplines are ignored, the physical training in ninjutsu can become almost indistinguishable from the quotidian block-punch-and-throw combat arts. This in fact is already the case in those dojo that purport to teach ninjutsu. Of course, self-defense techniques and combat abilities are necessary skills, as is the ability to use traditional Japanese weapons-but ninjutsu is the art of Espionage Where is the intelligence gathering? The surreptitious entry and exit methods? The covert strategies? The counters to the enemy's strategies? The invisible accomplishment of one's objectives? In short, what do these "ninjutsu" dojo and seminars offer to set themselves apart from the ubiquitous jujutsu or self-defense1 schools that teach the same or similar skills? Is it their black jujutsu uniforms or fancy "ninja" patches that make what they teach "ninjutsu?" While unarmed and armed fighting arts are a part of ninjutsu, the art relies on many more arts that are not being taught in dojo around the world. It is those arts that we will begin to introduce in this book.

The Iron Mistress workout is a simple routine that uses the Bowie knife to stretch, twist, and tone the arms, legs, and body. The movements used in the workout are based on the twelve predominant techniques used in Bowie knife combat. Although not extremely challenging on a physical level, the workout will nonetheless help tone the arms, upper body, and legs, as well as enhance balance, coordination, suppleness, and range of motion with respect to knife-fighting, if not general weapons-based combat. On a tactical level, the timing, accuracy, and delivery of your techniques will be equally enhanced. In essence, the underlying benefit of using a heavy Bowie knife as an exercise tool for toning your arms, torso, and legs, is that it will help you "get cut" (pun intended) as you become skilled.

The tragic situation that we-along with the rest of the world-find ourselves in has forced us to make sweeping adjustments to our routine activities and interactions. Safety protocols involving masks, gloves, and proper coughing and sneezing must be practiced prescribed distances must be adhered to, and rigorous measures of hygiene must be implemented and maintained. Yet, while health officials stress that we minimize our contact with others, their rarely-enforced mandates are not uniformly adhered to by many members of the public that we encounter in our minimized but inevitable excursions from our "shelters." Doctors' offices and clinics, pharmacies and drug stores, mass transit, supermarkets, barber shops and beauty salons, public parks, and an inestimable number of necessary venues can be the scene of unhealthy encounters with individual unconcerned with the well-being of others-or even of their own. This volume of the Katsura Otoko series will present the reader with potential strategies for avoiding and evading such de facto assailants who, without raising a fist or a weapon, can render you greater harm than the armed mugger who demands your wallet. A wallet some might otherwise surrender to avoid receiving a sneeze on their face.

When he was appointed as the first civilian Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Allen Dulles had already lived a full life of diplomacy, law, politics, and international intrigue. During WWII, he served as the American OSS chief-of-station in Switzerland, running the most efficient and significant espionage operations of the entire war-from "Hitler's own backyard." In 1944, Dulles' was connected Operation Valkirie, the German plot to assassinate Hitler; and in 1945 he was a key player in Operation Sunrise, conducting secret negotiatiations with German commanders in Italy which ultimately led to their surrender. Dulles' professional career makes the lives of fictional spies like Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan seem pale in comparison. This volume of the Intelligence Tradecraft Series lists the various "rules" established by this veteran and highly-decorated intelligence officer to safeguard his operatives from making fatal but avoidable mistakes. The strategies and mindset he presents, however, are not exclusive to spies. As such, Dulles' rules can provide you with a unique set of strategies and mindset that can safeguard you from avoidable mistakes. They work for those who are exposed to danger each day of their lives. They may also work for you

The accounts of Ninjutsu that make up this book provide the modern-day practitioners-and readers in general-with a wide variety of perspectives on the art, posited by a broad array of individuals. The chapters are written by authors who are not Ninjutsu instructors. As such, they are not followers of any organization or system of ninjutsu; they owe no allegiance to any particular philosophy or set of beliefs; and, to put it crudely, they "do not have a dog or horse in the race." The objective in compiling these writings is to provide students with information that is independent of the perspectives put forth by the popular Ninjutsu factions, for such views are often skewed and self-serving, and their repeated rhetoric soon becomes tedious and, worse, uninformative. The book encourages those interested in the Arts of the Ninja to read the work of non-partisan authors (like those included here); authors whose underlying motivations are to inform and educate-not market, sell, and recruit.

The United States Marine Corps does not have this manual-or any manual on the combat use of the Ka-Bar knife. This, however, is not because they lack a structured knife combat method for training new recruits, or because the method is in any way secret or classified.They have a structured method, and it's not secret or classified. They just don't teach from a manual! Why? Simply because Marine Combat Instructors have their knife combat method internalized. They can teach it in their sleep, they can use the knife without even waking up-and they want Marine recruits to know this method in the same manner. Not to learn it-to internalize it. To own it! Because they won't have a manual with them when they need this knowledge to save their lives. Learn what they already know!

In war, the removal or neutralization of an enemy sentry is necessary for a variety of mission-critical reasons, in particular for gaining access to an enemy location or escaping confinement that might lead to interrogation, torture, and/or execution. But could such methods be used by the average citizen outside of military venues? The answer is generally no ... ... until one considers extreme life-threatening scenarios such as kidnapping, human trafficking, or a home invasion in which criminals accost your spouse or children with the threat of death. It is in just those types of all-or-nothing circumstances that the information and methods presented in this reference book will be of rare but indisputable value. And it is for precisely those types of situations that the average, law-abiding citizen should know them.

The way of Ninjutsu, when correctly practiced, is the Art of Protection Against Danger. The weapons in your arsenal become foresight, situational awareness, sensory acuity, and a honed intuition. These are the weapons which Gracian developed, advocated, and utilized in Spain against the brightest political and religious thinkers. Prudence, discretion, circumspection, sagacity, discipline, and all the other attributes and qualities that Gracian encourages his reader to demonstrate are the selfsame attributes and qualities required of the shinobi. How, then, could Gracian's writings not be relevant to the contemporary practitioner of Ninjutsu?

Like all Military Combatives systems, Kengla's method of Stick Combat is simple and logical, and the material as presented in Cold Steel is completely serviceable. To be clear, the method is not a comprehensive stick-based martial art, such as Filipino kali or Japanese hanbojutsu--it is a method meant to be taught, learned, and completed in a short period of time. The method provides the student, whether novice or experienced; with survival essentials; that is, a minimum effective proficency for self-protection.

When traveling without weapons that may be illegal, incriminating or disclose one's true identity and motivations, Intelligence operatives habitually carry non-weapons on their person-that is, defensive tools capable of thwarting or negating a life-threatening assault in a definitive manner. This volume of the Intelligence Tradecraft Series addresses how an Intelligence operative's attire can be used in combative engagement scenarios where no weapons are available-as is typically the case when one is in a foreign land. The skillful use of incidental weapons is not exclusive to spies, nor is it the only means of protection that available to them. It is, however, a unique facet of covert work that requires training, and one that can ensure an operative's well-being and survival-as long as he is dressed to kill.

Masters of the Blade iscollection of interviews with notable blade fighting instructors in the field today. Learn the insights of the masters as they discuss the history of their art as well as their training methods and strategies.

The traditional Kukri is a bladed weapon that is popularly regarded as the national knife of Nepal. As such, it ranks alongside the Navaja of Spain, and the America Bowie as a blade that was pivotal in the wars-and ultimately, the history-of its nation. In this book two edged weapons Masters, Fernan Vargas and James Loriega take you on a journey to explore the history, culture and use of the Kukri

In the final chapter to The Art of War, Sun Tzu writes, "There are five classes of spies-Local spies; Internal spies; Turned spies; Expendable spies; and Surviving spies. When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover their secret system. This system is called The Divine Threads, and it is the sovereign's most precious faculty." Sun Tzu chose this metaphor to convey how a variety of spies, who deceptively appear to be unrelated, are in fact connected to the same general or ruler in a manner not easily discernible to the unsuspecting enemy. Centuries later, this and other teachings of the Chinese Strategist would serve as the basis for Ninjutsu-the Way of the Ninja-and the deadliest art to have evolved in Feudal Japan.

Since the time of the "Second Ninja Boom" of the 1980s, the "ninja experts" have led novices to believe by that Taijutsu is Ninjutsu. Ranked instructors, who one assumes would know otherwise, have also perpetuated this erroneous notion among their student followers. Thus, the actual elements of Ninjutsu-intelligence-gathering, strategy, invisibility, among many others-are disregarded and omitted from contemporary training. The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a more authentic and balanced understanding of what traditional ninjutsu was-and of what it can still be. It will be of value to - readers without a dojo affiliation who are nonetheless interested in ninjutsu training - practitioners who may be disillusioned with the authenticity of training, and - active ninjutsu practitioners, regardless of dojo affiliation, seamlessly complementing their training and providing them with an ancillary curriculum to broaden their skills.