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.

A variety of different types of weapon made up a significant part of ninja gear. Blade-based weapons included sawing tools, knives, axes and swords. Surprisingly, some of the swords were not particularly sharp, and the ninja would use them to break bones or to cause internal damage. They sometimes even used wooden swords which could be painted and were useful for camouflage protection.

Ninja often carried hardwood, hollow staffs, within which they would hide poison darts or knives. The darts could be deployed by quickly flicking the staff, a technique designed to catch the enemy off guard.

Ninja gear incorporates a number of projectile weapons, including poison darts and highly creative hollow eggs, which were filled with tiny items and thrown at the enemy with the intention of blinding them. The Shuriken is a throwing star and was designed to be thrown at your pursuers, and not used as an offensive item. These days, enthusiasts practice throwing these stars at a ninja target board.

To enable them to swing with much greater force, the ninja would sometimes attach weapons to chains and cords. This method could even be used to entangle the enemy.

Ninja gear included highly creative water crossing devices and a variety of different types of clothing. They were very adept at camouflaging themselves and, for example, would wear carved wooden pads on their feet to leave a false set of tracks. As they could adapt to any problems in their path, they would often wear spiked claws to help them climb or use special devices to cross rivers.

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.

Tags: Self Defence