One more art form passing away- Ninjutsu

Viewing depictions of Ninjas in movies has been a fascination of mine. Ninjas are almost super-human. They make their actions look as if they defy gravity.  They can scale any natural or man-made structure, move without making a sound then disappear in a flash.  I remember thinking it must be so cool to be able to do those things.
Ninjas were Japanese spies, killers, and assassins. I would imagine their training took years to master their precisely executed stills under the cloak of darkness and all without making a sound. They had to be experts in martial arts, weaponry of all sorts, have super strength with amazing agility, and nerves of steel. And I'd add, not be squeamish about killing someone with dead accuracy.

Ninja

Photo credit: miguelwhee from morguefile.com

This art form, jinjutsu, it may be called a self-defense technique of martial art precision killing has died out.  The need for Ninjas is gone.

The secrets of the Ninjas was passed down from father to son, but it has come to an end.

But, no doubt, Ninjas will live on in movies, games, toys, and  in contests challenging the body in every imaginable way, giving us some idea of the rigors the Ninjas executed perfectly.

FYI- More interesting stuff about Ninjas --
What a ninja did. 

Some aspects of Ninja training which gave them strength, precision, self-control.

A famous Ninja.


An obstacle course testing physical strength, stamina, speed, agility, and balance. The video below shows the first female to conquer this challenge for the title, 'First Female Ninja Warrior'



Check this video of some extreme strength, like a Ninja--




and this Ninja-like training bedroom



And lastly, step-by-step, how you can be a Ninja,


 The mighty Ninja will never be forgotten.

Halloween-the 'ugly' side

Halloween has come and gone already this year. Personally, I saw not one kid in costume nor a single trick-or-treater.   Door-to-door trick-or-treating is passe, i.e. history, because of 'ugliness' done by people wanting to harm kids by tampering with candy- (it's pretty darn 'ugly' to do that to children). Kids today are missing out and won't ever get to experience door-to-door trick-or-treating. Trunk-or-treating is just no comparison of walking up to the front door of a neighborhood house, ringing the doorbell, waiting to see who'd answer, ( and maybe getting to peak inside), getting your treat and run.  The fun was being out with friends, then when your sack or lantern couldn't hold
any more candy, (and it did get heavy), getting inside and dumping it all on the kitchen table to see
all the goodies we'd collected. and trading with each other and deciding what we'd eat first and save to eat the next few weeks. We used to make Halloween candy last for weeks. We didn't have to pay for it nor send a 'thank you' note. It was totally free-and-clear sugar.  For us kids, those were some good ole days!


I was wondering if 'the man' was going to display a 'yard of ugliness' in front of his house again so I could drive by and take a photo.

He did.

Click here to see how it looked in 2010.

I don't know how much effort and energy it takes to design and erect these displays, but they're
 quite 'ugly' don't you think?

And if this place was around when I was a kid, I think I'd pass for trick-or-treating here.  
Unless I hear they were for sure passing out all day suckers.  Then, maybe........