The Ninja is a warrior of mythical status. They operated alone, unseen, and when they struck it was with out warning and with deadly efficiency. They were masters of unarmed combat, weapons, disguise, escape, and survival. Ninjas acted as spy, saboteur, assassin, body guard and anything else that they were called to do.
Today's Special Forces and Spies are the only approximation of these fabled warriors. They each do their thing extremely well but it is far from the same. Special Forces usually operate in small teams of 6 to 10. Spies, for the most part, convince people with access to sensitive information to share it with them. They also decode it from distance communications.
So my question, and the whole purpose of this blog is to explore the possibility of a ninja type warrior in today's world. Is there a place for such a person? What would they have to know ?
A person who is trained to gather information in a multitude of ways. They could break into the location that it is hidden, they could infiltrate the location through disguise or distraction. They could glean it through social interaction, getting the target to drop a hint or tell them out right. The target could expose something in what they say or how they act.
The modern ninja could then act in this information themselves. Using the skills they have acquired they could stop or lessen the effectiveness of an enemy plan. Again using stealth and guile they could sabotage a key aspect of the plan or eliminate the leader or a different key player. This lone wolf would might be able to make it look as if God himself was conspiring to foil the enemy's plan or that a force much larger than one person is interfering.
Now obviously today's world is more complex than that of feudal Japan. The technology has advanced and become more diverse. The cultures of the world have merged slightly yet they all remain distinct and they all have their own norms and quirks. Transportation and weaponry have also changed and become more complicated. To survive in the wilderness one must have a familiar knowledge of the area, yet with topography and environment from nation to nation being as diverse as that of the cultures. It would be much more difficult to have the knowledge be able to survive equally well in Cambodia and Colorado as it would be to do the same in Edo and Kyoto.
So to open up this discussion. Is there a place in this world for a Modern Day Ninja ? What skills would such a person need to know to succeed in that field ? However lets try to stay a way from Hollywood fantasies and Myths, But if you think that such a thing is actually possible then by all means. I would also love it if you could contribute evidence in the form of websites, books, videos, or anything else really to add some credibility to the discussion, because we all know how the Internet can be.
