subject: Rolling & Breakfalls - An Overview Of The Basic Body Movement Skills In The Ninja's Self Defense Art [print this page] Within the realm of the Ninja's taihenjutsu, or "body-changing art", there is a wide array of skills which allows the shinobi warrior to be prepared for just about any situation. And, even though practically everyone is familiar with the movie scenes depicting the Ninja rolling, leaping, or doing other crazy acrobatics, few really understand the tactical and strategic logic and reasoning that lies beneath the learning of these skills.
And remember, we are talking about Ninjutsu in the context of the grander scope of self-protection - the ability to protect yourself against "any" type of danger or situation - rather than merely the physical act of defending yourself against a human, criminal, attacker.
The Ninja's taihenjutsu skill sets taught to new students for the purpose of "receiving and neutralizing the force of the assailant's attack" include:
* Rolling
* Leaping
* Breakfalls, and even...
* Special methods of walking and running!
Of course, the Ninja also has other skills within the context of his taihenjutsu - like climbing, stealth movement, etc. - but, for our purposes here, I am limiting this quick overview to the concepts involving not being damaged by your opponent's attack.
The point is to have total control over your body. And, since we never know what we might have to deal with in the world, having the ability to control the way we move our body from one point to another, quickly, safely, and effortlessly will ultimately give us the greatest advantage in successfully producing the results that we seek.
While there is virtually infinite possibilities in the types of situations that you might encounter, the Ninja's philosophy is to be as prepared as possible with the widest range of skills. That way, the chances of you encountering something that you cannot either deal with, or at least reduce the amount of damage potential from, becomes more and more slim.
So, as a brief introduction, here is the list of the minimum training within each of the skill sets presented to new students progressing towards Black Belt in the Ninja's self defense system called Ninpo Taijutsu (aka Budo Taijutsu):
* Happo Kaiten Ukemi - 8 Driectional rolling: Front; back; both sides; and left & right diagonal shoulder and hip rolls
