Please, trolls stay away!!!!

What does it mean to follow the Shinobi path as a teenager?

For the longest time I've been on a sort of personal journey to bring myself closer to the ancient Ninja of the past. I admit my admiration borderlines on obsession sometimes. And in my constant training (I train too much sometimes...need to take a vacation, lol) I have found that while Ninjutsu does not always apply to daily life, even a teen can find a use for it. As I continued my training, I came across these concepts that I use in my life to guide me.

1.) Ninja as intellectuals. Ninja think before they act, weighing the consequences, and staying one step ahead. Too many teens are criticized these days for being "impatient" and "living only for today, not tomorrow." As a student of Ninjutsu, I have realized the subtle beauty in patience, and the power of planning ahead.

2.) Strength is useless without weakness. This is my favorite saying. To explain it, think about any two extremes...hot and cold, beauty and ugliness...if one did not exist, the other would seen like normalcy. What is the point of being strong if everyone is strong? Then you are only average. What I'm trying to say is it is good to be strong, but NEVER harass the weak, because THEY are what helps you stand out.

3.) The soul of a warrior. Too many people today have a weak soul. Not in the sense of being anti-religious, or evil...I mean they seem fragile, and self-serving. When I see someone in need, I apply the strength of the ninja to assist that person; it is a duty of the strong to protect the weak. Too many people seek only to better themselves, and to define themselves be artificial standards. And people have all but lost the warrior's spirit. Not to bash sports toady (I enjoy sports) but I hated how the child leagues would sugar-coat a loss, and give EVERYONE trophies. If you lose, that defeat should spur you to become strong, and win. And not everyone can win all the time...this holds true in nature; there will always be a loser, such is the nature of struggle. If struggle must occur, try to make the best of it. To acknowledge defeat is the sign of strength, to accept it is the opposite; to learn from it is what the warrior's spirit is all about.

4.) The "Calm." All I can do to describe this it is the sense of peace that I feel as a result of training. With the natural security of knowing you can destroy comes the even more important notion of knowing you have no need to. You lose the sense of fear AND hostility. I went from being the timid, crowd-shy kid in the class, to the calm guy chilling out in the summer breeze waiting for my friends to show up to go hang out. The sense of serenity, and the ability to see beauty in everything gives me the strength I need to carry on.

I don't think that was called for, he doesn't appear to want to cause trouble, so lets not create unneeded hostility.

Interesting first post, sveninja. Check this thread here for some related content (especially Cord's post) -

http://www.fightingarts.com/ubbthreads/s...87#Post15939143

Hello Sveninja:

There is nothing unusual about the "path" you are on... however it is yours, in that way different from all of us because it is yours... all of us endured it, and so shall you.

<<1.) Ninja as intellectuals. Ninja think before they act,
weighing the consequences

This is intelligent, MATURE martial practice un-unique to "Ninjitsu".

<<it is good to be strong, but NEVER harass the weak

A wise approach, but NOT because doing so will make you prominant, "stand out". Strength tempered by self-awareness, intelligence is a correct approach.

<<3.) The soul of a warrior.

A romantic notion, and quaint idea. I do not wish to discourage/inhibit your earnestness, Beware overly romantic notions of somehow being the "sheriff" in the proverbial white hat. Because of your ~skills~ whatever they might or might not be believe you can stand up to others burdens, their problems in order to "protect" them.

Engage when you must, avoid the avoidable... others problems are not necessarily what they appear.

Jeff

I realize this is not unique to ninja...what do you think I am, a moron?

I just notice that ninja seem to stand out in this way more so than others. Plenty of other marital arts, guidance counselers, and even parents all champion the same stuff.

Tha is the right approach.

I realize it may Seem that they are contradicting, but what I'm saying is you are permitted to dislike someone's weak attitudes, but you should not harass them. Everyone is has a right to be happy, even if their happiness makes another unhappy. I like physical, mental, and emotional strength, others enjoy just being who they naturally are. Some people think my life (abeit a short one) is dumb because I spend so much time practicing, and I think many peoples' lifestyles are dumb for spending hours watching T.V. To each his/her own I guess. I like strength, so I dislike the weakness I see, the key is I hate people who abuse others. Keep it to yourself, or encourage them.

Does this help explain what I mean? (I suck at writing, sorry.)

The are not contradicting, you can dislike something, but still not harass it. I hate Harry Potter books, but you don't see me burning them.