Secrets of the Ninja

by Ashida Kim

Demonstrates the techniques ninja use to climb walls, conceal themselves, attack sentries, set up ambushes, throw weapons, and escape capture

Genres: Martial Arts, Nonfiction, Eastern Philosophy

152 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1981

About the author

Ashida Kim is an internationally renowned martial-arts expert. In addition to teaching, both at his own Dojo and on contract to other schools, he maintains affiliate clubs around the globe, hires out as a freelance agent to select intelligence agencies, and teaches police seminars.

Reviews

[Jason Tyus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book on ninjustsu I ever read, back when I was a little kid and still thought becoming a ninja was a legitimate career option. for that reason alone, i still have a great fondness for it.

[Conner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had a spiral bound copy of "Way of the Mind Gate" and its predecessor "Secrets of the Ninja" since I was about 12, when I begged my parents to get me this so-called "Ninjitsu Training Manual" for my birthday. I had read all about it on the author's since discontinued website, where he made a very good case on the many reasons why I should buy this manual. When it arrived I found that it wasn't what I was expecting, and after reading about half of it I put it up on my bookshelf and forgot about it.
Recently I took it down again and re-read it front to back for the first time.

These two volumes are less about learning to be a warrior of feudal Japan and more about how to handle a real life situation in which you'd have to deal with an aggressor. The second volume is also an implementation of ancient philosophies and spirituality on modern thought. There are some step-by-step instructions on how to do certain physical techniques, but these are mostly useless. The write-ups on meditation, however, are interesting to read and try out.

I've seen a lot of people on the internet calling Ashida Kim a "hack" and basically saying that he isn't qualified to be writing these books, but personally I find his smorgasbord of philosophies inspiring and optimistic. On the other hand, while he demonstrates a wide knowledge of pop culture and customs of the ancient world, his knowledge of modern psychology comes off as somewhat primitive. This is shown by his misuse of terms, for example, repeatedly using the word "psychotic" when the behaviors he is describing are actually "psychopathic". Also, I'm not sure if it's just my copy, but the book will frequently reference an image that is not printed, and the images that did make it in are either horrible drawings or low-quality photographs of a man that is presumably the writer in a ski mask that frankly look like they were printed from an internet snuff film. That is to say, these are meant to be displays of the techniques described in the book but it is almost impossible to tell what is going on in these images. Pair that with the fact that the writing is absolutely littered with grammatical and spelling errors, and not only is it distracting, but the instructions are not clear and more than once I found myself having to guess at what he was trying to say.
I'm not sure if by now there is a revised version out that fixes these issues, but that would be essential for me to be able to recommend this.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Bullshit, but fun.

[Greg Garcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This says it all.

[Bard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's so bad it became somehow one of the most fun things I've ever read.
(I may or may not have been drunk at the time)

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this book at the age of 13, I'm sure I would have given it 5 stars. :)

[Toneh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and informational book, I have to say it was pretty interesting. It doesn't just tell you about the history of ninjas it also shows you a bunch of cool techniques.

[Gurgi Paradise]

yes yes

[Rahmat Romadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashida Kim mengekspos semua rahasia teknik ninja dengan cara yang begitu apik dan logis. Poin yang paling menarik di sini adalah cara menghilangkan diri di belakang musuh dan mengaplikasikan teknik silent killing. Buat penganut bushido yang taat, jangan baca buku ini karena ninjutsu adalah beladiri yang licik dan menghalalkan segala cara - but its effective cuy.

[Greyweather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fun to read as a kid but the years have shown the contents of the book and the author himself to be highly suspect.

[Dylan Schiavone]

I used to try the technique described in the book of walking in a way to go undetected, but my mom always said she could hear me.

[Gerard Babin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written.

[Mark Melendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read...