The Way of the Ninja

I just recently browsed through a book illustrating the way of the Ninja. It was pretty interesting. For example, one of the main principles of the way of the Ninja is endurance. Physical, mental, and spiritual endurance is considered very important. The goal is to survive the hardships of life and death. In order to survive, you have to train your endurance. You survive so you can continue to protect your friends and family. According to the book, survival is more important than 'winning'. It is better to avoid a fight, except as a last resort. You pick your fights, and fight only when you know you can win. And finally, the best victories are those achieved without fighting. Also, the book emphasizes awareness. Ninjas have great awareness of their environment. That way, they knows when to wait, and when to strike. A ninja must subvert his or her own ego, and must never act on revenge, etc. I found the book interesting, since in some other media ninjas are considered assassins or fighting machines. But like many other martial arts, it is more a way of life than anything else. Too bad the book was so expensive ($35), it had some cool pictures of, say, ninja chain mail which was sometimes worn under ninja garb.