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In 15th century Japan the shinobi emerged as mercenaries hired by samurais to as assassins' and spies. They were also hired by Daimyos. Daimyos ruled most of Japan due to their large land holdings. So how did one prepare to be a shinobi and carry out these missions?

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The art of a shinobi is referred to as ninjutsu or shinobi no jutsu, was not only the skills of combat. It included all skillsets required by a shinobi including mental preparation, horseback riding, military tactics, persuasion, and scaling castle walls.

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The training for the shinobi started at an early age, as soon as the child could speak. Missions would typically begin when they were teens but those who were highly skilled would begin as soon as the age of 12.

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Mental training was very important for a shinobi. They were taught to think outside of their own realm of perception. Perception is generally based on ones own experiences and and can cause one to act according to those perceptions. The shinobi had to blend in, so they were to let go of their own perception and focus there energy on their mission. They used unconventional tactics so they had to see in a way that was unconventional to there own perception.

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Rather than beating their demons, shinobi were taught to be better than their demons every single day. The only way to overcome their demons was to know what their demons were. Instead of defeating their demons, they embraced them. Finding flaws in ones self was a must in order to evolve, and a shinobi had to be ever-evolving.

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Seven different disguises were used by the shinobi in order to move around and blend in to each province. A shinobi had to know the culture, language, and mannerisms of every province in Japan. There was no place a shinobi could not go.

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They also had to have knowledge of special locations in each province to further blend in as a commoner in whichever province they were at. Their identity had to remain a secret, but they hid it well and there was no place a ninja could not go, though they had to engage in conversation with locals and enemies without giving away any emotional signals, they had to let go of their perceptions that stemmed from their own experiences, shutting down those emotions.

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Having to remain hidden in their disguise, a shinobi had no one to talk to about their troubles, therefor had to overcome their emotional stress constantly. They had to do it alone. They would spend many nights in the wilderness were they would often sleep with no shelter.

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Shinobi had different techniques of improving their eyesight and concentration. Two techniques worthy of mention was starring at the flame of a candle for long periods of time and walking back and forth between a dark room and a lit room to improve how quickly their eyesight would adjust to changes of light.

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Shinobi had to be physically fit and nimble. Push-ups and pull-ups were important so that they could easily maneuver their own body weight over, under, and around obstacles. Leg strength was equally important. One method for conditioning the legs was jump training. They would dig a hole, shallow at first, and jump up out of the hole while keeping their legs straight. As they built strength they would dig the hole deeper. A shinobi could easily jump over obstacles and scale walls giving them a super-human image.

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Shinobi needed a keen sense of hearing. For this they would place on ear against a floor, ceiling, or wall and listen in on peoples conversations. They would also drop a needle on a wet stone over and over listening for the sound.

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Walking in silence was very necessary for a shinobi. They had different techniques for this depending on their surroundings. Such as walking along a wall or ducking below a low wall and putting their hands underneath their feet as they did so.

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Many different tools were required for shinobi to complete their mission. They used grappling hooks to help scale walls. They had an assortment of saws for cutting barriers and setting traps. Spikes that fit over their hands and feet were used for climbing as well as combat. A shinobi had to be proficient with every tool they had so training with each one was vital. There was no room for error.

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Shinobi had to train with a katana, as they generally carried one for combat, but long range attacks were equally important. For this they had to be proficient with ninja stars (shurikens) as well as the bow and arrow. They also would throw spikes on the ground that were like little tripods and would always land with a spike standing up. These were known as tetsubishi and would puncture the feet of their enemy, ensuring a getaway for the shinobi if they were required to do so. Shinobi also trained in martial arts such as jujitsu for hand to hand combat.

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A shinobi had to be proficient with fire so training with tools for fire was a must. They carried around a tinder box, hand torches, gun powder, and firecrackers. Firecrackers could be used to trick the enemy into thinking an ambush was coming. They would also start fires inside castle walls causing the enemy to flee into an ambush of samurai.

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Health was also important. A shinobi could not afford to become sick. It was important to eat well and stay nourished. A vast knowledge of medicinal herbs was also required.

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Maintaining a healthy body and mind was essential. Much training was needed in all spectrums of ninjutsu in order for a shinobi to survive and complete their mission. A shinobi was not prepared to sacrifice himself as completing the mission and returning to their employer was vital not only to ensure that they get paid, but to build their reputation to receive more work. A dead shinobi is of no use to their employer. It is no wonder a shinobi would begin training as soon as they could speak and continue that training for years until a teen. Highly skilled and deceptive, a shinobi was, even though looked down upon as dishonorable by the samurai, was essential to the warring times in Japan that lasted from th15th century into the 17th century.