Martial Arts - Internet Enhanced

Could it be that Ninjas are really just geeks behind a mask? Well, just in case they take offense to such a question, I am not planning on asking any of them personally. Now for those of you thinking that Ninjas died off many, many years ago…that is not entirely true.

As you can see here, they are still very much among us (as extreme martial artists), creating new traditions through the power of Google Video, blogs, Bittorrent and even through Open Source media. Thanks to the power of fast paced music, amazing discipline and skill, today’s ‘Ninja’ can entertain while they train.

I have to admit that I was very impressed with one Web design company’s vision for Team Ryouko. Speaking as a guy who held a well deserved green belt (childrens class) in Kokondo Karate many years ago, the effort put forth by these young men really impressed me. Unfortunately, I neither possess the time nor the self-discipline to attempt a rekindling of my love for the martial arts. I mean, I can see myself standing there with my notebook computer, complaining because my Sensei does not offer WiFi at his dojo. As one might imagine, it would not be such a good match.

Oh well, I can at least take solace in what I consider to be ‘glory days’ although the martial art I practiced was much, much less flashy than some other traditions we see today. While any kata that I performed was certainly considered to be well executed and even elegant to watch, it was never really anything you could set music to. After all, Kokondo is about self-defense/self-discipline and not so much about looking like some Bruce Lee movie.

[tags]ninja,karate,discipline,martial arts[/tags]