Quite impressive, considering that only a few out of many are chosen to become an actual shaolin monk and receive official warrior monkhood (if you were thinking of the kung fu monks), usually only a few out of couple hundred normal monks get chosen. They still have to abide by the rigorous no-meat no-wine, no-sex, no-marriage lifestyle and fight to protect Buddhists.
Interesting that you mention this. I was just reflecting: Years ago I had a shaolin-trained martial arts instructor, and some years after that, several shorin-ryu-trained instructors; shorin and shaolin are related in interesting ways in terms of styles but very closely related in the sense that they are martial arts "disciplines" with similar paths. When I watch e.g. documentaries of the shaolin way, it cracks me up to see the same attitude again and again--here are the serious students, and there are the fat teachers with amused looks on their faces, who just don't seem to care in that way anymore. I wonder if it's made worse by watching all the hardcore newbies line up at the door every year.
One guy who impressed me, and everybody else, was an instructor from Japan who lit into the fat American instructors, telling them they couldn't represent his way of doing things and also live as such a poor physical specimen. Still, I felt for them. There's some balance to be found, once the initial excitement and seriousness is over, once it has become one's day to day, and must now accommodate natural turns of flaxen emotionality in addition to the iron discipline.
So these instructors talked the iron-discipline talk, but hadn't been trained, apparently, to navigate a long-term, realistic approach to life as an expert martial artist. As a result they looked like these guys I always see in the documentaries: Casting amused glances at the students, pot-bellied, always looking out for a laugh or a chance to lighten up. Something about that state of being contains an important martial arts truth.
The pot-bellied easy nature is one of those Buddhist ideals, not concerned with vanity, so you are natural and flowing. Sometimes called laughing buddha or budai
By definition, there's no Ninja of average stealth. You're either exceptionally stealthy and a Ninja, or not stealthy enough and never made it to Ninja.
The big question: where are all the people who tried out for Ninja and failed?
Maybe you either pass the Ninja trials and become invisible or you become invisible because they never find your body.
Japan is a very efficient / clean place. Their Ninja body disposal teams are exceptionally efficient. The people are very polite too, after killing an opposing Ninja, they call in the location of the body immediately.
After listening through the full podcast, I wondered why someone would want such a job. I remember people telling me about the park/museum when I lived in Mie. Lots of physical activity seemed a job requirement. If true, is this expected _on top of_ the typically high Japanese list of employer expectations? If so I'm not surprised that even at $85K inaka-bucks nobody is interested.
That range is kinda terrible to pretty good. Hard to know with a range like that what they really going to pay.
I'm looking for work and when I see ranges like that I'm not sure what to think. I get entry level vs senior.... but that low end is kinda extra low....
As a child of the 80's I just have to say- American Ninja 4: The Annhiliation is positively the worst one. But the first American Ninja is a classic as far as Ninja movies go. It's no Pray For Death that's for sure but it's still up there.
As did I to the point of reading Stephen Hayes books on the subject, the history of Hattori Hanzo, and learning the martial arts techniques. I was a horrible child in retrospect I could take a long rope tied to a weight and use it to climb onto a branch 20 ft. in the air. Somehow I thought my parents would think this was "cool" and send me to Japan for more training. As it turned out I was grounded a lot :(
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 85.0 ms ] threadOne guy who impressed me, and everybody else, was an instructor from Japan who lit into the fat American instructors, telling them they couldn't represent his way of doing things and also live as such a poor physical specimen. Still, I felt for them. There's some balance to be found, once the initial excitement and seriousness is over, once it has become one's day to day, and must now accommodate natural turns of flaxen emotionality in addition to the iron discipline. So these instructors talked the iron-discipline talk, but hadn't been trained, apparently, to navigate a long-term, realistic approach to life as an expert martial artist. As a result they looked like these guys I always see in the documentaries: Casting amused glances at the students, pot-bellied, always looking out for a laugh or a chance to lighten up. Something about that state of being contains an important martial arts truth.
The big question: where are all the people who tried out for Ninja and failed?
Maybe you either pass the Ninja trials and become invisible or you become invisible because they never find your body.
That range is kinda terrible to pretty good. Hard to know with a range like that what they really going to pay.
I'm looking for work and when I see ranges like that I'm not sure what to think. I get entry level vs senior.... but that low end is kinda extra low....
have ninjas just like Japan
but who hide better
It would be awesome if the small town's population could be saved by ninjas; Japan is so much more than just Tokyo.
Ninjas should be well suited for kidnapping children at night and raising them to become ninjas. Maybe they just need a more cutthroat leader.
I would apply, but I'm pretty sure the idea of American Ninja was killed off after the movie of the same name was released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clA5lOsa6O4
I took those movies so seriously as a kid.
Any idea how that compares to the US rate that while low also has a lot of underemployment?