Ninjutsu and taijutsu: differences

Ninjutsu and taijutsu: differences

Ninjutsu and taijutsu can be terms that non-Japanese people confuse, since both include techniques born in the land of the rising sun many years ago and are used and known as martial arts. However, they are not the same, hence it seems important to us to specify what the differences are.

Ninjutsu and taijutsu

We already begin with the explanations. Let's see what basic differences we find between both modalities.

Taijutsu

It is a term that is used in Japan as a generality to define any martial art system that involves body movements and some technical skill in combat. In fact, its meaning, translated into our language, would come to be something like body skill or body technique.

This term is commonly used to refer to any Japanese martial art with a long tradition in the land of the rising sun. Now, we must also remember that it is also used for more modern practices, as in the case of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Ninjutsu

For its part, ninjutsu is known as ninpo or shinobi-jutsu and refers to the martial art specialised in guerilla tactics and espionage.

That is, when we talk about ninjutsu, we refer to a martial art that includes groups of tactics and techniques that, basically, are those that ninjas have used for centuries, since they appeared, according to data, in the fifth century.

While it is known that ninjas have operated in battles for fifteen centuries, it is also true that their most famous abilities refer to espionage and the ability to avoid being detected. In fact, they are even attributed esoteric practices that are derived from what is known as Mikkyo, a kind of Buddhism derived from Japan.

We hope that this information has made clear to you the main differences between ninjutsu and taijutsu, since they are not the absolute same thing.


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