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Its unfortunate that fiction like Naruto can give people the wrong ideas about ninja, making them seem like invincible super-warriors. Truth be told, I believe all arts can have something to contribute to a persons martial arts arsenal, but I will probably never see a boy shoot fire from his mouth ( at least, not without a torch, I've seen that plenty of times) though it would be interesting.

Uhm, doesn't 'ninja' mean someone who studies ninjitsu?

So all samurai were students of ninjitsu?

I haven't read all the posts that have been made on this topic, but here's my own 2 cents.

I'm an anime fan myself, and it's amazing how horribly those kids warp reality into anime. They're so desperate to get away from their current life that they manage to convert everything that happens to them into an anime cliche. For example, some guy I know got into a fight with his "friends." I later heard him spew all this s**t about how he knew he was "stronger" than them and that "I only wish to make you stronger" or something stupid like that. I was amazed that he actually believed any of that, but this is the conclusion that I've come to:

Some people are just so desperate to get away from their life, and to dream of something more, that they start to confuse reality and imagination.

It's a bit sad, but for the most part true. No offense to any RP-ers here, but I think it's a bit of the same thing with RP-ers. Not the video game RP's - I think it's the same thing on a lesser scale. As much as I've loved anime, I've never gotten into RP-ing because I couldn't see the point in wasting time dreaming about something that so obviously would never happen.

And btw, when I hear the term "ninja" I just think of a ninjutsu practitioner. If a Karate practitioner gets to call themselves Karate-ka and likewise with Aikido, I don't see why ninjutsu practitioners can't get their own title. It just sucks for us that the term has accumulated so much notoriety. =P

Yes, yes it does suck, as most kids will hear the word "Ninja" and be like "OMA GOWD! ninja's are so cool, they can make themselves disapear...and kill 39 diffrent ways with a toothpick!"
But, I think if you practice ninjitsu then speak out for it. Ninjitsu is a akward subject to talk about with people...its been so hollywoodized that most people think its poofing and being able to fall (insert big number) feet down and be able to land on their left pinky and be fine...(just saying how largly exagerate it has become)
You have every right to call yourself a ninja, as does any one who practices ninjitsu. What people are hearing most of the time is "Im a ninja decendant" more than the truh of things.

As I've explained before. The difference bewteen Jutsu and Jitsu is simply a regional variation of the same word, though yes, I have noticed how alot of Bullshido schools tend to prefer that handle.

Has any one heard of the Lin Kuei I can find little real info on them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Kuei

Yes, Ninja were highly damatized, but it doesn't mean they didn't exist. Every culture had its assassins, they play an important part of warfare. They were not samurai with assassin missions, in fact samurai found the ninja to be shameful and dishonerable.

(honor is really in the eye of the beholder though, as samurai were known to sell out to the highest bidder and slughter peasents.)

The ninja were simply assassins trained with weapons used for sneaking, climbing and killing in quiet. They did not wield swords, but more commonly used polearms and a variety of chained weapons that were used both for climbing and as a weapon. A ninja could not stand up to a fair fight against a samurai, nor would he want to. They relied on gadgets such as poison and pepper powder to hinder their enemies.

Caltrops, hooked short spears, claws, and hooks or sicles on chains were the common tools of the ninja, as well as shurukins, which looked nothing like they are usually portreyed.

Ninja shurikens (I know I suck at spelling) were not used to kill enemies so much as hinder them. They were small and square, and were thrown in rapid succession as a "suppression" weapon as a last resort against a pursuer. For their actual assassinations a simple string and a bottle of poison will suffice, or a quick stab with a knife.

There were never any "honorable standoffs" between a samurai and a ninja, the victim was usually killed without hesitation in his sleep, on the toilet, in the bath, or any other place that was lightly guarded.

Now, this may seem really crazy and glamourus... but ninjas had a very dangerous job and did it independently out of pay. They were hitmen for hire, simple mercinaries. Like I said before, assassinations and espionage plays an important part of any war.

So there you have it, yes they did exist... but no, they wern't honorable super-soldiers. Just a simple dude with some farm tools and the know how to use them, looking for some quick cash.