Scored this odd publicity still, which is not in the usual press kits I’ve found from Enter the Ninja. It’s kind of a dingy, soft pic that may have been left on the cutting room floor somewhere. But while the quality is … Continued
There was a period during the 80s ninja craze that the staff of this site were legally too young to buy mail order weapons. We were utterly bitter at the time, but looking back on it now, it was probably … Continued
The book, and later film, of the James Bond adventure You Only Live Twice was essentially the West’s introdcution to ninja, and a few widely scattered episodes of American television series like Kung-Fu, Baretta and Quincy notwithstanding, the next major step … Continued
Think back to the early 80s. Remember how all of a sudden every mail order company had magazine ads for TONS of ninja merch? How were all these vendors able to pounce so quick on a trend and stock so … Continued
I just adore this article by my pal Maria Alexander — “Why I Hate (Most) Photos and Drawings of Women with Swords.” Read it. RIGHT NOW. I’ll wait. There are dozens of tumblrs out there dedicated to babes-n-blades, and they … Continued
I’ve had this old beater copy of Zen Combat — Jay Gluck‘s ground-breaking 1962 treatise on Japanese martial arts – for years but never got around to cracking open its aging pages until recently. Finding a full chapter on ninja, written … Continued
Is it just me, or did the two piece hood common to North American merchandisers completely suck? A mainstay of retailers like Asian World of Martial Arts, the common American ninja head gear was made of a heavy duty outer … Continued
Y’know what’s awesome about publishing this site? Having readers that go by monikers like “The Silent Cutter.” Check out this video he sent of some mat cutting, but mostly be like me – JEALOUS AS FUCK – of the fantastic … Continued
With the 80s craze came a lot of repurposed merchandise – stuff that for the previous decade’s boom had been sold as kung-fu gear now emblazoned with ninja logos. The above looks to have been a Chinese-esque design probably inspired … Continued
He’s been an icon of martial arts magazine covers for decades, is one of the most recognizable Asian character actors of our age and he pioneered his own signature version of the Chinese hook sword! He’s Gerald Okamura of course … Continued