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6 – History and Martial Arts

The oldest days of the Shuriken trade
18 Oct 2015

The oldest days of the Shuriken trade

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

We’re delighted to present the first of hopefully many editorial exchanges with the superb VINTAGE NUNCHAKU community — found on Facebook here. This ‘other VN’ is the best fountain of info anywhere on old mail order advertising from the kung-fu craze … Continued

80s martial arts supply ads, shuriken, vintage magazines, VINTAGE NUNCHAKU
A phenomenal vintage weaponry collection
19 Jul 2015

A phenomenal vintage weaponry collection

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

Love vintage mail-order weaponry and training gear from the 80’s ninja craze? Want to completely lose your shit? Then click on this link and read the short article LOFT TREASURES AND YOUTHFUL MEMORIES: MY BROTHER & I WERE NINJA WARRIORS … Continued

Crude weapons from ENTER
24 Oct 2014

Crude weapons from ENTER

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

Enter the Ninja
14 May 2014

6 Things You Can Buy at Hardware Stores That REALLY Look Like Ninja Weapons

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 2

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

1 Mar 2014

To hood, or not to hood?

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 4

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

Shogun, Stephen K. Hayes, vintage magazines
26 Jan 2014

Lessons of the past may prevent the apocalypse!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

zombies
14 Jun 2013

It’s a sword. Hold it like one, dammit!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

Maria Alexander
1 Jan 2013

A 1962 point of view

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 3

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

Jay Gluck, Mas Oyama, vintage magazines, Zen Combat
13 Jun 2012

80s Ninja Hoods

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 3

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

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines
9 Feb 2012

So where do YOU store your ninja wares?

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 1

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

Joseph Lai/IFD, Ninja: The Mission Force, Secret weapons caches

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja media from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze, and beyond — with a ton of ninja movies, vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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50+ Japanese ninja movies reviewed

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