Ninjutsu is cool, you get to wear funky boots with the big toe separated, a mask, throw around some shuriken, play with swords and sticks, maybe even a blow gun and then drink sake.
WTF is wrong with that ?
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Ninjutsu is cool, you get to wear funky boots with the big toe separated, a mask, throw around some shuriken, play with swords and sticks, maybe even a blow gun and then drink sake.
WTF is wrong with that ?
Here you go again. I'm going to repeat this for the third time...gee wiz. Its like the stuff you find off the back of your box of lucky charms. But then you do come off as the type that would go argue with your waitress because your fortune cookie was wrong.
As for extrapolations. Its not a post about conclusions. Its a post about another viewpoint from a certain group of people that most don't consider to exist. By your own examples it is evident. How many Christians are in our country? And yet also how many are there who look down on such beliefs? What are those guys called again? Atheists that's right. Why is it such a stretch for your mind to take the fact that such a notion is possible for another country and culture?
You know Japan is a first world country. They do have modern technology and...oh my gosh! People smart enough to develop and use it :eek: Who are those guys? Oh yeah, scientists and engineers. **** and I thought only Americans had those.
You would be one so presumptuous to think that others could not be so far along on thought to even question their own society and wonder if it is truly the correct way. So not only are you an idiot, you're also arrogant. But I guess that's to be expected from someone with a screen name like yours....****stink? Yeah way to be juvenile.
Oh I'm well aware that stats show 80-85% of the Japanese populace practice either Buddhism or Shinto. I'm also well aware that its one of the national religions, or at least was. World War 2 did a number on it though. But again, that still doesn't change the fact that there are a lot of people which are questioning those beliefs and yes believe them to be at times extreme, archaic and in this case cultish.
There are a lot of reasons that could go into this aside from the Atheists...Most people identify themselves as Buddhist even if they practice Shinto traditions. Why? Look it up yourself I'm not Shinto, personally I think Buddhism at times can be a bit gloomy for my taste. And its about impossible to seperate the Buddhist from the Shinto in a persons life as it has become so interwoven in culture..most people do practice both. Also Buddhism despite being imported, is much more standardised in its structure. Shintoism doesn't (or at least historically didn't) have a defined doctrine. There isn't much known about its origins. Shinto practices weren't standised until the 19th century. And even now actual practices can still vary by location.
But you know what, even more the problem with that 85% statistic is that it doesn't take into account the human element. A lot of people there aren't any different than here. They aren't really religious but they say yeah, I'm a Buddhist or Shinto or whatever. But they'll tell you, they say it because its proper. As if its shameful to not believe. You know kinda like some people here. Just a lot of people don't open up about personal topics unless they really know you. Especially to foreigners. That's the problem with trying to be internet sociologists. There is only so much you can get from numbers and clicking that mouse key of yours isn't good enough. Sometimes the only way to really know people is to well...know them. But well, I'm not going to question everyone between Osaka and Tokyo just so you can get your suitable sample. A person can only base of their own experiences. Anything other than that and they are just taking someones word for it. In this case I suppose I'm doing both but at least I try to understand by going directly to the people and that means the people that I was close to; my professors, my friends, my fiancee and anybody I could drag off the street for a question. I'm starting to think that's more than you have bothered to do. You know all real discovery can only be varified in the field...
Now one last time. The original comments were just little fun bits of info. I'm not going to go any deeper into some debate about the validity of information the source there of or the practices of a country. I just don't care about you or your views enough to spell it out.
Now for the people denying ninjas existance. I don't know what to tell you about that...its pretty cut and dry. Some do some don't. Its just funny, most times I would bring it up, in a movie store or wherever. I usually get one of 2 reactions. They laugh and say ninjas aren't real. Or they laugh and say all Americans like ninja. Take it for what you want I don't care.
Ronin
I'm not arguing about the coolness of the ninja. I mean how bad @$$ do you have to be to have your own wardrobe, accessories and still be feared like none other? Those ninja booties beat all. What was that old movie when the ninja put a star between his toes and then round kicked it into some dudes neck? Only a ninja would come up with that.
I could try to explain the stuff as it was once described to me but I'm probably going to fudge it up. Every one pretty much knows or can at least search the direct translation of shinobi but like many direct translations it just doesn't really carry the full meaning. The way I understood it was like this;
There is a lot of different history on names in Japanese culture. You can look it all up rather easily so I'm not going to go into it, its way too much. But there are two that I'll touch on. One is that in ancient times the common people were considered to be property of the emperor and would sometimes be named according to status. Also there is the custom of taking a name for your given craft. This was something that was typical of performers, tea masters and the like. I do remember reading in an essay also that at times people were known simply by their craft itself. If a guy was a blacksmith...it wasn't uncommon for him to be known simply as blacksmith. Like I said though there is a lot of reading you could do on this and there are things which I have read that conflicts with what I was taught by my professor in Japan. So take what I say with that in mind.
The general idea I wanted to get at though was that people were known by what they did and how they contributed to their community. And its easy to see why that is important because with so much to be done, no one man could do it all. And yet for a village to survive, the tasks had to be done. And one could take some pride in what they contributed (this also went into an interesting discussion with my Professor on the origin of Yakuza and some of the recent laws passed in Japan...but that's another story).
Now with this in mind, you have some back fill on things I was thinking during the discussion in which a friend explained the whole ninja thing...or tried to anyways. The problem is that a ninja with all the circumstances of such a life, could not be known by these means. A ninja, could not be known period. It was said that it could be possible to live with a ninja in your village and you'd never have known. It basically living a second life. But yet that life depended on secrecy and thus no one could know the reality. There is no credit given for accomplishments (which happens to be another way a person could have been given a "name"). That is sort of what it meant by living in shadows. And why it was described to me as to not exist. You were living and breathing, but you weren't actually there. See I fudged it up. Its a cultural thing though I suppose...I still think Oh ninjas cool!
Anyways sorry to the other posters for hijacking the thread. I couldn't resist the ego jockey. I just thought the original post might have been interesting to some of you. It was never meant to be taken so seriously.
What's funny is that you obviously Wikipedia-ed your little heart out to try and support the nonsense you posted before and essentially came up with nothing, only further enhancing your image as an ignorant slob unable to process the tiny bits of utterly subjective opinion someone may have spilled near you.
The only ninjutsu I ever came in contact with that made any sense was the kind taught in the Koryu's like the Shinkage-ryu and its off-shots and the TSKSR.
everybody here's freakin retarted. why don't you guy's stop insulting eachother, stop trying to prove you're right, and actually go learn something about the art, OR just bang your head against a wall.......that's more productive. It's obvious both of you don't know much about this art.
Wrong again, old class notes actually. Thanks for all the attention though with all the people here you could be trying to mess with...I guess its true when they say love your haters...they are your biggest fans. Hey let me know where I can send you an autograph...gotta keep my greatest fan happy :)
GE, Giuseppe do either of you know of a man...I think his name was Stephen Hayes or something like that. I could be wrong its been about 8 years. Anyways he had a book that used to be advertised in the KF and BlackBelt mags. I think I found it in the library. Said he learned Bujinkan from Hatsumi. Is the name familiar?
He claimed the origin of ninpo came from a chance meeting between a fujitive ronin and a chinese holy man. Is that the way either of you were instructed?
In the book it listed the 9 disciplines you presented. But when he got to the techs he broke it down differently. First I think he divided it into a description of unarmed...striking arts and throwing/grappling arts. Then armed striking arts and throwing/grappling. Is this what was referred to as taijutsu and jutaijutsu? Later he went into weapon skills but didnt go very deep. He spent more time on categorizing into the 4 earthly elements and the void. Any of this familiar with you?
Going back to the whole ronin/chinese mystic thing. If that is the way you also heard it, what exactly did come from the chinese side of it? It seems that a majority of the technical skills came from Japanese military (samurai) skills. Are there any links to chinese fighting skills or is it mostly just spiritual practices? And IF there is any chinese fighting theory involved, how does it manifest itself?
I did see one documentary once on Bujinken. Unfortunately it was on a Japanese news program and at the time I knew almost no Japanese. I did like some of the demonstrated defenses though. A lot of throws and locks that on appearance..wasn't anything really different that things I've seen done by jiujutsu guys but he (Hatsumi) added in a conceiled bladed to the apps. Like the one he made the guy go down neck onto the blade...ouch.
He's shacked up in a place called Noda or Nado or something like that right? I brought it up to my girl once, turned out she knows the area...grandparents lived there. Unfortunately she also said there was no way in hell that she was going to let us move out there :( She thinks I spend too much time doing martial arts as is....
Bujinkan sucks big time. I studied it for 9 years got my shodan in 96. I wish I had spent that time doing judo instead. First off they don't spar only do out dated partner fake fights. There is no kind of conditioning. So all Bujinkan members are out of shape. There are no solo form to practice. No competition you can enter.
So you can't fight with it. It doesn't get you in shape. It's not a art form. But it's cool to play ninja.
Also when you are training with a partner they start giving you correction. Makes you want to just start beating the guy and say **** all this kata bull****.
And atheists are a decided minority in the US, so overhearing the comments of one over dinner would hardly represent grounds for drawing broad conclusions about what 'Americans' think, would it? :rolleyes:
In any case:
The ways in which that example does not apply to this case are, I'm afraid, too complicated for someone like you to understand.
LOL! He not only provides evidence against his own case, but he then proceeds to reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue itself. Well done.
Wiki-interesting, professor...:rolleyes:
Now, in addition to misunderstanding the issue, he is just flat-out guess about things. LOL!
...admitting that his previous comments were unfounded...
Oh? Is that how it works, professor? :rolleyes:
I'm sure you could find some people in the US who don't believe the Minutemen existed, but that means nothing. You fail again.
I can prove I trained 9 years and got my shodan from Ny Budo under John Peir Seibel In 96. My first teacher was Brain Stein in Long Island. I have my rank from Japan right in my dressor here in Beijing where I live and train in Shuai Jiao under Liu Xue You at the Chao Yang Sport Center and Bagua under Zhang Shen Li.
So many Bujinkan people talk about randori. Do you mean that exercise when one guy throws a punch at you and you do whatever you want. Out of maybe 10 dojos I have been to only one sparred.Do you have any videos of your group doing randori.
If you still don't believe I am a shodan ion Bujinkan you can go to e-budo and ask around or I will find a way to copy my rank and post it here. This is a video of me sparring in Beijing Shuai Jiao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPuk-mfWXA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiefVcI2TbU
O I see I should have got my 15th dan and then I really could kick some butt. The fact is a blue belt in Bjj would kick any 15th dan ass in bujinkan. I'm willing to put money on this.
Really if you have mats and training partners why not just work your techniques and then roll or do randori. Why would you waste your time doing all that nonsense.
okay look i never said i don't believe you're a shodan. i was saying it really shouldn't take 9 years to reach your level. you should've been WAY past that. that is something to be said about your sensei. secondly about the bjj guy......this is my take , all martial arts are the same.....meaning they are based on the same principle ie; don't get hit, and hit back inflicting the most about of damage, with the least amount of force. pretty much any martial art has this core. so given that all martial arts have this core (except maybe for a few odd balls) if they are excecuted CORRECTLY they will be effective self defense movements. therefore the Tae Kwon Do fighter, Shaolin monk, Muay Thai fighter, Ju jutsu fighter, and Ninja are all effective arts, the difference is on the fighter and how well he understands the anatomy of combat. also how well the information was passed down. i don't care if you're the greatest martial artist ever, if your teacher is......ME you'll lose in a fight every time:D. Itcomes down to you, how well do you know what's happening when you're in a fight. In conclusion don't make the mistake of thinking one art is more superior than another, if that's your thought then there's an art out there bertter than yours, it's the fighter. Can a bjj guy take out a Ninja....sure, can a Ninja take out a monk...sure and on, and on......
Lol at Kungfuninja - he's taken you all for a ride.
LOL at resurrecting a thread that's been dead for nearly 2 years.
I can't believe i read through that post. I feel dirty all over now and 10% more dumb. I just felt my IQ drop. Wow, just wow.
u have realised the true power of tiger spiritual shaolin-ninjutsu-boxing-judokick fu
THE IQ DROP
quickly look away from the screen
like now
no
sertiously
NOW
stop reading all the time i'm saying NOW
see why did you look at that just NOW ?
i fear for your mind
stop seriously
RIGHT NOW
ok youve looked at it for too long i'm immune but by now i suspect u are brain dead
**** you mega-fist-foot-kungfuninja-johntakeshi-fightinglad
HOW MANY MORE MUST FALL LIKE THIS ?! BEFORE YOU END YOUR REIGN OF TERROR
**** YOU AND YOUR MASTERS DEGREE :mad:
I took Budo Taijutsu lessons for about a year from someone who learned in the Genbukan system, It's a split off from the Bujenkan Dojo. The founder is one of Hatsumi's old friends until they had a parting of the ways.
There is a Genbukan Dojo about an hour away from where I live. It's in a very rural area (area called Burgin, Ky), nothing but horse farms and open country around it. It got to expensive driving an hour each way twice a week. Classes were fun though. It was taught in a real relaxed manner. Not real formal and only a small group of student (5 students in all).
couldn't resist posting this for the title alone... :p
Quote:
Michelle’s the Ninja granny!
Apr 23 2008 by Gavin OConnor, South Wales Echo
GRANDMOTHER Michelle Murray’s NHS day job means she has a knack with a needle.
But the ninja nan is just as sharp with her bare hands and has a wicked spinning kick to match. That’s because the Cardiff-born phlebotomist has qualified as one of the UK’s best martial arts practitioners.
Michelle, 44, has spent seven years training her way up to the exalted position of Fifth Dan black belt in ninjitsu – making her number two in the UK.
The grandmother of two took up the discipline in 2001 after meeting her partner, Marc Moor, 51, a former bodyguard to a Greek shipping tycoon, and the couple are now the highest-ranked ninja pair in the UK and teach classes in Bridgend and the capital.
“I met Marc at a junior doctors’ party,” said Michelle, formerly of Ely, Cardiff.
“He invited me along to watch one of his classes and I was hooked.
“It was a bit scary at first because it’s very much male-dominated.
“But I developed a great sense of confidence and you gain a real calm through training.”
The couple have been running Budo Warrior School classes at Plasnewydd Community Hall, Shakespeare Street, Roath, for seven years and they also have a class at the Bridgend YMCA.
But for Michelle to reach her Fifth Dan rank, she had to travel to Japan to pass the mystical and ancient sakki test at the hands of Ninja Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi.
Michelle, who started her medical training at Rookwood Hospital and has worked for the NHS for 22 years, said very few women have managed to pass.
“You have to sit on the floor with your eyes closed. Hatsumi stands behind you, sword in hand (a bamboo sword, no longer a real sword) and then strikes down with an intent to kill the student.
“If you dodge the attack successfully you get awarded the fifth dan.
“This is the first step of Bufu (true warrior’s way).”
Michelle, now living in Newnham- on-Severn in the Forest of Dean, said the student has to rely on sensing the strike before moving, which she did successfully.
Marc passed his Fifth Dan in 1999 and now has the rank of Tenth Dan.
“Women generally go for karate or kick-boxing,” said Michelle. “Ninjitsu is more defensive martial arts and I think everyone should give it a go.”
I agree wholeheartedly with her summary: Ninjitsu is 10X more manly than karate and kickboxing.
But I have to question the ethical standards of anyone that would give a woman a 5th Dan in Ninjitsu. Isn't there some kind of female equivalent, like a Danielle?
Just ridiculous. GGM Takeshi Ukeno is rolling in his grave.:(
Why do you always hear about people with 10th dans now days?
From what I understand the 10th dan is very very rare, as is it represents the unattainable completion of your art...
Are we soon to see 20th dans?
The Bujinkan (I don't know much about the other splinter factions/'kans) will not have much luck with realism until they stop initiating all their waza with that viciously retarded pseudo-spearhand/arm extension by the uke.
No one on Earth, anywhere, ever, attacks like that.
The mcdojo "karate" reverse-punch-into-front-stance "attack" was bad enough. This is a trillion times worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY-GkoY5LOY
The Bujinkan has a lot of good stuff, but their pedagogical method (what there is of it, outside Japan)......sux.
nice pic. what did she step in?Quote:
Ninja mums urge women 'reclaim streets'
* By Lucie van den Berg
* From: Herald Sun
* July 29, 2010 5:35AM
URBAN ninja mums are urging frightened women to take back the streets.
The fear factor, fuelled by reports of weekly stabbings and bashings in Melbourne, is feeding a revival of the ancient Japanese art of fighting.
And nunchukkas, sais and staffs are not always the weapon of choice.
"I am a weapon," black belt ninja Annette Christopherson declares.
At just 150cm tall, the 50-something mum is a force to be reckoned with, without all the brawn.
One Melbourne establishment, the Kevin Hawthorne Ninja School, is training mums and dads - and even kids as young as five - in the art of ninjitsu to protect themselves from street violence, bullying and home invasions.
"Sadly the world which we live in is not safe - there are gang attacks, blade attacks, attacks on the way to the train. People have the right to feel safe," Ms Christopherson said.
She said the keys to being a successful ninja were commitment, talent, balance, timing and psychology.
"Any age group can learn - sometimes it can simply be a little pinch and knowing how much skin to take," she said.
By using ninja techniques, a person could overcome just about any situation.
"If you remain calm you can assess the situation. It also prevents the foe from feeding off your fear," she said.
"You use your peripheral vision, which is where our camouflage and stealth work come in, wait it out and you can calmly take each attacker on at any situation or time."
She said it was important to keep it simple.
"You don't need to do fancy complicated moves, one step, two step, because by the time you get to step two, you're gone," she said.
But don't go to a class expecting to learn the art of invisibility - it's more about pressure points and patience for this Romsey mother.
Her daughter, Penny, is also in on the act.
The 27-year-old has a brown belt and admits her skills give her the extra confidence she needs to walk the streets.
http://resources2.news.com.au/images...ban-ninjas.jpg
...it's on the The ugly hands of martial arts AND ALSO A NINJA! (vids) thread, but it bears repeating here.
When I get a moment, I'll merge the loose ninja threads together here. Can't have loose ninjas running about now, can we?
This explains so much.
Get your ninja hats here!Quote:
Lindsay Lohan Strips, Goes Ninja, Rolls Around Bed For Marc Ecko Campaign (PHOTOS)
First Posted: 08- 4-10 11:00 AM | Updated: 08- 4-10 11:01 AM
Lindsay Lohan was busy with a lot of provocative photo shoots before her stint in jail. The latest to surface is a Marc Ecko ad campaign for his online presence. Lohan shows off her chest, wears a ninja hat and rolls around in a bed for the photos.
She also did German GQ, Maxim and some porn star promos.
For more People.com has a video of the sexy shoot, TMZ has more behind-the-scenes photos.
Samples below of both, in addition to one of the ads.
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/189429/LIN...OHAN-NINJA.jpg
ninja meyraiyuth?
Quote:
Self-described 'ninja' charged with Mountain Home burglary
September 27, 2010
A 40-year-old Joliet, Ill., man was arrested for burglary Saturday afternoon in a neighborhood south of Mountain Home.
The Baxter County Sheriff's Office received a call at about 4:38 p.m. on Saturday reporting that a man had broken into a home on Big Pond Circle. Deputy Aaron Brown responded to the call and apprehended a man who was drunk and who refused to cooperate or to divulge his identity.
It was soon determined that the suspect was Wayne Alan Rogers, a resident of Joliet, who had been staying with the person next door to the house that Rogers broke into, according to a sheriff's office release. After the neighbor left, he had broken into her home and taken some beer and other alcoholic beverages. He subsequently was heard to boast that he was a "ninja," able to enter and exit a house unseen, according to the report.
Rogers was booked on charges of residential burglary, theft of property and obstructing governmental operations. He posted a $25,220 bond and was released until his scheduled appearance in circuit court on Oct. 7.
— From Sheriff John Montgomery
I've put ninjas back on my web newsfeed because of KungFuMagazine.com's NINJA STAR 2010. Now I'm wondering why I didn't keep it there since last year. Ninja news is so interesting.
Quote:
Cops: man dressed as Ninja hid in Nordstrom’s for after-hours shoplifting spree
By briancox Special to the Tribune at 2:20 p.m.
Chances are that a Nordstrom employee charged with hiding in the Skokie department store after hours, then going on a midnight shoplifting spree, didn’t select his outfit from Nordstrom’s fall line.
Carlo Frank Settecase, 21, of the 9400 block of Leamington Avenue in Skokie, was dressed in a Ninja-like outfit as he casually strolled through the Westfield Old Orchard mall department store for several hours in the dead of night, stealing more than $30,000 worth of merchandise, police said.
Settecase worked as a switchboard operator in the store and on Friday, after a three-week investigation, he was charged with felony theft in connection with the theft, according to a police report.
Police said that when store security locked the doors and left for the night on Sept. 5, Settecase was hiding under a desk in the switchboard operators booth on the store’s second floor. He emerged from his hiding place shortly before 8 p.m. and was filmed by store surveillance cameras walking through the store wearing a black top, with a grey hood, a ski mask over his face, black gloves, black shorts and black socks without shoes, the police report said.
“It was just all black and stuff,” Skokie police officer Tammy Jacobsen said Tuesday. “Other than to mask his identity I don’t know what his reasoning was behind that.”
According to police, the surveillance tapes show Settecase walking through the men’s fragrance department, the handbag section, the fine jewelry section and other departments casually selecting items and placing them in a mail tote box.
“Settecase went to different sections of the store throughout that evening and selected more merchandise which he placed into the male tote box. Settecase returned to the mailroom after each trip, where he placed all of the merchandise he had selected. This continued until approximately 1 a.m. on Sept. 6,” the police report said.
After returning to his hiding place, police said Settecase was discovered by a housekeeper at around 2 a.m. and told her he worked at the store and was staying there because he had family problems and did not have a place to stay. He repeated the same story to another employee who discovered him laying on his back under a desk shortly before 8 a.m. Both employees reported Settecase’s odd behavior to their superiors, police said.
The next day, a Nordstrom employee noticed that two expensive handbags were missing.
Managers knew that Settecase had stayed in the store overnight and after reviewing store surveillance footage, it didn’t take them long to figure out what had allegedly happened.
“They reviewed video surveillance, which revealed the subject disguised in the ski mask selecting numerous items of Nordstrom merchandise. They believed the subject to be Settecase since there were no other know Nordstrom customers or employees in the building at the time,” the police report said.
Store security also checked eBay and learned that two jars of LeMar facial cream, identical to ones sold at Nordstrom, were being offered on an account used by Settecase on the online auction site, police said, adding store surveillance footage also showed Settecase leaving the store after his Sept. 6 shift with bags stuffed with stolen merchandise.
On Friday, confronted with all the evidence against him, police said Settecase confessed, saying he planned to sell the merchandise he had stolen from the store on eBay and use the proceeds to buy a motorcycle. Authorities said he also told them that criminal activity portrayed in the television shows “The Sopranos,” “Dexter” and “Breaking Bad” influenced him to commit the theft because the characters on those shows committed criminal acts and got away with it.
“I think that reality and the movies, people need to separate the difference,” Jacobsen said. “The criminal will be caught, and it’s only in the movies that they get away with it.”
Settecase had hidden the loot at his parents’ house, where he also lives, and when police searched the home, they recovered 77 pieces of stolen merchandise, officials said. Nearly 30 items did not have price tags, but those that did — including handbags, wallets, facial creams, watches, clothing and fragrances — had a total value of more than $29,000, police said.
Police on Tuesday were crediting store employees with helping authorities catch and charge Settecase.
“It’s because of the store employees noticing that stuff was missing, being alert, as well as the cleaning crew coming forward saying they did see someone sleeping there,” said Jacobsen. “I’m giving them credit for being observant.”
Nordstrom officials in the store’s Seattle corporate office said they were unaware of the theft or any similar cases.
“We don’t generally discuss employees matter in situations where the authorities have become involved,” said Shelby Koontz, a Nordstrom public affairs specialist.
Settecase is scheduled for a Friday hearing at the Skokie courthouse.
Keeping a ninja news thread ttt-ed is so easy.
Check out the new Warrior's Way trailer, coming to theaters on Dec 3rd.
Somewhat oxymoronic, but ultimately a good cause.
Ninjas Against Domestic Violence
Quote:
October 04, 2010
Sorority uses ninja game to raise awareness of domestic violence
News | Emily Dobler
Credit: Jaclyn Stutz/Art Staff
The game “Ultimate Ninja” has conventionally been used in the past as a fun bonding exercise by Carnegie Mellon students. However, last Friday, it was used instead to raise awareness about domestic violence. Given the chance to be ninjas for a day, students across campus signed up and participated in a giant game of “Ultimate Ninja.”
Taking place in Donner Ditch, the game boasted around 30 players, all competing to be the last ninja standing. The grand prize was a $50 gift certificate to Chipotle. The competitive, fast-paced game lasted over two hours. The participants not only enjoyed an afternoon of fun, but also helped raise money and awareness against domestic violence.
Since October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the event “Ninjas Against Domestic Violence” started off the month on a high note, raising over $1,000. All the proceeds went directly to the Women’s Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, one of the first shelters built for battered women and children in the country. According to the website (www.wcspittsburgh.org), “each year more than 5,200 individuals — women, children, and some men — utilize our services for domestic violence victims.”
Ninjas Against Domestic Violence was organized through Carnegie Mellon’s sorority Alpha Chi Omega, as increasing awareness against domestic violence is one of its main goals. Rosie Weisburgh, a senior mechanical engineering major and the vice president of fraternity relations for Alpha Chi Omega, created the event in hopes that by “being bold, and doing something unique, we would raise more interest.... My personal goal is to raise over $2,000 over the course of the month.” Along with help from Courtney Bruggeman, a senior mathematical sciences major and member of Alpha Chi Omega, the event grew quickly.
“While our main goal behind the event was to raise a lot of money for the Pittsburgh Women’s Shelter, we were really excited when people asked us more about the cause. As the kickoff event of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we really hope that people will remember this event and come to our others to help support the cause,” Weisburgh said.
“At first I thought Ninjas Against Domestic Violence was an unusual event, but a lot of people showed up and we all had a really fun time. The event was for a really good cause, and I’m so glad I participated in it,” said Colleen Treacy, a sop****re physics major.
In addition to Ninjas against Domestic Violence, the sorority sells luminary candles throughout October and has an annual Vera Bradley brand product sale in the spring to continually raise money for the Pittsburgh Women’s Shelter.
“If the event is successful, which I think it will be since the game of ‘Ultimate Ninja’ has become fairly popular on campus, I could definitely see it becoming a repeated philanthropy event,” said Sara Hoge, participant of the event and service chair for Alpha Chi Omega.
“Personally, I think this is a great cause, because domestic violence is a problem in America that hits home for a lot of people, and donating to the Pittsburgh Woman’s Shelter is a way to help right here in the local community,” Hoge said.