Here is part one of a three piece article I wrote on the similarities between Shaolin Monks and Ninja. Enjoy!https://www.jetli.com/2017/09/connec...n-ninja-part-1
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Here is part one of a three piece article I wrote on the similarities between Shaolin Monks and Ninja. Enjoy!https://www.jetli.com/2017/09/connec...n-ninja-part-1
In the section "Similarities between Shaolin and Ninja" you write "For the female Ninja known as the Kunoichi, a knife could be concealed within a comb and used in an unassuming way till close enough to draw the hidden blade."Quote:
Originally Posted by wiz cool c
This is one of the few places in the article that actually cites a source for a historical assertion, the source being the Wikipedia article for "kunoichi". However the source you cite states that there were no female ninjas historically.
The Wikipedia article is in turn citing an academic paper written in Japanese, so I'll give the reference to it as well,Quote:
In fiction written in the modern era, "Kunoichi" means "female ninja"Y17: p167, although, historically, there is no female ninja.Y17: p167
The meaning "female ninja" appeared in the Ninja Scrolls (忍法帖) series written by Futaro Yamada and spread around 1964-1967.Y17: p184
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichi, accessed date of this posting.
[Y17] 吉丸雄哉（associate professor of Mie University) (April 2017). "くのいちとは何か". In 吉丸雄哉、山田雄司 編. 忍者の誕生. 勉誠出版. ISBN 978-4-585-22151-7.
I have no opinion on the question of historical female ninjas but isn't it a good idea to read the sources you cite to make sure they don't contradict what you're claiming?
There are a number of other spots in the article that could use improvement.
A major problem content-wise is that the opening section starts out ostensibly describing how the Shaolin training has been described and "glamorized" in media, specifically in the TV series "Kung Fu" and the Shaw Brothers film "Master Killer" (aka 36th Chamber of Shaolin). Yet a couple of times it slips from describing media fantasies into making what sound like claims about actual Shaolin training as such. There is a similar back-and-forth in the section on Ninjas. It's crucial to be clear about what is fantasy and what is meant to be factual description, especially if trying to demonstrate connections between the two traditions.
As it stands, the section titled "Connections between Shaolin and Ninja" does not demonstrate a single such connection. It only points to superficial resemblences. Now one could try to defend this by saying that the author used the word "connections" loosely, as meaning similarities. However there is also a separate section detailing "similarities", implying that the connections are meant to be actual connections. The following mangled attempt at a sentence is typical of the supposed "connections":
Since when does a birthplace "take place" anywhere? There are more problems with the sentence, but there is no need to detail them.Quote:
Both the birthplace of the ancient Ninja as well as the famous Shaolin monks took place in mountainous regions, giving them an early closeness to nature.
What matters is that this whole section could have been subsumed under the following section "Similarities between Shaolin and Ninja". The very premise and title of the article, Shaolin/Ninja connections, is not supported anywhere.
On a more minor note, in the following paragraph, "Caine" (from "Kung Fu") is written throughout, when the author actually means Yude, the character played by Gordon Liu in Master Killer.
The following sentence about Ninjas also could have used the attention of an editor:Quote:
Another training sequence in this film showed the star training in a special darkened room with cylinder shaped objects lit with candles on one side. The objects would spin and when they stopped and shined on Caine, he had to immediately strike it. This training exercise was designed to train the eyes and fighting skills in the dark under such conditions, not to mention also having to walk on rice paper without tearing it, in order to also train Caine to walk silently.
As written, this says soldiers or ninjas have to "endure endurance". You can "endure hardships, suffering etc." but as written this is bizarre and meaningless.Quote:
Specialty skills involve [...] both mental and physical endurance above and beyond what the normal soldier could typically endure.
There are other examples of poor grammar and usage in this first part of the article. I hope the second and third parts will be better, because at least they appear to be based on the author's real-life experience.
Greetings,
The article was absolutely horrid.
mickey
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Don't forget friends to read my article on MMA roots in Kung Fu, while it's still front page news. http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/...p?article=1377
Me and Yao back in Shenzhen I wrote this song for him. Yao is a great guy and good fighter, his brother Yao Zhikui has fought in the ufc a few times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=quE2gLjbzIQ