Be Stealthy Like a Ninja
Here is how to be stealthy like a Ninja. It's all about wearing the right colors and trying to transform your shape.
Steps
- Don't wear black. Black is not the best color for a Ninja. Black may not seem visible but it is. Be aware that invisibility is the art of employing simple techniques and skills utilized in an effective manner in order to make you hard to perceive or hear. Throw away your ninja text guides to wearing black.
- Memorize the definition of being hard to see. To be invisible, you must not be seen or heard in a way that would distinguish you as you. Remember that forest with that tree that falls with no one around to hear it fall? You know, the one that ends with this question: If there is no one there to hear the tree fall, does it make a sound? Yes, the tree does make a sound. Why, because if you were there - you would hear it and you would say, "wow that was loud." Regardless of your presence or your perception of reality, the tree will always make the sound. The real question is do we define the word "sound" and associating that to our hearing. When in fact, the falling of the tree creates a noise as a fact regardless of the way we perceive definitions. This is another concept of invisibility. Both the theory and the tree remain elusive and thus invisible. You want to be that tree.
- Note that you can make sounds and even cross within your opponent's visual sight, but you must not be perceived. So, you can be within your enemy's eyesight, in fact, he may even see you. However, because you have blended in with your surroundings, you are not perceived.
- Another example is, "Where's Waldo?" You may be looking for Waldo, who is well within your sight, but unless you perceive him, he remains invisible.Invisibility is the art of blending in, becoming an insignificant part of our environment and disappearing within it.
- Master the art of masking any and all indicators. An indicator is something that would basically say, "Hey, it's me and I'm hiding behind this rock." We mask indicators by developing our skills in the following areas:
- Camouflage - obviously you want to remain quiet when traversing through the woods or a dark alley. The key to concealment is learning and practicing a few techniques of stealth. Camouflage is usually seen as green patterned clothing for use in a forest. Camouflage (whether artificial or natural) is actually any and all skill you use to remain unseen. This includes - sight, sound, smell and sense:
- Sight - the human eye sees movement first. So, this is your number one priority, in order to stay out of sight, you need to know what you can do and what your opponent is trying to do. This goes for all your invisibility training. Here are the basics:
- Learn to move with patience and fluidity. Jerky movements are easy to see. Also, don't go disturbing the peace in a natural environment. A flock of birds taking off is a sign that something is in the area.
- If you are heard - it does not mean that you will be perceived. Even if it is obvious that you are there. However, if you are seen - not only is it obvious that you are there, but your exact position is now revealed. What is that? Is that a big black head?
- Your visual goal is to remove the distinct shape of the human form. You will also need to pay attention to shape and lighting. Think of what might create a silhouette and know when you should hide, crawl, walk, stealth or run.
- What kind of uniform or outfit do you have on? Do you stand out or blend in? Are you carrying a big sword or what looks like a tree branch?Form - an opinion
- Depending on your situation, jogging clothes often make a much better outfit for urban invisibility. Why? Well, what if you happened to be revealed? A jogging suit is much more believable than the embarrassment of having your tabi (a ninja warrior's split toed footwear) out in plain sight. For photographs and Ninja films, the uniform portrayed looks great, but it is more effective to look like a fallen tree branch than a model for Ninja magazine.
- Choose the right colors for concealment. In order to be invisible, it is crucial that you wear clothing or material that blends in with your surrounding environment. Try not to wear anything shiny or sparkly. Colors should have the same level of intensity, brightness and contrast in order to remain consistent. Use the following guide.
- Night: Dark blue, black, gray or other dark color
- Country: Green and browns
- City: Gray sometimes blue
- Just because it is night, does not mean a black uniform from head to toe will make you invisible. That outfit will actually make you stick out and it will be easy to spot you when moving. Unless you remain deep in the darkest part of a shadow, a dark black outfit is not realistic. Remember, black isn't a very natural color - the sky is dark blue not black and trees, leaves and grass are usually made up of greens or browns. Also, a black uniform is limited to night work, while a green and brown uniform can adapt when the sun comes out.
- Remember, the goal is to remove the distinct shape of the human form. Color choices can help to do this.
- Tend to your movement. Always move from shadow to shadow, rock to rock, obstacle to obstacle. Other strategies and specialized body tactics are used in combination with your movements. The more you look like part of the surroundings and the less you look like a human hiding behind a bush, the more likely you will remain invisible.
- You will usually use your environment in one of two ways: either to hide behind or blend beside. If the area you are hiding behind does not fully conceal your figure or form, then it is important that you shape your body to look like that of your cover. For example: laying down in a field, crouching amongst rocks and extending your arms and legs along tree limbs and branches.
- Note that when doing so (aligning your body with that of an object for concealment) that you do your best to be in a position you can respond from. If you lay face down in the mud and can't react when an opponent is about to stick a {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} dagger in your back you will have more than just mud in your face.
- Prepare your night vision. It can take a person up to 30 minutes for the eyes to adapt to darkness. Anyone without this night sight will have drastically reduced vision. A flash of light is all that is necessary to ruin a person's night vision for another 20-30 minutes. So, don't lose your night vision and keep your opponent from developing theirs. This will allow the shadow warrior to observe the enemy yet still remain invisible and camouflaged in the night.
- Note: when watching for things in low light, you will have a better chance of seeing them if your eyes remain unfocused. You can do this by looking in a circular motion around the object, for example a circular or figure eight pattern.
- Take care of sound. Another major ingredient to the art of staying invisible is your ability to move quietly through various terrains. Following are some practical techniques for stealth. After time and training, you will begin to develop your own style of stealth. Some will be slight variations of what you learned here and unique to your individual style. These techniques alone will not make you move through the night as quiet as the wind.
- This information is only a principle to aid in your practice and is of little use by itself. You must practice until you become very good at moving silently, in turn - staying quiet. In order to move in silence, we must pay attention (but not focus on) what it is that makes noise in the first place. The next step would be to reduce these "here I am" moments as much as possible. In training, you can practice stealth on various terrains and in a variety of environments to get a feel of the different techniques you can use.
- Make choices. You reach a point where you must choose one of two paths. One path is open and covered with sand while the other is narrow and protected with trees. Which path would you take? The sand path will be quieter to move across unlike the tree path which has leaves and branches strewn about. However, the tree path offers cover and camouflage and as we learned earlier, it is better to be heard than to be seen. These types of questions only help to explain the variety of choices you will have to deal with:
- S - stepping - This is your most important skill to staying quiet. You depend on your footwork. Practice will make a difference. Before completing a step, keep your weight on the ground leg until the other leg is in position. This requires balance and harmony to master.
- T - touch - Stepping is only half the battle. Use your hands and feet to feel for obstacles and for clearing the way. Thick soled shoes make it difficult to feel and manage over a noisy terrain. Either wear light shoes or go barefoot. The more you can feel your surroundings, the better you chances are of moving through them quietly.
- E - exhale - Do not hold your breath when you move. Breath as you step, twist, turn or lower your weight. This will keep you and your muscles relaxed and assist in your ability to adapt with your movements.
- A - attention - Pay attention to your surroundings and not just the ground. Keep a circular vision at all times - focus when you step, but keep your attention on your environment. This includes all your senses.
- L - listen - Stay alert to the sounds you are making and pay attention to the way these sounds correlate with your surroundings. Stop completely if you make a sound, listen for any reactions or any signs of being discovered. Keep a constant ear for any changes in the environment.
- T - tolerance - Patience is your key to staying quiet. If you are not patient, your movements will be jerky and mistakes will occur. How long can you tolerate standing still and remaining absolutely quiet?
- H - harmony - Stay focused, keep the knees bent and move with all the muscles and joints flowing naturally. Move like a cat - balanced, patient and fluid.
- Develop footwork skills. These skills must be taught to you by an instructor:
- Normal stealthy step
- Cross step stealth
- Cat stealthy step
- Sweeping cat step
- Stealth crawling
- The dropping squat
- The cross crouch
- The fall back
- Practice
- Practice. Here are just a few ideas - expand on these and come up with a few of your own.
- Here kitty kitty - Try sneaking up to a sleeping cat and touching it before it discovers what you are doing. Please note that this only works on cats that are active and healthy. Also, stuffed animals won't work and by "cat" I mean a house cat - not a mountain lion.
- Snap, Crackle, Pop - Another fun thing to sneak up on is a mini-cassette recorder or voice activated audio recorder. Create a distance between yourself and the recorder to sneak up on. Then, play it back to see if you could hear yourself getting closer. Pay attention to all the natural sounds in the environment. Try this in different terrains.
- Don't turn around - Games are a great way to improve you silent footwork. We play a lot of these at our martial arts training camps; the only requirement is having at least one more person to play with. Here is one that we use a lot:
- Have your partner stand about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} away. Your job is to sneak up to him/her and touch them on the back or shoulder without them knowing you are there. Your partner is trying to listen and has one chance to turn around, but only if you are within touching distance. You win if you touch him/her first and they win if they touch you first. This requires a lot of patience from both the Ninja and his prey.
- Boo! This next one requires that you know your partner or the other person very well. If you haven't guessed it yet - this exercise requires that you sneak up and scare someone. Some people are not very nice and will get very mad if you scare them. So, make sure you know who you are scaring (and make sure they won't have a heart attack and leave you with a life of guilt). The rest you will have to come up with on your own.
- Consider the terrain. Dry areas are the loudest and unless you plan to carry a bucket of water with you, try to either avoid dry areas or practice moving through them. Snapping twigs and crunchy leaves are probably number one cause to losing your concealment.
- Consider smell. You never want to hear, "I smelled you a mile away." Along with clothing, you should also conceal any and all other things that might give you away. This includes your smell. Cologne and perfumes are easy to smell, so is McDonald's. The closer you are to your environment in all aspects, the more likely you are to remain camouflaged within it. Use natural oils from your surroundings to help mask your scent. Heck, take a mud bath. This is important if you want to blend in with nature and avoid animals recognizing you as they have a highly tuned sense of smell.
- Consider other factors. Remaining invisible is not just a few concepts thrown together to give you an idea about stepping on twigs. You need an overall development and understanding of what it takes to be stealthy. This requires expanding your thoughts and thinking laterally. Many things could have an effect your ability to stay concealed. Here are a few examples:Are the people you are hiding from are expecting company.
- Are you in a group - in which case if one team snaps - you all snap.Unexpected weather or terrain.The concealment you had last night - is gone today.
- A dog is barking at what smells like a Big Mac and fries.There is a nearby accident and you are the only one to Blame you go to the bathroom before you left the house?
- These are just a few, but if you think about them, you could prepare and or develop a better understanding for the art of invisibility. No matter how much you know, you still need to develop that knowledge into action. If you want to be good at kicking - then kick. This is the same for vanishing into thin air.
Tips
- On terrain that makes noise (i.e. wood), try to move swiftly so your weight does not always stay in on place. Also try leaning back and forth, but don't lose balance!
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