14. Ninjas Trained by Sitting Under Waterfalls
Being a ninja was more than being skilled in martial arts and being a great fighter. Though ninjas were not fighting for a religious cause, as were the hashashim (assassins) who fought against the Christians in the Crusades, the practice was actually more spiritual than martial. As such, the training to become a ninja involved learning a form of spiritual asceticism known as shugendo. The people who were training would exert their bodies by trekking long distances through harsh terrain or sitting under waterfalls for extended amounts of time.
The idea was that the stealth required as a ninja was more of a mind over matter issue, so the fighters’ thoughts had to be more disciplined than their bodies. Often, they were trained in martial arts from childhood on, so additional fighter training was not necessary; however, they did need the ability to endure tremendous amounts of physical strain, so the long treks did have a full-body benefit. One thing that set the ninjas apart from the samurai was their incredibly disciplined minds that enabled them to wait in the dark of night in inhospitable places, rather than engaging in open battle. That said, not all people who practiced shugendo asceticism were ninjas, and not all ninjas trained in shugendo.