CLIMBING
Scaling castle walls and creating watch posts in the high limbs of trees is a Ninja specialty. Although simplified climbing skills are acquired by almost every person during their adventurous childhood, a Ninja’s ability to scale any structure takes a great deal of practice. Climbing is not just the act of ascending an object, it also involves your ability to feel comfortable once you’ve reached your destination. This is why balance in an integral part of climbing. It is important that once you have reached an elevated position that you are able to move about naturally and easily.
TANUKI NOBORIJUTSU - CLIMBING LIKE A SQUIRREL To begin this method, the student leaps up and latches onto the base of a tree with all four of their limbs at the same time. From this point the bodies weight must be distributed properly as the student begins their upward ascent. This is done by releasing the hands and quickly re-attaching them a bit higher on the trunk. As the feet quickly walk or hop up a bit higher. This series of movements is continued until the desired height is attained.
IMORI NOBORIJUTSU - CLIMBING LIKE A LIZARD
This method of climbing is used when facing a singular flat surface such as a man-made wall or a natural rock surface. Either of these obstacles are extremely difficult to ascend and each of them requires a strong grip. The student must learn to scale the surface by taking advantage of any hand hold, no matter how small, to support their weight while they climb. This physical feat begins by surveying the obstacle to be scaled. The student crouches beside the wall. Only after they are certain that the area is clear of any enemies do they begin climbing. The student begins by extending their left arm upward to a handhold while keeping their body close to the wall. The right foot then rises to an appropriate balance position and the body shifts upward as the right hand attaches to a higher handhold. This process is continued until the desired elevation has been achieved. Although the explanation of this action makes it appear easy, its applications in reality a complex feat.
UZURA NOBORIJUTSU - CLIMBING BETWEEN TWO OBJECTS
This method of climbing is used when the student wedges their body between two walls. The student ascends by placing one foot on the surface of each wall. They extends their legs, which pushes them upward, then supports their weight with their hands while they recoil their feet beneath them. The action is then repeated until they reach their objective. Not only is this climbing method valuable between two buildings, it is also effective between trees, in hallways and stairwells, where the student can remain lodged and ready to drop on an unsuspecting victim.
SHOTEN NOBORIJUTSU - CLIMBING TO THE HEAVENS
This method of climbing is the most difficult. It requires that the student be able to properly control speed, weight distribution and timing simultaneously while climbing. In it’s beginning stages, the student must learn to run up objects that are on an incline. As their skill increases, the incline should become steeper and steeper until they are able to run up a flat vertical surface To apply the technique, the student begins twenty feet from the wall he is attempting to climb. They run toward the wall and directly up it by using their hands and feet to continue the momentum created by their run. In effect, the student actually runs up the wall. This method is effective on objects up to fifteen feet in height or when running up a wall and seizing some type of handhold to scale higher objects.
SCALING WALLS
To aid the Ninja in scaling walls they utilize a series of specially designed devices. The “Tobi kunai,” or “Scaling wedge,” was a piece of thick iron shaped roughly like a knife with a length of rope attached to it’s handle. The Ninja would force it’s pointed end into any natural cracks found along the surface of a stone wall. The Ninja would then use it’s protruding mass as a step to take them higher up onto a wall while at the same time, giving them enough support that they could attach a second tobi kunai higher on the wall. After the second scaling wedge was in place, the Ninja would use it to ascend higher. Once balanced on the second wedge, the Ninja would pull on the rope that was attached to the first tobi kunai to remove it from it’s position so it could be pulled up to serve as another step.
The “Shinobi kumade,” or “Climbing pole,” was also quite effective in wall climbing. It’s design was simple. A long pole with a rake-like hook on one end. The Ninja would extend the pole up to the top of a wall and attach the rake to it’s edge. The Ninja would then position the pole on an outward angle away from the wall. From this point the Ninja ascended the pole with theirhands while at the same time using their feet to walk up the wall. Once at the top of the wall, the Ninja would release their grip on the pole and seize the wall’s edge with their hand. The shinobi kumade could then be discarded, left in place as an escape tool, or it could be used as a spear-like weapon during the remainder of the Ninja’s assignment.
The “Tekagi” and “Ashiko,” or “Hand and foot claws” provided extra grip while climbing. This proved especially useful when scaling the outside structure of castles. Since these castles were usually surrounded by a moat, the moisture of the stagnant water covered the base of the castles walls with a fungus-like moss, which made it somewhat slippery to the bare hand. The claws however, could be wedged in the gaps between the rocks of the wall, providing ample support while climbing. The claws were also useful in climbing trees, using the sharp talons to penetrate the wooded surface. Hand and foot claws also provided the Ninja with effective weapons in close combat, improving their grappling skills immensely.
The “Take bashigo,” or “Bamboo ladder” was used when whole groups of Ninja needed to ascend a wall quickly and quietly. The Last Ninja would then pull up the ladder so it could be placed down the other side of the wall so an equally quick descent could be executed. The ladder would then be concealed so it could be re-used during escape from the area of operation.
CLIMBING TREES
Although the concept of climbing trees sounds simple, it’s application is far different from a leisurely climb in a tree with easily accessible limbs. Climbing a small tree is a fairly easy feat, one simply reaches up to the closest limb and pulls themselves up into it’s branches. This is a simplistic view of tree climbing. As the trees become larger, and the lowest branches are well out of reach, tree climbing becomes more complex. This is where special tools can be used. It is a historical fact that Ninja often made temporary bases high up in trees. This was accomplished with a highly inventive horizontal ladder that actually created a solid surface high up in a tree’s lofty branches. The “Orimono bashigo,” or “Web ladder” was a series of ropes attached to a center ring. When these ropes were tied off in different directions, they formed a kind of “Web.” The Ninja would then run a separate length of rope around the perimeter of the web that slowly moved inward towards it’s center. The Ninja would then camouflage the ropes with leaves and branches to conceal it’s form.
The “Nawa bashigo,” or “Rope ladder” proved extremely useful in ascending trees. Once attached to a high limb, it could be dropped down or pulled up very quickly. A rope ladder was often times rolled up and concealed in the branches of a tree, only to be unleashed by a hidden cord. These ladders would be used in various locations throughout a wooded area so the Ninja could take to the trees during his clandestine operations. A variety of other rope climbing devices could perform the same task as a Nawa bashigo.
The “Kumo bashigo,” or “Cloud ladder” was a long single length of rope that was extended through a single hole in the center of eight inch wooden rungs. Knots were tied above and below each rung to hold them in place. The “Musubi bashigo,” or “Loop ladder,” was a single length of rope with loops tied on it about every eighteen inches. However, the hands and feet were not placed in the loops while climbing. Instead, the Ninja used the knots to secure a good grip while climbing. Once at the desired height, the Ninja would secure a foot in one of the loops to maintain their position with ease.
One tool that was very useful to the Ninja was the “Kaginawa,” or “Rope and hook.” This tool served the Ninja as a utilitarian device to be used as a general climbing rope, a weapon and a survival tool. In essence, whatever the climbing need, the Ninja was prepared.
