Ha Ha Check this out...

[Obi Wan Shinobi]

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/iran-s-female-ninjas-1329496903-slideshow/

Saw this while browsing yahoo today..

 

[Tez3]

What's the 'ha ha' for? because they are women or some other reason?

 

[Sanke]

I believe it is because they are mostly an odd group who do a lot of showy movie-ninja stuff, more than it being about their gender (though that's just IMO).

A couple of threads popped up about this group on MAP a week ago, here's a link that may explain better:

And some more pics, showing a bit more of them (thread from MAP):
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107777

Honestly it looks like they have fun, but a lot of what they do is frankly little more than fantasy.

 

[Chris Parker]

What's the 'ha ha' for? because they are women or some other reason?

Because there is no Ninjutsu in Iran. They've bought badges online, some videos, and made up a lot of other stuff.

 

[Tez3]

Because there is no Ninjutsu in Iran. They've bought badges online, some videos, and made up a lot of other stuff.

Fairynuff! though I would take the intent as being serious even if their art isn't because it's more than likely the Iranians are preparing for war..again.

Iranian female soldiers

 

[Chris Parker]

Oh, I have no doubt that they're serious about their training and approach, but there's little basis for it (as a martial art).

 

[Tez3]

Oh, I have no doubt that they're serious about their training and approach, but there's little basis for it (as a martial art).

It seems a shame though that they are putting so much effort into something that has little worth, perhaps though the worth is in the fact they get to do something that is regarded by men in that country as a masculine subject. That maybe the point of them doing it rather than anything else. 'Ninjas' I imagine would be something there that is seen as a male 'occupation' so perhaps these ladies are trying to make a point. One day they may be able to train properly, I'm not sure laughing at them is fair, they don't have access to free speech, the histories, the training we do so I imagine while it is made up and false etc they are trying to do something which while real practicitioners may baulk at saying is real at least it's something rather than them being merely an object rather than a human being. Even being a pretend Ninja is better than being a real possession of a man. Perhaps some men may think they are real enough so that they respect them a tiny bit.
I am seeing this from a female point of view rather than a martial arts one. You can't blame them for making stuff up if they have no access to something they want to do. Here it's easy we live in free societies, they don't. It would be good though if someone somewhere could train them properly.

 

[Chris Parker]

I'm not blaming them for anything, if I was blaming anyone it'd be the instructor who "introduced" Ninjutsu to Iran in 1989 and has been teaching ever since. And Iran seems to have quite a few less-than-legitimate groups around.

In terms of a "male" occupation, actually Ninjutsu has a large tradition of female warriors and practitioners, typically referred to as "Kunoichi" (which, frankly, has more than an element of sexual play-on-words involved in it), so it'd be more likely that this angle was used to attract and recruit the (female) membership.

I get where you're coming from, and for the record, I don't think Pablo was inferring any laughter or amusement due to the female membership specifically, more the fake ninja aspect.

 

[Tez3]

Still at least they enter into the 'spirit' of the thing, what about these 'Ninjas' ? http://www.littleninjas.co.uk/ because we cater for Service families who travel around a lot, I've had a couple of these over the years and the ninja aspect seems to make them feel they are somewhat above the rest of us, I tried correcting one and got back 'I'm right, I'm a Ninja!' You can imagine my reply lol.

 

[Chris Parker]

Ha, well, there's really no arguing with that!

 

[Tez3]

Ha, well, there's really no arguing with that!

I've long had the idea of training children as a secret force a la Ninjas, girls I think, I used to be a Brownie leader (Tawny Owl) and a Cub Scout leader ( Akela) and the girls definitely have it down pat when it comes to sneakiness, and stubborness etc. I think though Ronald Searle got there first with St Trinians. He thought them up while in a Japanese POW camp as well as drawing the heart rending depictions of the suffering there.

 

[Dean Whittle]

Here's something tongue-in-cheek from today's Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-...oyage-to-great-bon-vivant-20120220-1tjq1.html - scroll down for piece):

[h=3]STAY IN TOUCH ... WITH IRAN'S FEMALE FIGHTERS[/h]THE women of Iran might not have all the rights their sisters in Western countries enjoy, but they do have throwing stars and those special clawed sandals that let you run up the side of buildings. Not all of them, mind you, just the (estimated) 3500 female ninja-warriors-in-training who have reportedly taken up the ways of the mystic Japanese warriors in the back streets of Iran. It turns out, The Guardian's Lucy Mangan reports, that ''when you're denied basic human rights, restricted in your ability to dress how you want and mix with the people you choose, and when your legal testimony is officially recognised as being worth exactly half that of a man's, you develop a lot of rage''. And for Iranian women, martial arts are an increasingly popular way of channelling it. The women are attracted by the fact sport is one of the areas where they have few restrictions, even if it trains them to be lethal weapons, but it's not all about letting off steam and learning to talk slightly out of sync, they are training in case Israel ever attacks, a student said. ''What we're seeing in the world of fitness and sports is the opportunity to receive training, which increases our self-defence abilities and strengthens our bodies, so we are ready to defend our lives and assets,'' the 28-year-old ninjutsu student Raheleh Davoudzadeh said. ''If a problem arises, we will definitely declare our readiness to defend our Islamic homeland,'' another added. Rumours the students are being trained by four teenage mutant turtles could not be confirmed. END
​

 

[Indagator]

ninja costumes blend in well with a crowded street full of niqabs anyways, lol. Least them muzzies are good for summat

 

[Jenna]

ninja costumes blend in well with a crowded street full of niqabs anyways, lol. Least them muzzies are good for summat

Nice

 

[Indagator]

Nice

Lol. It's meant in the best of intentions

You should hear some of the jokes I heard when I lived in Malta - or that song they sing there about the "Little Crusade" (I'll give you a cluce, it's about kebab stands lmao!)

 

[Jason Striker II]

I also saw the original Yahoo article and thought it odd in relation to Iran’s usual repressive stance toward women. And I also was left wondering about what kind of background these practitioners have (I did notice a picture of GM Hatsumi hanging on the wall in the background of one photo).
The article quoted above by Dean Whittle is the sort of curious propaganda that makes the entire enterprise difficult to take.

 

[DuskB4Dawn]

I'm Curious about this video but not worth the download to watch. But I wonder what do you mean by showy Ninjutsu stuff. is it like acrobatics or something. or are theyhighly skilled in balance and agility! then I will watch it
or is it interesting coz they are woman and from iran. because that is really boring.......

 

[Jason Striker II]

I'm Curious about this video but not worth the download to watch. But I wonder what do you mean by showy Ninjutsu stuff. is it like acrobatics or something. or are theyhighly skilled in balance and agility! then I will watch it
or is it interesting coz they are woman and from iran. because that is really boring.......

It's "MA news" items (please note the inherent irony in those quotation marks) like this that just leave me scratching my head - I "get" that Yahoo runs it for curiosity, but what the subjects intend you to "get" out of this, I just don't "get...

 

[Indagator]

It's "MA news" items (please note the inherent irony in those quotation marks) like this that just leave me scratching my head - I "get" that Yahoo runs it for curiosity, but what the subjects intend you to "get" out of this, I just don't "get...

I don't get it....

 

[Tez3]

In all honesty they are no worse, perhaps even better because they seem to believe in what they are doing rather than looking to make money, than many of the McDojos spread around the Western world. It's fine making fun of them but we have plenty of 'pots' so can't afford to laugh too loud at what we see as kettles.