<Rant>
I have noticed the terrible creeping “instantness” of Ninja this and Nija that in the IT and other arenas. Its perhaps a bit pedantic but I have to comment on the mixup that appears to have crept into the use of the term Ninja and its application to being skillful and adept. Ninjitsu is a martial art that claims to be descended from those who practised arts of deception and infiltration many centuries ago in Japan and other parts of Asia.
The following of this practice has spread out from Japan and is “practiced” in many places. It has had a lot of information spread about it – invisibility – invicibility and lethality. Not really anything to do with IT – coding or general hacking. Yet it seems to get applied to any get skills quick approach that seems to get peddled. Put simply – the ninjas are the bad guys !! Watch the movies !!
“Be an Actionscript Ninja” or “Ninja Javascript for Assasins” are just another marketing ploy that takes away from the fact that to develop “Ninja” like skills requires intense training – intense focus and some inherent talent to back it up. I’m not a Ninja anything – having never trained in it (although almost attended the first open Ninjitsu training course in Europe) and do not claim to know anything about its secrets but feel that I must say something about it being dragged into the mud – along with the Black belt “spreadsheets” and Kung Fu Linux epithets.
Leave martial arts out of IT – I know many IT practitioners that have martial arts training and bring to bear the dedication and determination that got them we they are – to bear on their careers. You will not here them calling themselves Ninjas. Only those that have never stayed in the Dojo or training hall for more than a session or two of the martial arts they began but didn’t actually continue.
I’ve met quite a few individuals that would have benefited from the rigour and regime that come from truly following a martial art and developing in it to a high level.
</Rant>