Quote:calling all ninjas
I know I've been posting a lot of casting calls lately, but I've got to post this latest one because it's just... funny. There's apparently a TV pilot currently in the works called The Deadliest Warrior, where they essentally take two warriors from different cultures/eras and pit them against each other and see who would win. For instance, the pilot episode is going to be Ninja vs. Spartan. I'm not kidding. But they're apparently having some trouble finding their ninja. I got this email:

Right now, I'm working on a TV pilot for called "The Deadliest Warrior". It's basically a show where they're going to take two warriors and pit them against each other and see who would win. They're going to test the strength of armor and weapons, put all that info into a computer and have the computer be the judge. Then there's going to be a final showdown between the two warriors. The pilot episode is going to be a Ninja vs. a Spartan. We found our Spartan but we're having trouble finding a Ninja. We're looking for someone Asian, over 18, has great martial arts skills (preferably Ninjitsu) and has great camera presence. If you know anyone or if you're able to post this on your site please have people contact me at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:ninjavspartan@gmail.com">ninjavspartan@gmail.com</a><!-- e -->.

Does anyone else find this really funny... but also kind of awesome? Come on—tell me you're not curious about who would win in a fight between a Ninja and a Spartan. How about an army of 300 Spartans versus 300 ninjas? Holy moly, someone should make a movie about that.

Quote:My name is Robert and I can't stop thinking about ninjas. These guys are cool; and by cool, I mean totally sweet.

Facts:
1. Ninjas are mammals.
2. Ninjas fight ALL the time.
3. The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

Quote:Ancient art of Ninjutsu taught in Palo Alto
Martial art teaches students physical techniques, disciplines the mind

Posted Fri March 14, 13:07:30 PDT 2008
By Lindsay Yang of The Campanile

A three-foot long metal sword slashes through the air in an arc. Shihan, or senior instructor, Yaron Galant teaches the fluidity of the movement: first slicing the sword above the head and second, completing the swing with the power of the shoulders. Galant then explains to the class about the importance of the sword technique in feudal Japan, from the place where Ninjutsu, the art of the Ninja, originated.

Ninjutsu, a more than 2000-year-old martial art that had managed to remain a secret until 40 to 50 years ago but is now gaining international popularity, traditionally trains people to become ninjas.

Although commonly associated with spying and assassination, Ninjutsu can also help people improve a person's mental focus and physical balance.

"Ninjutsu has helped me stay in shape," Palo Alto High School sophomore Nathan Wilen, who takes classes from Palo Alto Ninjutsu, said. "Ninjutsu has also taught me how to keep a level head and how to stay calm."

The Palo Alto Ninjutsu class, founded by Galant, who used to teach in Israel and Sunnyvale, is held on Tuesdays at Mitchell Park Community Center and on Thursdays at Cubberly Community Center from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

"You come here and you learn and you learn and you learn," Galant said. "You train, and you get better. There are no thresholds. This [Ninjutsu] is a continuous learning experience starting from the first time a person enters the school."

Palo Alto Ninjutsu, which belongs to the international Bujinkan Ninjutsu school in Japan, admits students from any experience level and is non-competitive.

Although basic and advanced ranks are designated by color belts, ranks are not heavily stressed.

"There are no separate classes for different ranks," Galant said. "They all work together and benefit in their own way."

Between two and eight students attend each session, and although the group is intended for adults, Wilen, who is 15, joined after finding interest in Ninjutsu. Others joined without any previous experience or from past experiences with different kinds of martial arts.

"When I started, I wanted something that uses techniques and that uses skill," student Doug Albrecht, 49, said. "It works on technique and sensitivity rather than overpowering someone with strength."

Ninjutsu focuses more on skill as each class session concentrates on posture, balance and timing. From reviewing basic positions to executing a series of kicks, Ninjutsu values precision.

"[After starting Ninjutsu], Nathan [Wilen] is more aware of where he is in the physical environment," Wilen's mother Stephanie Wilen said.

Wilen finds that the Palo Alto Ninjutsu class is not physically demanding. In addition to the fighting aspects, students learn how to develop better flexibility, body movement, awareness, coordination, preparation and mental self-defense.

Especially when reviewing the different forms of Ninjutsu at the beginning of each class, Ninjutsu takes on a more philosophical nature, Wilen said. Each session begins with a Japanese saying, bowing and clapping. Members then warm-up with rolls and review basic stances. Finally, the class progresses to learning new combat skills such as falls and rolls, throws, locks, punches, kicks, blocks, chokes and strikes. In addition to hand-to-hand combat, the Palo Alto Ninjutsu class also uses a variety of weaponry: staffs from pen-size to six feet long, knives, long swords and short swords. Despite the different weapons that are taught, members of the class are not required to participate in any fighting to move to higher levels.

Nevertheless, most people participate, even in an intimidating exercise that requires a person to sit with their eyes closed while anticipating a strike from an opponent.

The opponent, who stands with a staff raised above the person's head, brings the staff down as quickly as possible. The students practice knowing rather than thinking as they sit under the staff and roll away when they sense harm. They believe that every intention can be sensed and avoided.

"I thought it was a bit sketchy at first," Wilen said. "It was kind of scary having a person holding a stick above your head, but the first time you succeed, it is really rewarding."

As part of deception training to disguise and redirect intentions, students learn numerous feints and sequences of attacks.

Ninjas often deliver powder into their opponents eyes as a blinding technique and students incorporate those practices into the sequences.

Most Ninjutsu techniques overlap with skills from other martial arts such as Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido and Karate.

"The typical Ninjutsu class varies," Galant said. "Some days, we will work more with grappling, which is more judo and jujitsu. Other weeks we will focus on punching and literally use boxing gloves and bags to strengthen the shoulders and arms. Ninjutsu really runs the gamut."

Palo Alto Ninjutsu classes also practice on many different surfaces, working outside on Tuesdays and indoors on Thursdays. Class members try to perfect their skills on uneven grass fields, hard concrete floors and soft, more physically forgiving mats. By receiving specific feedback, reflexes and muscles reflect accordingly and adapt rather than accept one single synthetic environment, Galant said.

The feedback that the students receive from Ninjutsu is rewarding and many ideas can be applied to everyday life, according to the many of the members of Palo Alto Ninjutsu.

"At work, I am often in a situation where things are not flowing well," Galant said. "A lot of people come to me with a lot of problems and need attention at once. This is very similar situation to fighting against a number of opponents. Everybody deals me their blows in different ways with each person at their own pace. I have learned how to overcome this potentially overwhelming environment."

Similarly, black belt Ayelet Lorberbaum, 30, has learned how to reach kamai, or balance, in her life.

"I deal with every aspect of my life better," Lorberbaum said. "For everything in my life, I try to stay balanced and focused."

Quote:Pirates Seize Control of French Vessel Carrying 30 Crew Members Off Coast of Somalia

The ship was in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean, the ministry said. At least some of the crew members are French, it said.

According to the company's Web site, the three-mast boat features four decks, two restaurants, and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. It can hold up to 64 passengers.

Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year.

The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.

Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy, and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control.

The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years.

Quote:U.S. moves to get tougher with pirates
The coast of Somalia has been prime territory for hijackers. A proposed U.N. resolution would allow chasing suspects into other nations' waters.
Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Associated Press

Thursday, April 24, 2008

(04-24) 04:00 PDT Nairobi, Kenya -- The spoils of a career as a pirate off Somalia's high seas were simply too good for Abdi Muse to pass up. He bought two Land Cruisers and a new home, then married two women in one passionate week.

"I was giving away money to everyone I met," said Muse, 38, who said he made $90,000 hijacking ships. "After two months, I had no money left. Can you believe it?"

For years, Somali pirates like Muse have found lucrative work stalking the country's lawless coast, seizing boats and negotiating ransoms. But these brazen assailants could soon face more force as the United States and France muster international support for taking them on.

"This is a very important and serious signal that the nations of the world take (piracy) seriously," said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy.

The United States has been leading international patrols to combat piracy along Somalia's unruly 1,880-mile coast, the longest in Africa and near key shipping routes. Now, the United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates after a spate of recent attacks, including a Spanish tuna boat hijacked this week by pirates firing rocket-propelled grenades and a Dubai-flagged cargo ship seized while carrying food to desperately poor Somalia.

The cargo ship was rescued Tuesday by Somali forces, who arrested seven pirates, but the Spanish boat and its crew remain in the hands of hijackers.

French officials say they are pushing for a resolution that would make it easier for armies to swoop into other countries' waters and nab pirates. The push comes after French commandos freed hostages on a French tourist yacht seized earlier this month off the coast of Somalia, and then chased the pirates on land and arrested them.

"The international community must respond and set up a rotating mechanism to control and keep watch with our naval forces so as to guarantee the security and protection of all those who fish or sail through that zone," Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said as his country awaited word on its hijacked tuna boat.

Many Somali pirates are trained fighters linked to politically powerful clans that have carved the country into armed fiefdoms; others are young thugs enlisted to do the dirty work for older, more powerful criminals, who turn a profit by taking a cut of the ransom money and selling the ship's cargo.

Pirates often dress in military fatigues, using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and Global Positioning System equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and grenades, according to the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia.

Somalia's already overstretched government welcomed the initiative to involve international forces in patrolling its pirate-infested coastal waters. Racked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have a navy, and the transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to contain a deadly insurgency.

"These forces could come inside the country if it is needed," said government spokesman Abdi Hagi Gobdon.

The International Maritime Bureau says piracy worldwide is on the rise, with seafarers suffering 49 attacks between January and March - up 20 percent from the same period last year.

Nigeria ranked as the No. 1 trouble spot. India and the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast tied for second, with each reporting five incidents. Somalia had 31 attacks involving pirates in 2007 alone, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Program estimates that Somali pirates have received more than $3 million in ransom this year alone, an astronomical sum even considering it would be split among dozens or even hundreds of criminals.

Muse - the pirate who spent all his money in one go - had second thoughts a few years ago, blaming the easy money for the loss of his wives and other personal misfortunes.

"I had to sell the house and the cars," Muse said. "I divorced my wives. I stopped this job after thinking about how it affects our Islamic religion and our Somali culture."

"Now I work at a private company - I am no longer a pirate," he said. "I am happy to get a small monthly salary."