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Having spent one-third of my life practicing the Asian fighting arts, I was honored to be the first American ever accepted as a personal student by the headmaster of the last historically unbroken ninjutsu tradition in Japan. After my initial training sessions in the moonlit Japanese countryside, my feelings of being honored changed to a growing realization that I had at last found the ultimate fighting art and philosophical system for me.

In the winter of 1978, in the midst of my several years in Japan, I began writing this, my first book, documenting the original teachings of these ancient and undiluted warrior ways. All these decades later, I am still proud of this book. It continues to shine valuable illumination on this so often misunderstood martial art.

I must express my gratitude to Masaaki Hatsumi, thirty-fourth headmaster of the Togakure-ryu ninja tradition, for giving me exactly what I wanted those decades ago. I sought answers unheard of in the greater martial arts world I had deliberately left behind. I became part of the ninja dojo when there were just dozens of people training, years before this book and my others made Masaaki Hatsumi world famous and brought thousands of eager students to his door. What I wanted was the lore of the ninja and their secret fighting art. I was rewarded with knowledge impossible to find in the mainstream martial arts. My teacher granted that to me, though more often than not I had to steal his knowledge; I was shown a path and then challenged to figure out the secrets for myself if I could.