As I mentioned before the Ninjutsu system of unarmed combat is made up of three main components:

A) Dakentaijutsu - Striking and kicking.
B) Jutaijutsu - Grappling, choking and throwing.
C) Taihenjutsu - Breakfalling, rolling and leaping.

This time I will talk on the subject of Dakentaijutsu or striking, blocking and kicking methods. Dakentaijutsu is made up of two distinct disciplines:

1) Koshijutsu - attacking muscle groups and nerve centers on opponent's body. Relies heavily on the use of fingers, toes and thumbs for stabbing strikes and ripping and tearing at the flesh.

2) Koppojutsu - bone damaging strikes, utilizing bottoms of feet, clenched fists, knees and elbows to attack and break bone structures in enemy's body.

There are many different ways of using the body weapons for employing Dakentaijutsu skills. You should utilize different strikes for attacking different targets on your opponent's body. For example, if you want to attack an enemy's soft spots, such as the armpit, you can use finger strikes and toe drives. If you want to attack a hard target you can use a foot stomp or clenched fist.

Here is a partial list of body weapons:

Fudoken: "Immovable" or clenched fist
Shikanken: Extended knuckle fist
Kitanken/Shuto: Open hand strike
Happoken: "Eight leaf" fist or slapping strikes
Shakoken: Claw fist strike
Shitanken: Thumb pressure strike
Shishiken: "Finger needle" strike
Shitoken/Boshiken: Thumb strike
Koppoken: Thumb knuckle strike
Shukiken: Elbow strike
Sokuyaku: Foot or heel strike
Sokkiken: Knee strike
Kikakuken: Head strike
Shizenken: "Natural" or body weapon
Taiken: "Total body" weapon

You should practice using the body weapons in various kata. Practice blocking with various body weapons as well as striking with different body weapons. Also practice all possible footwork for delivering the blocks and strikes.

In Dakentaijutsu the whole body is used to generate the power and strength for the various strikes and blocks. When you strike, strike through the target using the power of your whole body behind the attack.

When practicing Dakentaijutsu skills it is not enough to strike an object like a tree or punching bag. You should train with a partner as well to get a feel of what it's like to strike different targets on the human body. You should also train with your partner moving around because a real opponent won't stay in one place. Be careful though, and don't perform dangerous strikes to the head or chest at full force.

A small contraption that can help you practice attacking specific targets with precision can be made by taking a tennis ball and attaching it to a length of elastic. Hang it up and practice striking it, the ball should bob up and down and from side to side because of the elastic.

It is important to practice Dakentaijutsu skills so you learn how to block and strike effectively. Along with Jutaijutsu and Taihenjutsu, these skills form a powerful and effective base for your ninpo taijutsu.

Alon Adika has been practicing ninjutsu since 1987. He lives in Jerusalem, Israel and may be contacted at aq4866@yfn.ysu.edu.