A ninja must become intimately familiar with 18 disciplines of ninjutsu before he or she will be a master.  There are weapon techniques, like the sword and bo, and there are combat skills, such as disguise and pyrotechnics.  But there are also those disciplines that require a strong mind.  These intellectual skills include seishintekikyoyo, bajutsu, sui-ren, boryaku, tenmon, and chi-mon.

            Seishintekikyoyo is the skill that ties all other aspects of ninjutsu together, and makes it possible to train as a ninja.  This discipline is all about spiritual refinement.  Mastery over one’s own mental state is absolutely necessary to perfect all other skills.  Without it, then nothing else can truly be accomplished.

Bajutsu is the art of horsemanship.  It began during the reign of Emperor Tenji in the 7^th Century, and became a traditional part of military combat in the 12^th Century.  However, horses were very rare in Japan, so only elite warriors practiced the art.  During the Tokugawa period, the discipline went by the wayside as peace replaced combat.  The discipline teaches proper horse care, as well as techniques for swordsmanship and archery on horseback.

Sui-ren is the art of water training.  Being able to move through the water without a sound is important for a ninja, especially when the majority of the countryside was agricultural and water drove the economy.  Boryaku is the art of tactics.  Ninja are keys to battle, and mustunderstand strategy and tactics.  These can be the usual military movements or more unorthodox ploys.  They can also be somewhat sinister, such as political manipulation and exploitation of weakness in order to exert influence.

Tenmon is the art of meteorology.  Long before Doppler radar, ninja needed to be able to predict weather patterns for strategic purposes.  Understanding exactly how the environment, flora and fauna, and people reacted to changes in the weather could weaken and defeat enemies.  Chi-mon is the art of geography.  Before heading into battle, the ninja needs an understanding of the terrain surrounding a target.  The natural layout of the land, as well as placement of any manmade structures will significantly influence tactics and weapons employed.

The intellectual skills of ninjutsu have not seen as much focus in the incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Of course, that really has to do with the modernization of training.  Certain skills like tenmon and chi-mon are unnecessary for the boys when radar, maps, and the Internet make predicting weather patterns and knowing geography a simple matter. Similarly, horsemanship isn’t an essential skill anymore.  While the turtles did ride horses on a few occasions (such as in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III), they were not terribly familiar with the art.

Sui-ren is the one skill that the turtles do not need to practice.  Their very nature makes them masters of the water, even if they do spend most of their time on dry land or in a sewer.  But seishintekikyoyo and boryaku have been stressed, and often come into focus during training.  Leonardo and Donatello are both experts of boryaku, but in significantly different ways.  Donatello’s exceptional intelligence and analytical mind make him very skilled at tactics and planning. Leonardo, on the other hand, simply has a knack for tactics, which is what makes him an effective leader.  His instincts are spot on, and his emotionsdon’t often cloud his judgment.

The most commonly talked about skill (especially from Master Splinter) is spiritual refinement.  The rat master is constantly telling the boys about the importance of becoming one with the spirit.  They all take his advice to varying degrees, ranging from Leonardo’s diligent meditation to Raphael’s indifference.  But no matter what, it is the one intellectual skill that is stressed as much as any discipline of ninjutsu in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle universe.

With so many different facets of ninjutsu, it’s no wonder that the turtles have a long way to go before becoming masters.  Weapons, combat training, and intellectual toughness are all required, and the turtles are clearly still a long way from achieving that pinnacle.  However, they will undoubtedly keep working hard, and will one day reach the end of this hard-fought journey.

We just got an interesting picture of a pretty awesome looking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster and we’re absolutely enthralled. Based on an anonymous tip, we are being told that this is the poster that was used at CinemaCon to promote the film. Some of you may recall that rumors leaked from the convention of a potential name change to the project. While it had originally been titled simply “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Paramount decided last year to change the name to “Ninja Turtles.” However, if rumors are to be believed, when the studio revealed the logo for the film at this convention recently, the full title was shown once more to include the words “Teenage” and “Mutant.”

With the reveal of this totally radical poster, it would appear that the rumors are true. Not only do we get to see what this new title actually looks like, but this poster also reveals the possible character models for our beloved heroes in a half shell. While many were afraid that they would try to make the characters look a little too much like actual turtles, it would appear that they’ve chosen to stick with a rather familiar design for the TMNT. Needless to say, the title looks pretty familiar, basically falling back on the easily recognizable and well known logo of the past. Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo all look a little different, but for the most part I’d have to say that these are the guys we are very familiar with.  Their CGI look on the poster looks fascinating!

As you can probably see, the poster features the words “Lean, Green And On The Screen in 2013,” which doesn’t quite match up with the film’s official release date in 2014. As such, we are unsure whether or not this is a new or old poster, or where it fits in with the history of the film’s production. Regardless, it’s cool to get an idea of what the turtles might look like in the new movie and we’re psyched about this awesome poster. What do you think?

–Update–

After further review it has been confirmed the TMNT Poster is fan made. We would like to apologize for misinforming any of our readers.

The past week has offered up quite a bit of interesting TMNT movie news, so rather than focusing on one particular tidbit, why not touch base on everything in a long overdue Turtle Bits!

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the new Ninja Turtle movie might have received a title change when a CinemaCon presentation unveiled a logo featuring the words “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” As of yet, the title change remains unconfirmed, but it would seem odd to produce a logo for the film at this point which doesn’t accurately reflect the actual title. While stranger things have happened, a recent interview with Michael Bay seems to suggest that the title change might not actually be happening.

While he seemed to be avoiding the question a bit, when the interviewer posited whether or not the title was still “Ninja Turtles,” the filmmaker’s response was a simple “yeah, yeah.” This is far from a confirmation and we aren’t sure exactly when the interview took place, but it does call into question whether or not that new logo was actually correct. As with most rumors, we’ll just have to wait and see what they do in the end. It’s worth noting that during this interview, Bay was sure to point out once more that this isn’t his movie – he is only producing it, Jonathan Liebesman is directing. As the famed Transformers director puts it, “The director makes the movie.”

Speaking of the film, yet another interesting casting choice was made recently when Danny Woodburn was chosen for the role of Splinter. With cast members like Alan Ritchson and even producer Michael Bay recently talking about how lifelike this new motion capture CGI is, the choice to bring on this well known actor as the turtle’s iconic sensei is a rather interesting one. As casting news continues to flow in, we can start to actually formulate some idea of what the characters might look like, which is obviously very exciting.

Few fans have made any complaints about this casting choice, as Woodburn has plenty of experience in the film industry, having recently performed in films such as Mirror, Mirror and Watchmen. Considering how vocal the fans have been about Megan Fox and the boys brought on to play our beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s nice to see that in this case, the fans seem to be happy with the choice that was made. Sadly, most of you are still pretty upset about everything else that has been revealed about the film and we still don’t know quite how it will turn out. What do you think? Is there reason to be hopeful for this movie again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.