Ninja+Weapons

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**__Ninja Weapons__**
By Toni D. Ashiko: The ashiko were weapons that the ninjas would attach to their feet. These would help the ninjas climb up walls. Also, when the ninja would kick someone, the spikes would injure the victim even more.
 * Ninja weapons were different from most weapons. Most of the ninja weapons would have uses outside of battle. A lot of the weapons also could be used for offense and defense.**

Bokken: The bokken was basically a long wooden sword. Originally the bokken was used to train the ninjas how to use real swords. But eventually more ninjas preferred to use the bokken as a weapon. It was lighter but still strong enough to do damage. Sometimes ninjas would paint their bokken so that it would easily camouflage.

Fukiya (Blowgun): The fukiya was a favorite among ninjas. The ninjas would use the fukiya to shoot darts, sometimes poisoned, at an unsuspecting victim. What was nice about these weapons was that that they were quiet. This helped because the hiding place of the ninja was not revealed. These weapons also doubled as a snorkel for the ninjas. Since the fukiya was usually made out of bamboo, it would easily blend in with the reeds.

Kakute: The kakute were commonly worn by kunoichi (female ninjas). They were made out of metals or tempered wood. Then they were dipped into poison. The kunoichi would strangle their victim with the kakute on their finger. The poison would quicken the process. These were very useful because they showed little evidence of how the person died.

Kama: The kama is basically the same as a sickle. The sickle was originally a tool used for farming. Often times ninjas would dress up as farmers and when the need came, would attack using the sickle/kama.

Kusari-gama: The kusari-gama was a kama with a chain attached to it. On the end of the chain was a weight. If you were to hold on to the chain, you could swing the kama at a further distance. If you were to hold on to the kama, you could trip your enemy with the chain. Once your enemy was tripped, you could go in for the kill with the kama.

Nunchakus (nunchucks): Nunchakus were not a main weapon of ninjas. Some people still debate over whether or not ninjas even used nunchucks. We'll just assume they did. Ninjas would sometimes use the chain part to trap a sword. Then they would disarm their opponent. The ninja would also be able to strangle and execute joint locks against their enemy.

Shuriken (throwing stars): The shuriken is probably one of the most known weapons a ninja has. The shuriken wasn't made to be a killing weapon. Ninjas would use the shuriken to distract their enemy by throwing it away from them. The shuriken were made lethal by dipping the edges in poison. Sometimes however, the shuriken would backfire. As the ninja would reach for it, he would cut himself on the edge, thus poisoning himself.

Swords: The swords of the ninjas were different than those of the samurai. First of all, they were of a poorer quality. The ninjas and samurai also used their swords in different ways. The ninjas would use their swords in a stabbing motion while the samurai would swing his sword to try to cut off limbs. If the ninja would make contact with its victim, it would have to use a sawing motion to do any real damage.

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