Why am I interested in Ninjutsu?

This is both a simple question and a loaded one.  

The simple answer is that I enjoy Ninjutsu currently because I am skilled in it and invested.  And I also think people have a right to know life saving skills, so as long as they want to learn Ninjutsu, I am happy to teach them.

The loaded version is this.  When I was a kid, I was bullied.  Allot.  I was a magnet for every asshole who wanted someone weaker to beat up on.  So, at first, I became obsessed with the 1978 movie "Superman" starring Christopher Reeve.  Here was a guy, an alien, really, who could summon supernatural amounts of strength and power to overcome his adversaries.  And it didn't hurt that he could perform other stunts that would demand attention, awe, and admiration.  This was someone to aspire to and look up to.  A great role model for a 10 year old.  If I were like him, I would not have a single problem in the world.

But  late one night on television, I saw this movie with a new hero, a Ninja.  What was this?  He moved so strangely and could also perform supernatural feats much like Superman could.  I later discovered that this "Ninja" was more than a movie myth, but was a legend.  They actually existed at one time.  This was fascinating!  This means that this hero is someone I could potentially actually aspire to become, unlike Superman, whom was an alien and complete fiction.  I had to learn more.

At such as young age, I was subscribing to ninja magazines and ordering books and videos from various sources, and my quest to sort through what was real and untrue began.

Since that first day, I have done things that few humans had ever done to achieve my goal (but then, it is the crazy that refuse to think inside the box that truly succeed, isn't it?  This is the secret.  Extreme mental discipline.)  I have biked (that's bicycle, not motorcycle) thousands of kilometers to get to and from teachers.  Driven even further.  And flown even further.  When I was in high school, I would get a drive from one of my teachers at 3:40pm into a different city (maybe 30 minutes away) and get dropped off at a different high school where my first Ninjutsu classes were held.  But, they didn't start until 6:30pm and didn't finish until 9:30pm, three times per week!  So I had to simply wait around on each of these days.  I sacrificed food and comfort to get what I wanted.  And in those days, it was by invitation only, so I was lucky enough.  And as some of you may know, we didn't have cell phones or tablets, or digital devices of any kind.  I think I may have had a Walkman cassette player with batteries on some days, but mostly it was books, if I recall.  I remember gettings looks from the same guys who actually went to that school because they would see me there three times per week and they would shake their heads and smirk like I was some crazy kid talking on a payphone with no life.  But what they didn't know, was that I was there to get Ninjutsu training and I would do just about anything to get it.

Today, people complain when they live five minutes away and can't make it to class because they have a hangnail.  Let me tell you some of the actual excuses I've heard from my students:  I was at the hospital because...(same guy, 25 times a year), I have to work, I got a boyfriend (from a chick, obviously) , I'm pregnant, My mom died, I have anxiety, I broke a rib in the last class, it's my birthday, it's our anniversary, it's family night (even though they did absolutely nothing every other night of the week), I don't feel good (even though they were unemployed), I'm overworked (from a guy who had part time work), my car won't start, vacation, starting school, I'm too far away now (30 minutes), I'm starting a new job, It's too hard, too much work (to get better), I have to go to CR (like AA), I hurt my back at work, I hurt my knee, my toenail fell off, locked my keys in my car, overslept, I might have to work tomorrow, my wife has to work, going out of country for work training, going out of country for vacation...to the same country...for the 4th time this year, my dog died.  Traveling 8 hours during my early days to get to class was normal by many people.

I hate it when people cancel class for the dumbest reasons on earth.  I can tell who will make it and who won't, just from that.

Anyway, that's why I am interested in Ninjutsu.  It makes me a super human survivalist.  And I am fond of surviving.