How to do the Ninja

by Crazy Ivan

Created by Butter back in 2004, the Ninja has long been one of the most beloved hand tricks in Myachi.  It's an exceptionally cool move with an exceptionally cool name.  There are a ton of cool variations and combos (most of which also have really cool names) and while nobody will say that the move is "easy", it's also not particularly hard.

That being said, there is one thing about the Ninja that I find most striking: virtually everyone in the game does it wrong.

I blame us for this problem.  In the video "Total Hand Control" that was included with the Myachi 2 pack, the Ninja is mislabeled.  The move that Kid and the poor dude who got saddled with the nickname "K-Fed" are doing is actually not a true Ninja... or at least, it's not the move that Butter invented and that we all fell in love with back in 2004.



The Difference Between a Ninja and a Vert Catch

The move that you see these guys doing above is actually most of the way to being a Ninja but it exists somewhere in the nether region between a Ninja and a Vert Catch.  A Vert catch is an inverted catch where the Myachi goes to the side (like the one you do in a Matrix) and a Ninja is an inverted catch where you go from front to back.

But what they are demonstrating is far from a perfect Ninja.  Some people think of it as a continuum where you've got completely sideways Vert Catch at one end and perfect front to back Ninja on the other end.  To these people, anything that falls on the Ninjesque side of the middle is a Ninja.

It is my fervent hope that eventually someone else also finds a use for this graphic.

Now, for all practical purposes, this is exactly how it works.  In a game of MYACH or in any of the myriad combos that come from the Ninja, everyone basically treats it like that.  If your fingers point backwards at the end of the trick, they count it as a Ninja.

But if Myachi were an Olympic sport, the line would be much more distinct.  In honor of the really awesome move that Butter first did way back when I was hoping to land a full time job with Myachi, I think it's important that we clear up exactly what makes up a "perfect" Ninja.

For a true Ninja you want the inverted catch to pivot at the shoulder.  You catch with your fingers pointed forward and bring the Myachi behind you by pointing your fingers down and then back.  All of the movement should be at the shoulder like so:

Pay no attention to the fact that the Myachi is taped to my hand in those pictures.

You'll notice that throughout the motion the thumb stays pointing the same direction.  From the catch to the finish, the thumb points away from the body.  This is the easiest way to know that you're doing the move properly.  If your thumb moves forward or back, you're not quite getting a perfect Ninja.

Now, all that being said, most people mean "backward angled Vert Catch" when they say "Ninja", so I wouldn't recommend using this blog entry in an argument during a game of MYACH.  When we do freestyle competitions in the future people will be judged by how close to this standard they get when they throw down a Ninja.  We wouldn't dock all the points just because the shoulder pivot wasn't perfect, but they might earn 8.8 instead of a perfect 10.

Some will accuse me of nit-picking with this article and I suppose that I plead guilty to the charge, but if you see a perfect Ninja done, you'll understand why I found it worthwhile to write this.  And if you're still not convinced, watch somebody do a "Daring Ninja" using a true Ninja at the beginning.  If you still don't understand, check the prescription on your glasses.