Pirates vs. Ninjas

I also wish to make it clear, this debate is to based upon pirates and ninjas that could exist in real life, so no Naruto or One Piece arguments. Additionally, this argument is to be a general comparison encompassing more than just who would win in a fight. With that, I would like to open up the debate with a few definitions. ========== Definitions ========== Ninja: A member of a group of mercenaries in feudal Japan who were trained in stealth and the martial arts and employed as spies, saboteurs, or assassins. [1] Pirate: One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation. [2] With these definitions, I will present my first arguments. ========== Arguments ========== Definition Argument: According to my definitions, a ninja was trained in stealth and combat arts, and employed to a variety of purposes. A pirate was not necessarily highly trained in any combat arts or employed as anything but a thief. Therefore, simply based on definitions, ninja win. Training Argument: This argument will go hand in hand with my last argument. Ninja are trained in the famous art of ninjutsu. Broken down into etymology, "nin" refers to art of concealment, and "jutsu" means art or technique. Etymology aside, ninjutsu not only refers to a means of concealment, but an art of survival. [3] Ninjutsu combines martial arts with advanced weapons training and disguise with stealth. Ninja also learned swimming, escape arts, advanced strategy, geography, meteorology, and spiritual reinforcement to aid in any missions they would wish to partake in. [5] To expound more history, ninja were typically trained with four goals in mind; Espionage, Sabotage, Assassination, and Counter-Intelligence/Counter Operations (ESAC). All of these arts were based on tactics learned from Sun Tzu's "Art of War," in which Tzu relates that "underhanded" such as espionage were required to win a war. [4] Pirates, on the other hand, lack the extensive training that ninjas had. Piracy is simply the act of stealing, and during the "age of pirates," this meant plundering on the high seas. Pirates were frequently categorized as either privateers or full renegades. Privateers, being the more specialized of the two categories were commissioned by a country to perform pirate activities against a foreign country. As a result, these mercenaries became very adept soldiers and sea men. However, when dealing with pirates, most people associate the word to the salty sea dog appearance and class. This class of pirates, or buccaneers (stemming from buccan, a wood frame for cooking meats), actually operated by attacking coastal cities in the Caribbean Islands. They were mostly consistent of sailors and renegades who wished to make a fortune. Due to the inconsistency of pirate crew members, crews were infrequently highly trained in combat arts and had to improvise tactics to actually make a living. Additionally, as a little known fact, pirates infrequently knew how to swim so that when they were cast over board during a battle or ship wreck, they would drown quickly. This lack of training demonstrates that Ninjas are far more sophisticated and combat ready than pirates. [6] Weaponry Argument: This will serve as both an argument and a rebuttal to my opponent's argument. Ninja are famously imagined as warriors in black outfits who wield katana and shuriken. This stereotypical image is however nothing more than myth. Historical evidence has shown that ninjas are experts with a ride array of weapons from swords, knives, cross-bows or bows, explosives, and knives to poisons, darts, shovels, pole arms, and everyday house hold tools. Ninja were frequently disguised as average everyday citizens, so they had to learn to employ whatever tools were available to them as deadly weapons. As a result, while ninja were trained to use traditional weapons, they frequently were more proficient with random tools. To cover garments, ninja used stealth to their advantage. The most inconspicuous appearance was therefore the best disguise for a ninja. Ninja frequently dressed as servants and farmers to avoid detection of guards. However, when this was not an option, ninja would use the cloak of night, water, and distractions to their advantages. If a ninja had to perform a nightly operation, they would dress in dark blue so that they would blend into the night sky. If they needed to, they would swim underwater to avoid being sighted. Finally, if no other option was presented, ninja would employ distractions to avoid detection. Examples of these distractions include setting adjacent buildings on fire to distract guards from their jobs. [5] Pirates, while utilizing more advanced technology, would be at an extreme disadvantage to a ninja. Rifles and pistols favored by pirates for most of the pirate era were flintlock rifles. These rifles were inaccurate, and required reloading after being discharged. As blades do not need reloading, in a full on conflict, a ninja would fair infinitely better. "Ninja vs Pirate= no contest. " My opponent is correct here, there is not contest here. Nine out of ten times, a well trained person with a sling will defeat an idiot with a gun. [1] Encartaï¿½ World English Dictionary[North American Edition] ï¿½ & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. [2] The American Heritageï¿½ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ï¿½2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. [3] Hatsumi, M. (1981). Ninjutsu, History and Traditions. Hollywood, CA: Unique Publications. [4] Tzu, S. (9th Century). The Art of War. China. [5] Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2009, October 10). Ninja. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from Wikipedia: . http://en.wikipedia.org... [6] Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2010, February 16). Piracy. Retrieved February 19, 2010, from Wikipedia: . http://en.wikipedia.org...