Anyone who is familiar with ninjas, also known as Shinobi, knows that they were quite the formidable organization in their time.
Just what made these ninjas so dangerous?
Yes, they utilized dangerous weaponry. Ninjas devised a multitude of methods for killing and assassination. Ninjas also became experts in demolitions, poisons, and infiltration.
Their use and level of understanding when it comes to human psychology was one of their most terrifying weapons that they are least credited for.
It was the ninjas acute understanding of psychology that allowed them to so expertly play upon the fears of their enemies and targets. Deliberately creating fears in the minds of others and capitalizing upon them is not possible without an acute understanding of psychology.
By understanding the mindset and psychology of people at that point in time, ninjas were able to create a mythos of supernatural abilities about themselves. This level of fear and notoriety discouraged many would-be opponents that could have potentially presented danger to a ninja clan or their client.
Psychology was also a potent factor in how they leveraged their disguise and infiltration tactics. By understanding human behavior they were able to better infiltrate a wide variety of locations without becoming detected.
Ninjas also understood the mindset in psychology of men at the time. This is what led them to create the first female ninja organizations, also known as kunoichi. By knowing the minds of these men, they knew that men often underestimated and ignored women. This allowed women to become incredibly effective agents for information-gathering, misinformation planting, and even assassination.
Ninjas also effectively wielded the psychological power that doubt can have upon their enemies. This is why they would regularly utilize the tactic of planting misinformation to deliberately provoke a specific reaction from their enemies. This tactic would allow them to capitalize on the mistakes of an enemy that they deliberately set in motion themselves. Such tactics cannot effectively be employed without understanding the psychology of your opponent.
Psychology was also applied when it came to sieging or infiltrating a location. The ninjas would consider where the enemy would be most likely to focus their defense and then choose to infiltrate from another location. They would often employ distractions that they would know would keep the attention of the enemy.
If you review many of the tactics employed by ninjas you will see the vast majority of it is designed with creating fear and confusion in the enemy.
One might surmise psychology to be among the most potent weapons ever wielded by the ninjas.
Free 2-Day Shipping!
all USA orders