Ninjas were medieval Japanese mercenaries whose clandestine tactics were a counterpoint to the chivalrous standards of the feudal Samurai class. Apparently, they’re also really into outrageous obstacle courses!

That’s what you’ll find out if you tune in for tonight's brand new Ninja Warrior marathon, a gymnastic battle of speed, strength, and agility imported to the U.S. by the gadget and games channel G4. The show challenges 100 aspiring ninjas to jump, climb, swing, hang, and slide their way through a daunting series of obstacles. Perhaps the most difficult is the spider jump, where contestants spring off a trampoline and try to catch themselves by splaying their arms and legs against two vertical panes of Plexiglass. The spills into the murky water below are all part of the fun!

To be fair to ninjas, the mystery surrounding them has allowed popular culture to have its way with them. They have been pitted against James Bond, turned into Italianate talking turtles, and promoted as landlubbing rivals to pirates. There is no historical evidence to support these interpretations or to back up the belief that they could fly, vanish into thin air, or bestow wisdom, Dear Abby style, about topics as diverse as barbecue and podcasting.

Even the famous image of the ninja as the masked man in black isn't quite accurate. They more likely dressed in a variety of disguises. Their traditional ninja-yoroi armor had a tinge of red, so that no one could tell if they were bleeding from an injury, according to ninjutsu grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi.

When asked what makes a ninjutsu warrior great, Hatsumi once said. "There is only thing I would single out, and that is to keep going." So maybe the 100 contestants who confront the Ninja Warrior obstacle course are on the right track after all. Many are return contestants, coming back for more abuse and humiliation. This trend supports my favorite pop culture axiom about ninjas: the law of inverse ninja strength.

The inverse ninja law says the fewer ninjas that are around, the more deadly they become. If several dozen ninjas attack you, they'll run around like crazy and you can probably escape. But if a single ninja targets you, watch out. This Ninja Warrior TV marathon offers proof. Spills are fast and furious in the heavily populated early rounds. But as the pack thins, you will be amazed at the endurance and skill on display.

As for those who fall face first into the water with their first steps, maybe they should have stuck with that anonymous black ninja mask.

-Brad Scriber

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