Ninjutsu began more than 800 years ago among the ninja people living in Japan. The warrior class, which ruled Japan at the time, were called the Samurai. They controlled the land and it's people. Their lord, the Shogun, was the only person the Samurai was answerable to. The ordinary peasant served the warriors every whim. A peasant could never strike a Samurai. If he did, it would mean his life. The ninja would not serve the Samurai, and fled to the barren, cold, mountainous regions of Iga and Koga. There they trained in the arts of war. It is said that their art is based upon a great Chinese military text written by a general named Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Over the centuries the ninja (word meaning 'stealers-in') trained from the cradle to the grave in every known martial art. Their forte was espionage and assassination, by any means possible. But their training also taught them to reach spiritual heights, by pushing their bodies and minds to limits far beyond that of normal human endurance.