NORSE NINJA

Between the rumors flying about a campus ninja and the increasing opportunites to study martial arts on campus, ninja fever seems to have struck Luther College.

The whispers you may have heard are true: Luther does indeed have a campus ninja. His identity remains a mystery to most, but Chips was granted an interview under the strict condition that he maintain his anonymity.

The campus ninja, who goes by the name Musashi Sanada began making appearances during the second week of school this fall. Musashi Sanada was a regular Luther student until he obtained his ninja costume and discovered the joys of the ninja lifestyle.

“I decided I’d just wear this costume around at night, and the reactions were just awesome,” the ninja said. “I could go around randomly at nights and pop out at people, or just follow people, and they’ll turn around, and be like, ‘There’s a ninja!’”

Musashi Sanada described a typical ninja night as dressing up, seeking out groups of people and either following or jumping out at them.

“I usually avoid groups of guys who are drunk, because they often give chase, and I have to run away, which is annoying,” the ninja said.

The ninja rarely speaks to people when he is in costume because he does not want his voice to be recognized. He will, however, speak occasionally in Japanese. While he does have some martial arts training in aikido, taekwondo and hapkido, he is a peaceful ninja and does not engage in combat.

The ninja made his first public appearance at the Flamingo Ball.

“People didn’t notice me until I started dancing with them, and then they were pretty surprised, saying, ‘There’s a ninja dancing with us,’” he said.

His appearance at Flamingo Ball lead to a posting on the widely-read Web site mylifeisaverage.com.

“Today, I went to my parents’ old college to check it out and to make them happy, I decided to go to the dance later that night,” the post read. “Not only was the theme Mario Party, but there was a ninja walking around the perimeter the whole time. I think I’ve made my decision. MLIA.”

After this publicity, the ninja has continued to make other appearances in classes and throughout campus. He is occasionally accompanied by another ninja dressed in white, who goes by the name Hidekiso.

If you’re hoping to spot the ninja, look for him on weekend nights. However, as the season changes, you can expect to see less of him.

“I don’t know how much I’ll be doing it in the winter because black versus white kind of stands out,” he said.

If students want to develop their own ninja skills, there are opportunities on campus for the study of martial arts.

At the Regents Center, there are free fitness classes available for students in Tae KwonDo and Hapkido, two different kinds of Korean martial arts. Luther also offers self-defense classes.

Hapkido classes meet Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m., and self-defense class is Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. Both are in the dance studio of the Regents Center.

Tae KwonDo meets Friday nights from 5:30-8 p.m., and there is a fee involved.

Furthermore, there will be a Paideia II course offered in the spring called “Bodies, Sticks, and Mindfulness: the Spirituality, Ethics, and Politics of Martial Arts.”

The class will be team taught by Associate Professor of Art Richard Merritt and Associate Professor of Religion Gereon Kopf.

According to the class description, “The course will explore the practice and code of martial arts with a particular emphasis on Capoeira and Bushido.” There will be a portion of the class in which students will have the opportunity to practice some exercises in these martial arts forms.

While Luther as a whole learns more about the ninja lifestyle, Musashi Sanada himself hopes to continue growing in notoriety.

“My roommate’s like, ‘You’re famous!’ but I was like, ‘No, not yet,’’ he said.