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[Hawkfrost]

Shurikens and caltrops are overrated. But I think there was that guy who studied ninjitsu who showed its effectiveness in modern day assassination. It worked pretty damn well, though the ninja would get killed in the end. It doesn't matter that they don't have the best armor or weapons in the world. They are trained to go in and out of a place quietly and attack someone unarmored. They don't need steel tipped arrows when they could kill a sleeping Spartan commander with a simple blade.

They should sort of be compared to the Arabian Hashashins and the Talibans. Though Musashi (the samurai) sounds like he was a better assassin than any of them, especially since he could kill several men and didn't even die in combat.

Exactly, they were trained how to get in and out as stealthily as possible, and that was what made them so feared.
You don't need a snazzy blade if you can sneak into a king's room and kill him with a twig.


That's the trick with ninjas; they only got one shot, so they better damn kill you with it.

[chaoticag]

They were also trained to kill with their sickles, shortswords, shurikens and even their bare hands.

Assuming a Spartan with a spear...

Their sickles also had a chain and lead weight attached, which was used to knock people out and ensnare their weapon. They would throw it straight at you, or swing it, but it either got you or your weapon... unless you had a shield and helmet. -Spartan more likely to win the scenario, unless the ninja goes for the legs with chain so it is a one trick pony.

Shortsword: They were trained to go against samurai with this, not bronze clad Spartans.

Shuriken: no spartan armours their neck if what I know about Greek armor is right. In this case, ninja has the upper hand, because the spear is a midrange weapon and you can't wind it up for a proper strike at a man inches from your face. Shuriken double as a small knife.

Bare hands: ninja were trained to go for exposed nerves, but I'm no expert on the matter.

Off course, given that Ninja's use underhanded tactics, they would blind their opponents and run away. They can fight well, but they don't make a habit of fighting. Spartan wins if it is a one on one match, but ninja wins in infiltration and assassination. Having a debate about the subject is like looking at the merits of firing an arrow at an enemy who is at point-blank range.

[Muz]

Um, no, I don't think Spartans would win one-on-one either. They're lightly armored and may be capable of kicking a man several yards away. But most of their power comes in group. I'd bet a ninja would be almost evenly matched to a Spartan in a fight. But 20 ninjas would lose to 20 Spartans.

[Phantom]

And I assume they also used javelins, and I think I remember romans who had Javelin Throwers...

[Sordid]

Um, no, I don't think Spartans would win one-on-one either. They're lightly armored and may be capable of kicking a man several yards away. But most of their power comes in group. I'd bet a ninja would be almost evenly matched to a Spartan in a fight. But 20 ninjas would lose to 20 Spartans.

I don't think so. The whole point of the spear and shield thing is that you fight in a phalanx, shoulder to shoulder with the others, presenting a wall of spear points to the enemy while protecting each other with your overlapping shields. A phalanx is extremely strong in the front, but defenceless from the sides and back. So the spartans could either form a phalanx and get picked off by the individually working ninja, or they could fight them one on one, in which you get the same result as one ninja against one spartan, times twenty.

[Neonivek]

Though they do dirrect combat not stealth combat.

If it was stealth then the Spartan would have to be given a huge advantage over the Ninja because the Ninja effectively is in an alien world dealing with soldiers who are self-sufficiant.

The reason why the odds were Stacked in the Ninja's favor is because they were using a toned down myth ninjas. What Ninja could afford all that? (though to admit, some of the weapons they should have had more of. One Ninja Star? One Glass Egg?)

Though the Ninja losing shouldn't be too unusual. They were assasines not combatants. Plus the grand majority of Ninjas were poor and wouldn't even have Ninja garb.

I don't think Spartans would win one-on-one either

Ohhh they did a lot of one on one. You wouldn't want to fight a Spartan one on one either. Also against one enemy, there is no rear unless the enemy can somehow Run faster then they can turn.

Also in terms of speed. The Spartan should be faster and more durable then the Ninja and should easily run them down eventually even with the armor.

[Hawkfrost]

Um, no, I don't think Spartans would win one-on-one either. They're lightly armored and may be capable of kicking a man several yards away. But most of their power comes in group. I'd bet a ninja would be almost evenly matched to a Spartan in a fight. But 20 ninjas would lose to 20 Spartans.

I don't think so. The whole point of the spear and shield thing is that you fight in a phalanx, shoulder to shoulder with the others, presenting a wall of spear points to the enemy while protecting each other with your overlapping shields. A phalanx is extremely strong in the front, but defenceless from the sides and back. So the spartans could either form a phalanx and get picked off by the individually working ninja, or they could fight them one on one, in which you get the same result as one ninja against one spartan, times twenty.

You act like Spartans never had one-on-one training, which was actually a significant portion of their training routine.

What use is a soldier who can only fight in a group?

At the time of the glory of Sparta, the Spartans were the most feared military in the world, because they had the best trained, fit, and deadly warriors.



As I said before, the ninja would win, as long as he strikes first.
Spartan warriors could maneuver quite well on the battlefield, which is why the wore light armor.

And a funny thing; the shield got the third most amount of kills in the history of the show.

[userpay]

Also in terms of speed. The Spartan should be faster and more durable then the Ninja and should easily run them down eventually even with the armor.

Um yes they probably were more durable but faster than ninjas? No. Ninjas have basiclly no armor and their equipment weighs way less than that of the sparatan.

And a funny thing; the shield got the third most amount of kills in the history of the show.

Yes I was about to mention the shield when I relized that noone else had mentioned it. I have to admit that shield is pretty bad ass and as I recall the sparatans also had a short sword so chances are they would use that instead of the spear in an 1 on 1 fight. When I take the shield and the sword into account I do say the odds are quite evened out though I'd still say odds are in the ninjas favor 1 on 1.

[Vester]

Why would a ninja fight one-on-one? Isn't their entire ethos based on killing through stealth, or treachery, or guile? While I assume they had some pretty extreme CQC skills, I can't imagine a ninja fighting up front if he didn't have to.

[Sordid]

You act like Spartans never had one-on-one training, which was actually a significant portion of their training routine.

I'm not saying they didn't, but doing so negates the advantage of numbers. All I'm trying to say here is that twenty spartans fighting twenty ninja individually would end the same way as one spartan fighting one ninja, since their group tactics were unsuitable against such targets and couldn't be used.

Spartan warriors could maneuver quite well on the battlefield, which is why the wore light armor.

Um, no. The amount of armor a soldier wore in the ancient world had nothing to do with how mobile they wanted to be and everything to do with how much armor they could afford. The more wealthy the soldier, the more armor they wore. Elite units were typically the most armored.

[Muz]

Ah, armor weight is a bit mistaken in games. Sure, the stuff was heavy, but it wasn't that bad. Any decent armorcrafter should be able to make balanced armor. Unless it's something like chainmail, which was mostly distributed over the shoulders. Most modern infantry lug around far more weight and I heard it wasn't even distributed well with WWII infantry.

Armor back then was very balanced, and soldiers back then were trained to be strong anyway. In fact, more expensive armor would be easier to maneuver in than lighter armor.

Yeah, I'd say that a Spartan warrior could kill pretty much anyone one-on-one with his bare fists, even ninjas and samurais. Just not with that hoplite pike They were devastating in numbers... a Spartan fighting solo makes as little sense as a ninja fighting up front, which makes as little sense as a longbowman fighting in melee.

[Neonivek]

Also a Spartan isn't slowed enough from his armor (given his daily training) for it to slow him down. He is still faster then the Ninja who doesn't train in Run Endurance or speed (at most they train to run stealthy)

The ninja isn't a Combatant.

Spartan weakness would likely be their Archaic armor style and possibly previous injuries.

While I assume they had some pretty extreme CQC skills

No. Generally the way most Ninjas would kill is lets say you wanted to take down a Blacksmith. The Ninja would take a job in that forge and then stab the Blacksmith while his back was turned. Hide the body and leave.

Most Steriotypical "Ninja" weapons weren't used by most, and in some cases, any Ninjas. While some famos ninja weapons are actually unaltered Farming tools and are in fact more likely.

[Vester]

Don't they train in ninjitsu? That's an actual discipline, I think.

[Neonivek]

Don't they train in ninjitsu? That's an actual discipline, I think.

Likely that came later in terms of time period (after they died off). It also wouldn't apply to most Ninja anyhow.

Besides Samurai Martial arts is pretty deadly anyhow. (It has a Choke Hold)

The problem with Ninjas is that they are 50% myth and 50% Not Ninja and 50% ninja... and for good reason too for reasons I cannot remember. (something about them not existing at certain eras but rumored to exist).

[Sensei]

General facts about "ninjas"-

A ninja is any civilian martial artist from when it was forbidden to train martial arts unless you were a Samurai. Usually they dressed as peasants, which is how they disguised themselves, and wielded weapons that were either easily concealed or resembled farming tools. Ninjitsu was practiced and refined then, but knowing it doesn't make you a ninja and being a ninja doesn't make you know it. As with all martial arts, it's a mental state as well as a combat form- the art of deception.