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yes, some pirates were skilled because they survived long enough to learn something. Most pirates, who were a raggedy band of poor ruffians, had no training, no skill, and only a gold lust and urge for survival to fuel them onwards.
Ninjas, on the other hand, were an elite group of assassins that were raised to be killers. Statistical analysis shows that the odds of a talented pirate may be 10% (guestimate). A ninja, on the other hand, borders at around 100% chance of tactical skill. If you were to have a randomly selected pirate fight a randomly selected ninja, who would you bet on beforehand?
"Most pirates, who were a raggedy band of poor ruffians, had no training, no skill, and only a gold lust and urge for survival to fuel them onwards."
Actually, alot of pirates were ex-soldiers of the Royal Navy. Very skilled and well-trained. Even a common pirate was skilled enough in combat because of their struggle to survive. That being the case, it wasn't a lust for gold that fueled them. You need to do some real research and stop looking towards the cliche' stereotypes. Pirates were driven by freedom. To be free from the rule of the British Crown and its monarchy. And during raids and pillages, they not only took gold, but they took everything. Food, medicine, fresh water, weapons, everything that could support them until their next pillage.
"Statistical analysis shows that the odds of a talented pirate may be 10% (guestimate)"
Indeed. That is a guesstimate. And not a very accurate one at that.
"If you were to have a randomly selected pirate fight a randomly selected ninja, who would you bet on beforehand?"
Examining the common characteristics, advantages, and weaknesses of both, I would still bet on the pirate. A Ninja may have the advantage of hiding in the shadows and striking from behind, but once that cover's blown, it's over. Let's face it, neither side fights fair.
"A Ninja may have the advantage of hiding in the shadows and striking from behind, but once that cover's blown, it's over"
This is the point you seem to have overlooked. A ninja is an assassin. One blow is all it takes. I will say it is very plausible that a well trained soldier could fight a ninja head-to-head, but this is simply not going to happen because ninjas do not fight this way.
"Actually, alot of pirates were ex-soldiers of the Royal Navy"
the royal navy practiced something called 'impressment'. This is where they would recruit new soldiers by merchant ships at sea and force these merchants to become soldiers. It is these untrained soldiers, forced into the navy, who were most likely to desert.
And you claim I am coming up with the cliche's? Money is a compelling force. No, they did not take gold exclusively, but I was using the term 'gold' to refer to riches.
they took food, because it is a necessity- not for any 'freedom'.
medicine, too is a necessity. and here is another little tidbit.
"A vessel's doctor's chest would be worth anywhere from £300 to £400, or around $470,000 in today's values."
But they would NEVER want medicine for gasp Money, would they?
and I can only wonder why these ex-soldiers, in addition to the fact that they were often forced into the navy, would leave.
"Ordinary seamen received a part of the plunder at the captain's discretion but usually a single share. On average, a pirate could expect the equivalent of a year's wages as his share from each ship captured while the crew of the most successful pirates would often each receive a share valued at around £1,000 ($1.17 million) at least once in their career.[33] One of the larger amounts taken from a single ship was that by captain Thomas Tew from an Indian merchantman in 1692. Each ordinary seaman on his ship received a share worth £3,000 ($3.5 million) with officers receiving proportionally larger amounts as per the agreed shares with Tew himself receiving 2½ shares. It is known there were actions with multiple ships captured where a single share was worth almost double this.[33][36]
By contrast, an ordinary seamen in the Royal Navy received 19s per month to be paid in a lump sum at the end of a tour of duty which was around half the rate paid in the Merchant Navy. However, corrupt officers would often "tax" their crews' wage to supplement their own and the Royal Navy of the day was infamous for its reluctance to pay. From this wage, 6d per month was deducted for the maintenance of Greenwich Hospital with similar amounts deducted for the Chatham Chest, the chaplain and surgeon. Six months' pay was withheld to discourage desertion. That this was insufficient incentive is revealed in a report on proposed changes to the RN Admiral Nelson wrote in 1803; he noted that since 1793 more than 42,000 sailors had deserted. Roughly half of all RN crews were pressganged and these not only received lower wages than volunteers but were shackled while the vessel was docked and were never permitted to go ashore until released from service"
Since I feel I have thoroughly argued that pirates were often not skilled,
and since you did not argue my research that ninjas were, by definition, skilled
I can safely say that ninjas were more likely to be skilled than pirates.
And, since you also agreed that ninjas would hid in the shadows and strike out from behind, coupled with the assassin mentality of one-shot-kill, even a skilled pirate captain would probably not survive a ninja encounter. After all, no matter how handy a pirate may be with a rifle, a blade in the skull is a blade in the skull.
lies....pirates are lame ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Ninja's... think about it. They are never seen when they attack. Sure Pirates have the muscles of a body builder on steroids. But how can you kill something you can't see.
Blackbeard was as tanky as a tank and took s many wounds to kill him, but remember ninja's and fight in different ways. Through gases, liquids, the sort.
Plus ninja stars are pointy and hurt. 'Specially when they enter a pirates eye. Can't shot someone if you can't see.
And if you include the list of supernatural abilities that ninjas are famed for having, such as flight, invisibility, shapeshifting, the ability to "split" into multiple bodies, the summoning of animals, and control over the five classical elements, pirates would not stand a chance!
i depends because the both a have skill but a pirate is most likely to win cause of the sword but remember ninja carry weapon to so its a hard battle and they are often more flexible than pirate cause ninja have more agility and pirate has strength but most like ninja
ninjas were simple assassins back then, just a cooler name. now if the ninja could attempt a assassination before the fight then there is good chance the ninja would win. but if it was a one on one fight the pirate would probably win. but since the rues aren't laid out clearly I'm going with the ninja because as i mentioned he would most likely succeed in assassinating the pirate beforehand.
o and i think deadliest warrior did a episode on this, and we all know how accurate that show is ;)
"o and i think deadliest warrior did a episode on this, and we all know how accurate that show is ;)"
I love that show. And although Deadliest Warrior has featured pirates and ninjas in their match-ups, they have never been matched-up in an episode, but here's how I assume it would go:
Pirate vs. Ninja
The stealthy assassins of Japan's feudal era, Ninjas were legendary warriors who inspired fear, awe, and respect. Using the shadows to launch their sneak attacks against whomever they were paid to kill, their mastery of the art of assassination made them valuable to the samurai for espionage and political assassinations. Their wide array of weapons allowed them to kill in many ways.
Pirates were feared fighters who pillaged sea lanes from one end of the world to the other. They used cunning, stealth and deception to create weakness and confusion before they went in for the kill.
Match-ups
Defenses
Surprise vs. Stealth
The main defense of a Pirate was the shock and awe they created from surprise attacks. Ninja used surprise attacks from the darkness to catch their enemies unaware. Edge: Even
Close Combat
Cutlass vs. Ninjato
These weapons are about the same length, with the Cutlass possessing a bit more chopping power because if its heavier blade. However, the Ninjato is a faster and more precise weapon and therefore gets a slight edge. Edge: Ninja
Short-Range
Boarding Axe vs. Kusarigama
The Boarding Axe is a wicked little weapon that can chop and pierce enemies, but the Kusarigama is much more versatile and has a ranged component. Edge: Ninja
Mid-Range
Blunderbuss vs. Shuriken
The Shuriken is a razor sharp little weapon that can be very deadly if it strikes the right place, but the Blunderbuss is devastating and can kill anything that gets within range. Edge: Pirate
Long Range
Flintlock Pistol vs. Blowgun
Blowgun darts can be laced with poison and delivered with greater speed and accuracy, but the Flintlock has better range and immediate killing power. Both are deadly. Edge: Even
Special
Grenado vs. Black Eggs
The Black Eggs have overwhelming ability to incapacitate, but they lack killing power. The Grenado can blast and stun several opponents over wide area. Edge: Pirate
Prediction:
This is a tough fight to call because it will come down to whoever gets the jump on the other warrior. Neither of these killers like to fight fair, but the simulation tries to make things as even as possible. Because of that, I'm going to assume this will be a fairly stand-up fight, maybe in the streets of Yokohama or a seedy tavern near the wharf. In any event, I'm giving the edge to the Pirate in this fight because the Ninja does most of his killing up close and in the range of the Pirate's guns, which is a very bad place to be.
Assuming the ninja decided to play fair (well, ninja fair) they would still probably win in a duel/fight to the death/final countdown. I mean, all he would have to do is booby-trap the pirate's rifle, plug his cannons, rot his peg leg... the list goes on. The match would be over before it even began. Maybe the pirate would have time to adjust his eye-patch, activate night vision, and see his imminent doom before it hits him.
Well, it's hard to say really. It all depends on training and some physical characteristics.
If it's a well trained ninja, probably the ninja because he would never go head to head, but would assassinate like a thief in the night. That is their training, after all.
However, if he wasn't as well practiced in his skill, or the pirate was well practiced in his skill, the ninja may be found out and be forced in head to head fighting. However, pirates are a group so likely the ninja would die because he would not be able to take on a whole group of veteran fighters.
Of course, if that ninja were Bruce Lee, well, Bruce Lee would probably never go after the pirate because Bruce Lee didn't like to take on opponents unless there was a prudent reason to do so. I mean he declined martial arts matches for this reason against people he probably could have beaten just due to his sheer speed and agility if nothing else.
My final answer, if trained well enough and the pirates weren't prepared enough, then yes, because he'd assassinate with stealth. If either of the two conditions were opposite, then probably not because the ninja would have to be able to fight better than the pirate and be fast enough to fight more than one at a time.
sure a pirate has a gun but back then there guns would have been terrible. also a ninja has skill with a variety of different weapons that could kill a pirate before he had time to grab his pistol .
a ninja wou;d just like backflip and throwing knive the pirates in the head and then teabag him its an unfair debate a nnja would be ninja and stealthy and slit his throat
I'm fairly certain your average Somali Pirate would win, having use of an assault rifle and an assortment of second-hand/black-market military equipment giving him a slight edge.
Unlikely. A pirate possesses more powerful brutality and a Ninja wouldn't survive long in a face-to-face fight against a Pirate. A Ninja's only advantage is stealth and attacking from behind. One bullet is all it takes and they're done.
I concur. In fact, did you know that Blackbeard (a.k.a: Edward Teach) was shot no fewer than five times and took about twenty sword stabbings during his final battle and still did not die. It was only after he was decapitated did he finally die.
wouldn't a ninja's agility make moot a good portion of a pirate's brutality?
Ninjas are ingenious fellows, if they were worried about guns they could just attack in the rain or sneak attack with a bucket of water; got your powder wet?
Yes and no. A ninja is indeed agile but not as fast as you probably believe. Their skills have been greatly exaggerated by pop culture. And neither rain nor a bucket of water would affect the powder if it was already inside the gun.
actually rain caused tremendous misfires with powder guns back then. and we all know that it took a very long time to load those types of guns, pistols the longest and that was a common gun most pirates would have in close quarter combat.
umm it did take a long time. if i said a powder rifle i would of. pistols took around a few minutes to load. but to help support your point most people carried around multiple pistols so that they could fire a few shots then would resort to a better meele weapon.
That may be so. But rain (or any water for that matter) is a variable in this equation. If a pirate and a ninja happened to engage in a fight, whether or not it was raining would be an unnecessary possibility to consider.
guns were horrible inaccurate back then. only at close rang would there be chance of a plausible instant kill. in all reality it would end up hand to hand combat with weapons. but read my other post for why i picked ninja as the winner.
Assuming it's a fair fight, the ninja would probably win. But we're talking about pirates here. Pirates cheat. Constantly. Because they're pirates. There is no such thing as a fair fight with a pirate, you see.
are you honestly suggesting that a pirate cheats more than a ninja? ninjas are ALL about traps, deception, and trickery. If properly executed, the ninja may have already set the pirate's rifle to backfire before the fight, so that when the pirate takes his shot he is instead greeted by a face full of metal shrapnel.
Also, ninja martial arts are a series of sophisticated combat techniques that take years of practice, training, and bad-assitude.
Pirates, however, were often impressed (not in the general sense), meaning that they picked up random people and forced them to become pirates. no training, no skills, just a means of survival.
If properly executed, the ninja may have already set the pirate's rifle to backfire before the fight, so that when the pirate takes his shot he is instead greeted by a face full of metal shrapnel.
You're assuming too much of a common ninja.
Also, ninja martial arts are a series of sophisticated combat techniques that take years of practice, training, and bad-assitude.
Pirates, however, were often impressed (not in the general sense), meaning that they picked up random people and forced them to become pirates. no training, no skills, just a means of survival.
You pick up the training pretty fast when every day is a struggle to survive. Especially when you're an outlaw like that.
You're also forgetting that pirates wouldn't be infamous if they weren't effective. There wouldn't be any romantic fixation with pirates if they sucked at doing what they did.
yet... there is also a widespread culture for ninjas, inspiring countless mangas, anime tv shows, and other forms of media.
As for my 'assumptions of the common ninja', the shinobi (ninjas) were an elite group of warriors trained in what is referred to as "unorthodox arts of war". My mention of "bad-assitude" was simply a jest, an attempt to lighten the situation. The fact of the matter is that these unorthodox techniques employed by ninjas are, in fact, criteria for being a ninja. No skills, and you are not an elite assassin- a group so effective that there are only two known documented cases of ninjas failing an assassination attempt: those ofOda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
I concur with The Hallow. The Ninja, as much as I like them, do not have the Brutality and Salt of a Pirate. Ninja's are honor-bound and respectful even to their most hated opponent, which will make them give a merciful death.
A Pirate, on the other hand, has almost no morals and has no problem stabbing you into the deck of his ship, his only regret will be damaging his ship. The Pirate will take any chance he has to kill his enemy, even if it's stabbing them in the back. Plus, he's got a gun.