In the previous article you learned how I put the invisibility/unnoticability techniques we have been looking at over the last few weeks to use. This happened in 1989, and I used them to enter the American Embassy in order to find a man who worked there. He was the only person I knew of that knew the location of the Tokyo Ninjutsu Dojo where I wanted to train. The article ended just at the point where I had found out where he worked deep in the secure area of the building and was heading to see him. Now read on to see what happened next:


To keep myself ‘in the zone’ I decided to use a bit more magick. Chanting has always worked well for me both helping me deepen peak experiences, and aiding spontaneity. In this situation I couldn’t chant without drawing attention to myself, but I could hum an appropriate tune. I considered- and quickly rejected- the James Bond Theme, or one of the James Bond film tunes, and eventually settled on “Secret Agent Man” but substituting my own words as the ones in the original song are not conducive to a positive outcome.

Instead of “Every step that he makes is another chance that he takes” I switched “takes” and “makes”, and “Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow” became “This’ll make a good story for tomorrow” and so on. This is probably why I stayed so calm when I came up against security doors that needed a card to operate them. Just as I was four or five steps away from itsomeone came out of an office right by the door and used their pass card. Right out of ‘Diamonds are Forever’ I pretended to put a card in too with a big arm movement that hid the small detail of having not having one.

Once in the main corridor I pondered how to get around any other security doors. The old ‘DaF’ trick wasn’t going to work consistently and I was far beyond any help from my British Embassy contact mentioned in the previous article if I was caught. Then I spotted a water cooler – just what I needed. Pouring myself a cup of water I then boarded the lift to the floor my Ninja contact worked on. I was right about further security doors, but this time I pretended to dither on how to free up a hand to use my non-existent card without spilling the water or dropping the papers I was carrying. Each time someone just let me through, or used their card and allowed me to tailgate.

Within minutes I was at the desk of the man I had come to see. Avoiding the minutiae of how I had arrived there I explained that I had come to train in Ninpo, and where was the Tokyo Dojo please? As part of my explanation of why I was there I showed him the magazine he had featured in. This seemed to add context to my request and he gave me the address, along with the nearest underground station. Appropriately the training was on the ground floor of an apartment block just down the road from Sengaku-Ji Temple, aka The Temple of the 47 Ronin who have their own connection to the Ninja.

As we were talking I could sense him wondering why I had no visitors badge, or escort, and possibly why he hadn’t been informed that I was coming. I concentrated on blending in with the situation mentally saying to him “I am allowed to be here” as strongly as possible along with pictures of all the security at the Embassy entrance. After all no-one could bypass that could they? After obtaining the address and the training times I thanked him and left, humming my positive version of “Secret Agent Man” that had helped me get there.

I kept my focus on my invisibility techniques up as I retraced my steps because, to relax too soon would be disastrous. I didn’t even have to do my dithering at the doors routine as everyone just let me through because my hands were full. I left by the same smoking door I had come in with. Having dropped the papers I was carrying back in the bin they came from, and donating the water to a potted plant.

Thanks to the information I had been given I found the Dojo easily, and thoroughly enjoyed my training. Interestingly I never took a formal grading while I was there but, when I left, Grandmaster Hatsumi promoted me from five grades below black belt to third degree black belt. Perhaps the Ninja who worked at the Embassy told him of my exploit?

Hopefully these explanations of how to become invisible/unnoticeable through practical and magical techniques, along with the examples of them in action, have made them more accessible to you. Understanding how these techniques work can be useful in many ways. For example, a few years ago at my job in the local government offices, I came across a smartly dressed man with his hands full waiting to get through the security doors. I took my card out and then took the papers out of his hand so he had one free hand to use his card, whereupon he had to tell me he didn’t have a card and was trying to bluff his way in to see someone. I went in on his behalf and told the person he was there and they were happy to see him- but back in the entrance hall. I left them to sort that out, realising that this had been an example of using my knowledge of invisibility techniques to foil someone else trying to use them.