Unfortunate for society: you are willing to assault another person in order to steal his iPod.

Unfortunate for you: the location you choose for the assault is just outside the local "ninja warrior school."

A 27-year-old medical student was attacked recently in western Sydney, Australia, by three men who followed him into an alley. The men tripped him, kicked him as he lay on the ground and grabbed his iPod and cell phone. The Sydney Morning Herald explained what happened next:

What the assailants did not realise was that they were standing outside Ninja Senshi Ryu – western Sydney's ninja warrior school. They also failed to notice a ninja, Nathan Smith, standing in the shadows outside the dojo. Mr. Smith immediately alerted his sensei, or teacher. Kaylan Soto, a sensei with 30 years' Ninjutsu training, and three of his students raced out of the dojo towards the startled attackers. All five crusaders were clad in the ninja's traditional, all-black uniform. ''We would have been just a silhouette,'' one of the ninjas, Steve Ashley, said. ''It was probably the worst place in Sydney where they could have taken him.''

According to the sensei, the ninjas took the three evildoers completely by surprise. ''You should have seen their faces when they saw us in ninja gear coming towards them,'' he said. The men fled.

The element of surprise is critical to the ninja, as it helps to strike terror into the opponent, potentially winning the fight before it begins. Equally important to this goal, probably, is that the opponent not realize he is being attacked by a ninja named "Steve Ashley," perhaps not the most intimidating ninja name ever devised. In any event, surprise was achieved, and the attackers driven away, although the ninja were unable to capture them.

The medical student suffered only minor injuries. No ninjas were harmed.

Link: Sydney Morning Herald