I've looked everywhere and noone or any FAQ has said anything about the ancient ancestors ring of stones thing. It come up in a caption when you find it in the lvl where Ryu's village is burnt. In that lvl it is in the graveyard around a corner and it turns up in several other places as well. This is the only one that comes to mind though. This may be my only post but if anyone finds this out and e-mails me that'd be awesome. Just please put "Ancient Ninja Gaiden" in the reply to dimclockwork@hotmail.com. Also there is this tip I think might help some ppl somewhat. When you need to get further in jump simply throw shurikens for extra lift, then press Y on (mainly) Sword to get an extra little further. You will come down though when press Y.