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SASUKE is a sports variety special spun off from Kinniku Banzuke; it was part of Kinniku Banzuke until its cancellation in 2002. SASUKE airs between Japanese television drama seasons, approximately two competitions per year. Edited versions of SASUKE air around the world in countries such as Taiwan, the United States (where it is titled Ninja Warrior), Great Britain (also titled Ninja Warrior), France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Serbia.
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[edit] Format
Each competition pits 100 competitors against a four-stage obstacle course. Each stage increases in difficulty and a competitor must complete a stage to advance. Competitions begin in the morning and are usually finished well past sunset. Due to time constraints, only about half of the first stage attempts are generally aired, more or less depending on the number of people that advance.
[edit] First Stage
The First Stage is designed to test a competitor's overall athletic ability. It has grown and added more obstacles than the other stages over the years. Between 7 to 12 people usually advance. SASUKE 4 featured the most clears of any First Stage, with 37 advancing, and SASUKE 19 had the fewest clears, with only two advancing.
[edit] Second Stage
The Second Stage was used to primarily test a competitor's speed, but upper body strength became crucial when the Salmon Ladder was added in SASUKE 18. One third to one half of participants generally advance, although rare occasions (such as in SASUKE 6 and SASUKE 12) have seen all or nearly all competitors advance.
[edit] Third Stage
Stage Three is meant to test upper body strength and all current obstacles involve the competitor hanging from their arms from some apparatus. This is the only untimed stage. Stage Three victories were much more common in the early tournaments compared to recent competitions; only three men have advanced to the Final Stage in the past 5 tournaments.
[edit] Final Stage
Stage Four -- the Final Stage -- has always had the same goal: make it to the top of a tower within the specified time. Every time there is a victory, the tower increases in height. The time limit and method of scaling the tower is unknown until someone reaches the stage. Only two men have completed the Final Stage, Akiyama Kazuhiko (SASUKE 4) and Nagano Makoto (SASUKE 17).
[edit] Competitors
SASUKE competitors come from all walks of life, ranging from Olympic athletes to blue collar workers to Japanese celebrities.
The most successful Olympian to attempt SASUKE was Bulgarian gymnast Jordan Jovtchev, who made it to the Final Stage in his first effort (SASUKE 8) and has made it to the third stage three other times. Another former Olympian, gymnast Tanaka Hikaru reached the final stage in SASUKE 2. American twin brothers Paul & Morgan Hamm (also gymnasts) have competed in the past; Morgan reached Stage Three in SASUKE 15.
Although they rarely pose a threat, there have been a couple of Japanese entertainers that have been successful. Comedian Ōmori Akira has had the most success, reaching the final stage in the first three SASUKE competitions. Celebrity athlete Iketani Naoki has reached the third stage four times, comedian Nakayama Kinnikun made it to the second stage twice before retiring after SASUKE 15. Ishimaru Kenjirō, while never completing the first stage, has come close on a few attempts and is still a threat to reach the second stage despite being in his mid-50s.
There has been an increasing number of foreign competitors, thanks in part to an American preliminary competition sponsored by the channel that airs SASUKE in America (G4) called the "American Ninja Challenge." The most successful foreign competitors have been Jovtchev, America's Kane Kosugi & Levi Meeuwenberg and Taiwan's Lee Enchi. Kosugi and Jovtchev became the first and only foreigners to attempt the final stage, doing so in SASUKE 8.
[edit] All-Stars
Six competitors, designated by TBS as the most likely to complete the final stage, are known as the SASUKE All-Stars. These competitors are Akiyama Kazuhiko, Nagano Makoto, Shiratori Bunpei, Takeda Toshihiro, Yamada Katsumi and Yamamoto Shingo; none of these men are professional athletes. Takeda is the only All-Star never to have reached the final stage, although he has reached the third stage 12 times, more than any other competitor. Yamamoto is the only man to compete in all 23 SASUKE tournaments and the only man to attempt both the first and second versions of the Final Stage. Nagano is the only person to attempt the second and third versions of the Final Stage.
[edit] Results
[edit] See Also
[edit] External Links
- Spring, 2009 SASUKE - Tokyo Broadcasting System
- Fall, 2009 SASUKE - Tokyo Broadcasting System
- Internet Movie Database site
- TV.com site (Ninja Warrior)
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