Rock Climbing versus Gymnastics
Part of what I love about American Ninja Warrior is that the sport is extremely accessible. Almost anyone can learn how to climb around and complete obstacles. That being said, there are two sports that lend themselves toward success on Mount Midoriyama: rock climbing and gymnastics. Most of the athletes who have had success on the show have some background within these two sports. When the show began, the two most common types of athletes were originally rock climbers and free runners (those who do parkour). As the course has evolved and become more difficult, however, there have been fewer free runners and more gymnasts. Rock climbers and gymnasts are common, because the skill set required for these sports are the same as those required for American Ninja Warrior.
Rock climbers excel at American Ninja Warrior because of their climbing ability, problem solving skills, and their overall strength. If rock climbers have a weakness, it would have to be balance or movement obstacles. The transition from rock climbing to ANW is natural: all the athletes have to do is change where they are climbing. They tend to excel on the back half of courses and in the second and third stages of the finals, where the course tends to focus on upper body strength.
The Wolfpack, a group of ninjas from Colorado, are rock climbers who have transitioned to ANW. This team includes Brian Arnold, Ian Dory, Meagan Martin, and Dr. Noah T. Kaufman. Two of these four athletes have been on the national team, and Meagan Martin is one of the top female competitors in the history of American Ninja Warrior. The Wolfpack is a perfect example of successfully transitioning from rock climbing to ANW.
Gymnasts excel at American Ninja Warrior because of their superior body control, impressive strength, and balance. Gymnasts tend to get tired more quickly than rock climbers on courses that focus on the upper body. The obstacle course aspect of ANW and its focus on high flying acrobatics make gymnasts feel at home on the course. Gymnasts tend to excel at the beginning of courses and stage one of the finals, where the course focuses on balance, mobility, and acrobatics.
Johnathan Horton, an Olympic medalist in men’s gymnastics, has competed on three seasons of American Ninja Warrior. While he has never had overwhelming success, Horton has made very respectable runs during each of his appearances. Jessie Graff has a history of gymnastics (in addition to acrobatics and track and field) that is apparent as she flies from obstacle to obstacle.
An interesting outlier is the 21 year-old Tyler Gillett, an ANW mega-fan. At 21, he just passed the age requirement for American Ninja Warrior. He has trained since fourteen years old solely for ANW, which bred results as he reached Stage Two in his first year. This trend, younger and younger athletes training specifically for ANW, will continue as different ninjas open gyms for the sole purpose of training young ninjas.
The two strongest divisions of American Ninja Warrior are gymnasts and rock climbers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but an intriguing new development is the growth of competitors who have trained to be ninjas for their entire lives.
http://wolfpackninjas.com/our-team/
Hey Dante, this was a pretty interesting read, and it seems like you know an awful lot about ANW. Even though I have watched casually before, it was definitely intriguing to read about the specifics of the physical credentials most of the competitors have going into the competition. As for any suggestions, I actually got kind of confused at the end of your article because I didn’t think it was over yet, but it was overall pretty captivating and interesting.
Very fun to read, however, my only criticism is that you tie up the end because I didn’t realize the post ended. When you mentioned those training specifically for American Ninja Warrior, I wanted to know more about them.