Top 10 rankings for SASUKE 25

[lars072]

OK, I have a couple of days off so let the SASUKE 25 fun but useless threads begin!

Here's my top 10 rankings for SASUKE 25 (remember IMO). These are likely the 10 guys that will be able to take on the new (and hopefully) very challenging course. If you look at each competitor's shin-sasuke results (18-24), I would say these rankings are pretty close. Of course, this is assuming that they are all competing!

Competitor, shin-SASUKE stages and results (based on Sasukepedia):

1. Yuuji Urushihara - #21-24: 1st, final, 2nd, kanzenseiha!

I have to give Yuuji #1 spot for completing the course in ony his 4th attempt. He's also entering his prime at 32

2. Makoto Nagano - #18-24: 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, final, 1st

If anyone can overcome a bad showing, it's him. There's no way that it's over for him!

3. Hitoshi Kanno - #20,22-24: 1st, 3rd, final, 1st

Getting to the final is no easy feat, and at 25 he would be considered a top competitor despite his 1st stage failure in 24.

4. Yoshiyuki Okuyama - #20-24: 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, final

He has really looked strong and trains exceptionally hard for SASUKE. Perhaps his age will be a factor though.

5. Kenji Takahashi - #18-24: 3rd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, final

The real Kenji has showed up in the last 2 competitions, but can he maintain this record?

6. Lee En Zhi - #18, 21-24: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, final

Lee showed in 24 that he is the real deal. After finally getting to the final, will he be able to do well on the new course?

7. Toshihiro Takeda- #18-24: 2nd, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd

OK, some may rank him higher. But his inability to make the final may be his undoing.

8. Levi Meeuwenberg - #20-23: 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 3rd

Levi hasn't made it past the shin-CH yet, but has showed tremendous athletic ability and seems to breeze through stage 1. Depending on the layout of the new course, he could do very well.

9. Koji Hashimoto - #21-24: 1st, 1st, 2nd, final

Koji wasn't too far away from beating the course in 24 and has lots of years ahead to get to more finals.

10. Naoya Tajima - #23-24: 2nd, 3rd

But for his mistake on the Gliding Ring, he may have been in the final stage too.


Agree or disagree?

[davidyko]

I agree mostly. I feel like Koji Hashimoto should be rated a little higher...maybe 7th or 8th? Out of respect for his potential that was only shown really in 24; he made it to the final in 4 tries, after all, and Takeda and Levi haven't. Period.

Tajima I would almost want to rank higher as well, but his potential is subject to speculation. He can stay at #10 in my book, I guess.

[SRW]

Nagano is still the greatest of them all lol but Yuuji is definatly the 2nd best competitor now hes flew there especially after his total victory (if your just talking shin sasuke then I guess Yuuji has to be 1 as he won) I am just talking about the whole picture.

My rankings of all now

1) Nagano
2) Urushihara
3) Okuyama
4) Kanno
5) lee Yen Chi
6) Takahashi Kongu
7) Takeda
8) Hashimoto
I'll think about the rest

[scnoi1217]

Moving forward I'd go:

1. Urushihara - 3rd Winner, consistent in Shin-SASUKE, beat the Third Stage both attempts and only person in Shin-SASUKE to make the Final twice.

2. Nagano - 2nd Winner, dominant when he beat the First Stage, but his inconsistency in Shin-SASUKE is a bit troubling.

3. Lee Enchi - The most consistent competitor in Shin-SASUKE with 4 clears out of 5 attempts. He always gets through stage 1 giving him many attempts in the latter stages, his upper body strength is great, only problem would be his consistency in Stage 2.

4. Okuyama - Only competitor in Shin-SASUKE with three straight Third Stage attempts. Age could be a factor only if injuries get in the way.

5. Hashimoto - Strong, young competitor who has been getting better every tournament. While he makes mistakes, he does not fail on obstacles he has beaten in the past and will be strong in the future.

6. Kanno - Amazing potential and great strength, but his inconsistency and sloppiness is troubling. Basically the New stars equivalent to Shingo in 1-7.

7. Takeda - Good competitor but compared the new guys, he is really starting to show that he isn't one of the top 5 competitors like he used to. Plus, he is the only one to fail the Third Stage 3 times in Shin-SASUKE :/

8. Kongu - It's all about momentum with Kongu, if he clears in one tournament, most likely he will clear in the next. I could see him going very far in 25, but if tweaks are made and he fails in 26, it will be a few years before he is elite again.

9. Tajima - His strength in 24 was scary good, a bit of an unknown still though.

10. Levi - Best American until proven otherwise, he is very fast in the First two stages but struggled majorly in the Third.

[chackpop]

1. Yuuji Urishihara- Made it to the Final twice in Shin Sasuke, very few obstacles can stop him.

2. Nagano Makoto- Made it Final in 23, always does well if he beats the First Stage, not counting 20.

3. Hashimoto Koji- His true potential was seen in 24, he was seconds from Kanzenseiha.

4. Okuyama Yoshiyuki- Does better than other competitors half his age, Has no demons in Stage One nor Stage Two.

5. Kongu- breezed through the course in 23 and 24 until the Gliding Ring, which he destroyed in 24.

6. Tajima Naoya- I'm putting Tajima ahead of Kanno mainly because Tajima esaily defeated the first 7 obstacles while Kanno always struggled.

7. Kanno- If he can beat Stage One, he's going places. But he has to beat it first :/

8. Lee Enchi- He has proven that he has what it takes to be a finalist.

9. Takeda Toshihiro- He is no longer setting speed records. 23 and 24' first stage had a very leniant time limit and he barely cleared with time to spare.

10. Levi

[FAMAS]

Jan 21, 2010 10:59:58 GMT -5 chackpop said:

9. Takeda Toshihiro- He is no longer setting speed records. 23 and 24' first stage had a very leniant time limit and he barely cleared with time to spare.

To be fair though I think he does not go as fast as he could on the slider jump net and the rope ladder, he just seems to take his time on those last two in my opinion.

[scnoi1217]

Jan 21, 2010 16:16:56 GMT -5 FAMAS said:

Jan 21, 2010 10:59:58 GMT -5 chackpop said:

9. Takeda Toshihiro- He is no longer setting speed records. 23 and 24' first stage had a very leniant time limit and he barely cleared with time to spare.

To be fair though I think he does not go as fast as he could on the slider jump net and the rope ladder, he just seems to take his time on those last two in my opinion.

Yea, he Nagano's it towards the end of the course. Look at 21, he got the second best time behind Levi. The guy still has speed, I think he just wants to conserve his energy for the Third Stage.

[lars072]

Thanks guys for the input. Looks like we all agree on the top 10, although the order may vary slightly. I wonder if we'll see any new competitors emerge in the next few competitions- either Japanese or foreigners.

[BLM]

Jan 22, 2010 0:01:35 GMT -5 lars072 said:

Thanks guys for the input. Looks like we all agree on the top 10, although the order may vary slightly. I wonder if we'll see any new competitors emerge in the next few competitions- either Japanese or foreigners.

Like Takuya Kawahara

[awee1975]

Mostly agree with scnoi. Very fair & balanced analysis. However imo Hashimoto should be 3rd. Tajima- 4th. Lee usually scrap through 1st stage which is scary for his fans. Hashimoto & Tajima looks really strong, should be higher up. Both of them have weakness ( Hashimoto - S.Kabe, Tajima-Spider walk ) but they have time on their side to work out their problems. Agree with chackpop that Tajima was good whereas Kanno usually struggles through.

[BLM]

Jan 21, 2010 10:46:59 GMT -5 scnoi1217 said:

10. Levi - Best American until proven otherwise, he is very fast in the First two stages but struggled majorly in the Third.

IMO when William Spencer gets to SASUKE he will dominate the first two stages with faster times then Levi but that hasnt happened yet.

[chackpop]

Jan 22, 2010 22:12:46 GMT -5 awee1975 said:

Mostly agree with scnoi. Very fair & balanced analysis. However imo Hashimoto should be 3rd. Tajima- 4th. Lee usually scrap through 1st stage which is scary for his fans. Hashimoto & Tajima looks really strong, should be higher up. Both of them have weakness ( Hashimoto - S.Kabe, Tajima-Spider walk ) but they have time on their side to work out their problems. Agree with chackpop that Tajima was good whereas Kanno usually struggles through.

Hashimoto only had trouble with the Kabe in 21. In 22, 23, 24, he destroyed it. Look at his first stage run in 24. Perfect.

Tajima doesn't have a weakness on the Spider Walk, just a different way of overcoming the obstacle.

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, so sorry if i do.

[awee1975]

Ok, i know this is controversial but in my analysis they are still weak in the obstacles i said. Why? it is going to be a long boring technical explanation in which i will go on only if anyone is even interested to know. Maybe in training thread or if you guys are willing to go off-topic here. Besides i am lazy & need some time to think of how to explain my ideas clearly to people who are patient enough to have a long discussion.

Hint: Hashimoto's way of doing the wall is similar to Iketani Naoki / Yamada Katsumi / Akiyama
Tajima's way of doing the spider Walk is a sign of inbalance in strength beteen his left side & right side. Sorry Oti, this is similar to Oti's spider walk in the videos Oti posted sometime ago & iirc Oti slipped in a G4 event sometime back. No offence to Oti, so Oti please forgive me, i am only trying to make a point.

[chackpop]

But Hashimoto did a much better job than Yamada, Akiyama, or Iketani against the Kabe in 24. He easily got the top of it. I even think he went too high.

As for Tajima, we'll just have to see.

[awee1975]

S.Kabe:

1. Fastest way up the wall is "Takeda" method. Why won't everyone do it? It takes speed & strength to power your way up. Even Takeda don't do that all the time...especially if he is tired. It is also not 100%, Takeda himself has problems occasionally, iirc in 19 / 20. If you are very tired, it won't work. Conclusion: IF ( BIG IF ) you are strong enough, do it.

2. Next is the usual way. i don't need to explain this, right?
In 23, Shingo & Nagano failed in their 1st try. Yuuji, Lee also failed on their 1st try in 23. Washimi took 2 tries in 24 too. Jordan J in 8 & Shinji in 11 took more than 3 tries iirc but still cleared. So using this method, you can still clear in 2 or 3 tries or even 4 if you are very fast later to make up for lost time. This is a good method.

3. So why use the slow "walk-back" method? Because if you are not strong enough for the above ways, then you had to resort to this. This method has risks. You better succeed in at most 2 tries. If 2 times fail, you are out unless you are a speed demon later.

4. Strong competitors should train with the 1st or 2nd method. Perfect it doing in 1 try. In actual competition, you will be even more tired so you might need 2 or even 3 tries in reality.

5. i suspect the experts should already know this...so why do they still use the last method? Feel free to disagree but i speculate they tried the other 2 ways unsuccessfully. I have seen videos of people doing the 3rd method in training & then after that try to replicate it in actual event. These guys are not strong enough & decide to train the "walking-back" method.

6. Sad thing is this is a shortcut or "stop-gap" measure. This technique helps you build momentum & make it easier for you to clear ( compensating for lack of strength & speed ) but getting used to doing this is risky. The moment you are slightly tired or "off-form" you are screwed.

7. When you are already not strong enough to do the 1st or even 2nd way, it means your strength is vulnerable...work on improving it. Sometimes one could be slightly off-form or even age will catch up with you as you slowly lose your strength & stamina without knowing it. you can do the 3rd way in practice when you are fresh but tired legs & body in actual course will be draining. Iketani / Akiyama / Yamada ... & long list here.

8. Using the UNCLI as an example, these guys cliff-hang way harder than the actual course. When they can do all those tougher things, in actual event the shin-cliff feels easy even after being tired from earlier obstacles. Eg. Yuuji in 22 & 24 totally pawned the SCH.

9. Iketani / Akiyama got away with the last method when they are younger but when they are older...they got screwed. Hashimoto is still young but he still have to use the 3rd way. Look at Okuyama, when the wall gave him trouble he stuck to his guns & still used the 2nd way, he just had to train harder that's all to improving his strength.

10. Phew, Long post! i can ramble on but i think you get the idea. I will talk about the uneven difference in strength between the left & right sides of the body sometime later & how Kongu & Tajima's methods are actually ways to compensate for that. But go back to point 6 & 7 & 9, you will already get the idea of what i wil probably say about the spider-walk. So i guess i can skip that, can I? Different obstacle, same logic. THANKS & REGARDS.

[m4tt3r0x]

100: Yuuji Urishihara
99: Makoto Nagano
98: Yoshiyuki Okuyama
97: Toshihiro Takeda
96: Kenji Takahashi
95: Hitoshi Kanno
94: Lee Enchie
93: Koji Hashimoto
92: Shingo Yamamoto
91: Yuuji Washimi
90: Levi Meeuwburg

[m4tt3r0x]

I spelled Meeuwenburg wrong -_-

[YoDaUO]

Wait a second.... Howd you register in MARCH when its still February?!

[chackpop]

It's Febuary 28th in the U.S. It might be March 1st somewhere else in the world.

[YoDaUO]

Oh yeah, forgot that