scnoi1217
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Post by scnoi1217 on Apr 25, 2009 16:01:28 GMT -5
Hey David,
What were you thinking when you were going through your run? Also, how did you attack each obstacle? Did your training help you, or was the real thing different?
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Post by Oti on Apr 25, 2009 16:53:25 GMT -5
From his interview with me:
> How hard were the obstacles, really? I know you've trained for just about all of them; were they just like your training? Did you feel prepared? Was everything as easy as it looks, basically? <
The Jumping Spider is hard. I honestly barely made it.The trampoline isn't that great, you have to hit it just right. Also you have to carry a lot of speed to get deep into the alley. But there is a 90 degree angle just before it, so you can't run up to it very well.
There are no metal springs around the edge of the trampoline, but rather a weave of bungee cord. The bad thing about bungee is that is doesn't have as much rebound power and it also has a finite stretch distance. So when you jump on it you can feel the bungees stretch and then it bottoms out abruptly, at which point you should already be starting your rebound jump I think.
If you nail the landing the rest is easy as long as you have shoes that stick to plexiglass well.
The landing area is a plywood backing covered by 1/2" dense urethane foam and then over that is a textured screen-like material, all painted flat brown and held on with staples. So there is a slight bit of cush or sinking in when you land.
The warped wall was harder than I thought it would be simply because I was getting tired by that point and didn't have that much energy to run up the wall.
The biggest shock for me was how hard the barrel grasp jolts you when it drops! (not surprised Mark fell!) Spraying sticky spray on the insides of your arms helps a lot. You can also wear shorts and spray the inside of your bare legs. I sprayed the inside of my pants and it helped a little but you can still see my legs drop on the second hit.
Sex step was easy, circle hammer was easy (you just have to be careful), half pipe was totally easy.
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Post by Ninja Chris on Apr 25, 2009 19:20:25 GMT -5
Kinda a stupid question for you David, but how were the walls of the Jumping Spider in comparison to the one in Cali? Obviously the real one is much more difficult, but was the plexiglass the same there? And do you have an estimate on the distance across the gap (from the trampoline) and between the walls?
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 26, 2009 11:53:15 GMT -5
I'll try to reply to this later tonight when I have more time, but I'll adddress the walls now. I wore the same shoes on in Santa Monica and on Sasuke and I have very good grip in Santa Monica but was sliding a little at Sasuke. Traction wasn't horrible or anything, it just felt like I had to push outward really hard to keep from slipping, which slowed me down a little. I'm guessing the glass at Sasuke was just a little dirty maybe....or maybe they waxed it? I heard when Lucy was testing the Spiderwalk in Santa Monica the day before I arrived, that the glass was really slippery(which is why they ended up replacing the first panel with wood). Later they figured out that someone had cleaned the plexiglass with some kind of pray on cleaner/wax all-in-one product. So they cleaned off the wax residu and then it got nice and grippy.
As for the distance, I'm pretty certain they are 120cm wide (3.93700787 Feet).
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 27, 2009 21:17:08 GMT -5
Ok, I'll start out a few minutes before my run. I was standing near the starting line as the last one or 2 competitors before me did their runs. I was listening to music from my mp3 player in my headphones while chalking up my hands and the insides of my arms with climbing chalk I had brought with me. First it was "Breed" by Nirvana, then about 2 min before my run the track changed to "Pure Imagination" from the old school Gene Wilder Willy Wonka soundtrack. (yes I have this im my MP3 player, you got a problem? haha) I almost changed it, but then I was like "ahhh this is relaxing". The last competitor before me started his run, so I walked up and sat on the starting platform while I changed into my shoes. (all the competitors wear different shoes while walking around in the mud all day, and then change on the starting line.) I see Levi, Lucy and Olivia start to walk up, but then Olivia stops them and says "Maybe we should leave him alone, he looks pretty focused" and she was right, I was kinda zoned in and didn't really want to talk to anyone at that point.
I finish putting on my shoes, take my headphones off and stand up on the starting line. I had previously put down on my signup sheet that I was an artist and a musician, so the TBS people had been asking me to do some kind of air-guitar thing before my run.....which would have been retarded! They asked if I could do any other kind of showy thing like a back flip and I'm thinking "what the hell, Levi and Mark never had to do any flashy nonsense before their runs!" so I suggested I do a slightly more complicated version of the breathing exercise I normally do to get centered and they agreed.
So as I was saying, I finished putting on my shoes, took off my headphones and stood up on the starting line. I spray some stickyness on the insides of my arms and on the inside edges of my pants and the sides of my shoes. I left it off of my fingers and the palms of my hands because I had never used it before and wanted to stick to what I was comfortable with, chalk.
I took my stance and started doing my breathing at which point the translator they had there to cue me started saying "No not yet!" I pretty much ignored her and continued my breathing until I heard them call my name and start the counter.
Standing there up on the starting line was very surreal, even the Sextuple Steps looked slightly daunting. They're quite steep and looked pretty slick (no grippy texture like the ones in Santa Monica).
Anyway, I'm standing there breathing and I hear my cue! Boop Boop Boop Beeeeeeeeeeep! I emptied my mind as much as possible and just trusted that I had trained for this and I knew what I was doing and when I got to each obstacle my body would know what to do.
I hopped across the steps easy enough and didn't have to put my hand down on the landing which gave me a little boost in confidence. Running up the the circle hammer, I grabbed the rope fairly low and just tried to swing across nice and smooth, holding my knees up a little and then dropping them down to stop on the platform. Another cake obstacle.
Now came the first of the constant level changes and turns that really contribute to wearing you down over the course of 2 minutes. 3 steps up to higher platforms and I'm putting my arms around the Log Grip. The handhold my fingers found was surprisingly deep and the sticky spray on my harms really helped me get secure on that thing. In my mind the key to me passing this obstacle would be to hold my legs up and really squeeze with them.
I got all 4 of my limbs around the log and it started moving. I hit the first drop and was shocked, it felt like being punched all over my entire body all at once. The second drop hit just as hard as the first and my legs slipped a little. I just held my arms tight and tried to keep my legs high enough to not touch the water. It worked and I hit landing pad. Scrambling up and jogging over to the Jumping Spider I felt like I had passed the first serious challenge of the stage 1, but was about to face one of the hardest of the entire course!
I had planned on doing a quick test of the trampoline since every trampoline is different and really requires a certain timing to take full advantage of the spring-action. Also I didn't have the advantage of training on the trampoline with the all-stars as previous ANC winners have and had never even set foot on this type of bungee cord trampoline before.
So I run up and give it a quick bounce, only it doesn't really compress enough for me to tell how it's going to react when I hit it! So I give another harder bounce which gives about the same results and then a third, I really try to hit it as hard as I can. I still feel like I need to test it more but I already wasted more time than I meant to. So I step back, focus on what I'm doing so I don't f*** up and go for it.
I hit the trampoline and it bottoms out, I feel the bungee cords stretch to max and then just stop abruptly which is a little jarring, and I don't get as much lift as I had hoped for, but I do manage to land in a workable position. I land fairly solid but immediately feel my feet slipping out! I just push hard with my arms and power through it onto the plexiglass. I in the Spider Walk, "I did it, I made the jump!". I had great traction with my hands, but my shoes felt just a little slippery, not so much that they were actually sliding, but just enough so that I had to go a little slow and be careful. I was very relived at this point, the Jumping Spider was the one spot on stage 1 that I though there was a chance of failure. I knew now there was nothing else that could put me in the water and I'd be standing dry at the end of stage 1!
I drop down from the Spider Walk and run up to the Half Pipe ramp. I had practiced for this at my local skate park by having my nephew hold his hand high in the air while I would run sideways on the ramp and reach out to give him a high five. This seemed like basically the same idea as the Half Pipe Attack, but it just seemed too easy. I had doubts if the real thing would really be like what I had practiced. I stopped, took a quick breath( that Spider Walk was surprisingly draining) and a quick look at what I was about to do. "Ok, I got this just don't do something stupid like Akiyama or Yamamoto!" I ran up the ramp, concentrated on getting high enough on the wall, grabbed the rope, swung out, drooped on the platform. "wow that was totally easy, how do so many people fail there??" I took a couple steps over to the plank where Yamamoto fell and just stopped for a quick second to make sure I hadn't missed something that was going to put me in the water like him.
Now I had planned on running right up onto the middle of the warped wall like Brian Orosco, but the plank was different than in previous Sasukes and led me to the rear, so f*** it, no time to think, I hopped up onto the high rear platform.
I ran down the ramp towards the wall, "f*** that's high, uh oh, I don't have as much speed as I need!" I ran up the wall and had almost no momentum, I reached up to grab the top. At this point I knew my time must be getting low and if I didn't make this on my first try I wouldn't have time for a second run at it! I grabbed the top of the wall with my fingertips, my arm fully extended. I heard someone (I think it was Olivia) yell "Oh no!" Most people slip down after barely grabbing the top like this and so I think many people expected I was about to slip. I knew I had it though, my finger strength is one thing I have total confidence in from all the rock climing I do. I pull myself up and swing my foot over as I hear the same person yell "Yes, he got it, he got it!".
Now I was very happy with the fact that I got up the wall, but my minor victory was bittersweet. At this point I was dying, the air in Tokyo in very polluted and on top of that there had been dust storms all week. Often when I would walk outside I would instantly taste dirt in my mouth. About 1/3rd of the people you see walking around town were wearing surgical type face masks. And as a bonus I had completely forgot to warm-up before my run, I just hadn't expected to get so tired in under 2 minutes!
So I'm stepping up the the Slider Jump breathing very heavy, trying to extract some oxygen from this smog and dust filled gas they try to pass off as air, salivating heavily, I can feel my lungs filling with fluid. I grab onto the bar and just kind of hang for a second to rest, I know my time is drastically short, but I also know that if I try to jump for the net in that state I'm going into the water.
I hear Levi yell "GO!!!!!". I move my head over to the right a little so I can see the timer and it was dismal, 30 some odd seconds left (I remember seeing 38 seconds, but watching the video this doesn't seem right, closer to 32 seconds?) So I figure "f*** it, now or never, so what if you're tired, you have to do it!", though I knew there was little chance of me finishing in time at this point. I had actually been thinking that since I got to the top of the warped wall. But at least I could make it to the end and prove that I could actually clear all the obstacles (this was my new goal)
I moved the bar over the stops, leaned back, and threw my body down the rails trying to get as much speed as I could to help me get across the gap. When I got to the end of the rails I swung my feet out and tried to do a Pipe Slider style dismount. As I moved through the air I started to realize it was going to be close if I made it, so I decided to put my legs through the net so if I didn't get it with my hands the first try I could maybe get hung up on my feet and grab the net upside down.
I missed the net and had a moment of horror and dis-belief as I fell backward down the net towards the water. "NO f*** NO THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!!! I WILL NOT GO INTO THAT GOD DAMNED WATER!!! f***!!!!! GIVE SOMETHING TO GRAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I threw my arm back blindly towards the net and felt rope "YES!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!". I let my fingers do their thing and started focusing on flexing my abdomen to hold my legs out of the water when the impact I was anticipating hit from the net pulling taught under my body weight. As it turned out my feet were still tangled up in the net after I stopped falling, so keeping them out of the water wasn't a problem. But now I had to get my foot free, it was all tangled up..."s*** I made it hahahaha! Wait, no let go of my foot!!!". I get it free and scramble up more of those 4 foot steps, I grab the rope and hear the 10 second warning. "f*** there's no way, oh well at least I physically made it to the end, that's better than most right?".
I reach as high up the rope as I can and swing, I hit the net and start climbing trying to get as close as I can to the button before the buzzer sounds. I reach the top of the net and hear the dreaded "POP" sound of time over. I pull myself up onto the bridge and walk over to the button. I decide not to push the button or force my way through the gates as most people that run out of time do. I think it's kinda stupid and a little disrespectful when people do that, it's like "no dude, you ran out of time, you didn't make it, that's why the gate's not opening for you, walk around!" So I politely walk past the buzzer and around the gate, turn and give a little "oh well, what can I say, I tried" shrug to everyone and then look for a way down.
I walk over the right and see just fence so I turn around and see the fireman's pole behind the gate. I chuckle to myself as I gasp for oxygen "Haha f*** I have to slide down that now? I thought the course was over!?"
I grab the pole and feel like I'm barely hanging on as I slide down. I step onto the ground and turn to see the camera crew rushing over to interview me. Before they can ask me anything I just say as I pant "Ahh I under estimated the cardio, not very much time!" They seem satisfied with that, so I make my way over to Olivia and my fellow ANC competitors who simultaneously congratulate and console me, and grab a quick drink of water before the G4 cameras come in for interviews.
The end.
On a side note the 2 biggest surprises of stage 1 were how hard the Log Grip jolts you, and simply how tired you get in those 2 minutes! I'm optimistic that they're going to send me back for Sasuke23, so I'm really kicking my a** into shape in the cardio/aerobic area. I set out a simple Sasuke/Parkour obstacle course at the local park to simulate the general endurance demands of stage 1. On my first run I had a time of 3:10 and was beat. I'm down to 2:30 now and am much less tired already!
I recommend anyone who plans on entering ANC5 do some similar training to this. Also when you practice specific obstacles, run around and get tired, then try doing the same obstacle while you're breathing hard and just want to stop and rest.
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Post by Badalight on Apr 27, 2009 22:33:38 GMT -5
Thanks a bunch David! That was a great read!
But the log grip still surprises me.
When people like you and Colin Bell can barely hold onto it, and then a 10 year old girl and 60 year old man can pass it, something seems suspicious =p
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 27, 2009 22:44:48 GMT -5
Yeah, serious! Though I think on that one your weight works against you. Also shorts make a big difference I think, you can spray the insides of your legs with sticky spray and keep them from sliding.
Also sometimes it looks like the thing kinda rocks as it goes down, and if it rocks the right way it seems to absorb the impact of the drops.
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Post by RiderLeangle on Apr 27, 2009 22:48:57 GMT -5
Yeah, I've noticed the Log Grip swinging back and forth and alot of times swinging back right as it drops then forwards on the next drop. Swinging back seems helpful but the forwards seems like a real test of grip. To be honest I'd be afraid of wraping my legs around because that seems like a good way to sing falsetto before the Jumping Spider (which would probably hurt like hell after a nut hit)
But the funny thing, I noticed alot of things you mentioned in your report of it from watching your run. But hmm, I guess I wasn't hearing things when it sounded like they said "Musician". Didn't expect the stuff at the start line was just for show though XD
EDIT: BTW, it looked like you had to put the Slider Jump bar up and over stoppers, are there stoppers holding it up or can someone get a runup to get some good speed and momentum going for the jump to the net?
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 27, 2009 23:08:44 GMT -5
Rider: The stuff at the starting line wasn't just for show, I do breathing exercises to calm and center my brain and body and focus my energy. I usually do a simpler version (which you actually see me briefly do a couple times during my run) which involves simpler in and out hand motions. I was planning on doing dome breathing right before my run anyway, so I just did the version that uses the Karate hand movements to appease their "do something cool" request.
Yes there are stoppers that hold the Slider Jump bar in place. You have to lift the bar over them, some people like Nagano and Paul Terek didn't seem to notice them, heh! You might be able to run up to it, but you'd have to push the bar over the stoppers really fast and violently as you jumped....might be awkward?
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Post by RiderLeangle on Apr 27, 2009 23:20:28 GMT -5
I know you did it throughout your run (and in that Muscle Park vid you put up too), but the version at the start line you said was more a visual thing as opposed to what you usually do.
Well I suppose if you jump onto it enough to lift the bar it could get them over the stoppers, but at that point it seems pretty impractical and that'd take most if not all the force from the runup.
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Post by Oti on Apr 27, 2009 23:41:58 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure going down the Log Grip tracks faster will lessen the impact of the drop.
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 28, 2009 0:45:38 GMT -5
That makes sense, but with the log grip you just climb up onto the log and wait. They release it for you, so you can't control the speed.
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Post by obakemono on Apr 28, 2009 8:16:26 GMT -5
I walk over the right and see just fence so I turn around and see the fireman's pole behind the gate. I chuckle to myself as I gasp for oxygen "Haha f**k I have to slide down that now? I thought the course was over!?" lol, I always thought that was kind of cruel. Why can't they have stairs?
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Post by RiderLeangle on Apr 28, 2009 12:10:57 GMT -5
That makes sense, but with the log grip you just climb up onto the log and wait. They release it for you, so you can't control the speed. I think that's why they did that, so people have no control of it like they did in 18, 19 and 20. Also to stop people from twisting it like in 18 (Which you were able to do in 20 but not as people did) so the shocks are lessened. I walk over the right and see just fence so I turn around and see the fireman's pole behind the gate. I chuckle to myself as I gasp for oxygen "Haha f**k I have to slide down that now? I thought the course was over!?" lol, I always thought that was kind of cruel. Why can't they have stairs? Either to make Takeda and Yamada (Koji) feel at home or just to let people have fun or something, if you ask me just doing the course is fun) EDIT: BTW, after seeing Lee Enchi/Lee Yen Chi fail the Shin-Cliffhanger (using the same technique as in your Muscle Park vid), did that make you seriously rethink your strategy on it?
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Post by Ninja Chris on Apr 29, 2009 18:15:52 GMT -5
David, thank you VERY much for the play-by-play on the Sasuke run. I soaked up every word... Loved it Wish I could get more of those from the other's runs! I gotta admit... the new Slider Jump drama was insane... as I'm sure we all know. But I honestly never knew the big commotion until after I watched the HQ version put up the next day! My POS program I watched 22 with froze on me right when you began the slide down, and kicked back in (kinda) after you had already grabbed the rope. So, that was an insane catch! So, what I'm wondering, is: Do you think the new Slider Jump is a big deal? How do you think is the best way to get across? I personally don't agree that riding it down, and swinging across would work well. Instead, my guess is to slide down fast, and do kinda a pull-up near the end to throw yourself across. You said you built up a lot of speed, and pretty much threw your feet toward the rope... which saved you... but would you use that technique again? If not, what would you do?
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 29, 2009 19:06:34 GMT -5
Rider: I assume you're talking about my slightly narrow grip? I was really just trying to hold on to that greasy rail!
As for the evolution of my technique though, on my old cliffhanger replica the middle rail was flat and the gap was slightly shorter, so on that one the narrow grip worked great.
When I went to muscle park the day before Sasuke, that was the first time I had tried jumping from a slanted board a realized quickly that jumping from an angles board takes a distinctly different technique than a flat board!
So I had to modify my technique after muscle park. I think I would have passed the Cliffhanger on the real course if I had made it that far, but after I got back to America I built a new cliffhanger replica in my barkyard. I took the specs from the real one and made the rails just a hair skinnier, the angled board a little steeper and the gap a few inches wider and taller.
I passed it on my first try but my form was a little sloppy, so I got it, but I'm still perfecting it and making it look pretty.
I talked with Lee Yen Chi prior to his run and he said he had never practiced the cliffhanger before. He is a rock climber though, and I guess that's why he was able to make it as far as he did.
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Post by RiderLeangle on Apr 29, 2009 19:17:04 GMT -5
OK, that kind of summed up what I would have said in reply to that so good, you know what I was going to say and already did it XD. Still kind of a shock seeing a rock climber with his grip failing the cliffhanger, seemed his swing was going a bit too forward and not just side to side (looked like a circular motion), so it looked like he fell back before getting the chance to jump, looked like he was using the same exact method as in your Muscle Park vid and you did say in the live chat you gave him tips on the cliffhanger, so live with that one that you got him to fail the cliffhanger XD
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Post by Oti on Apr 29, 2009 22:47:43 GMT -5
Come on over, David. You can try my Cliff Hanger. Grease-free.
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Post by davidcampbell on Apr 29, 2009 23:39:57 GMT -5
Haha, it's not my fault he failed! All I told him was to use a wider grip to get more of a swing. It's pretty unlikely regardless of how strong someone is that they would pass the current cliffhanger without ever practicing it. It takes a certain amount of strength but it's really about muscle memory and technique. For example I think I probably have better grip and stronger arms than Oti, but from his video it looks like he does the cliffhanger jump more smoothly than I do, because he's been practicing the current version longer than me. Just for everyones information I'll describe the cliffhanger jump technique that I have decided works best for me. When you get to the end of the second board grab the top of the very end by turning your right hand inward 45 degrees or so and slightly wrapping the fingers around the side of the rail. (hope that makes sense) Start the swing by gripping the rail with hands about shoulder width apart. Begin rocking back and forth. When you feel you have enough of a swing built up (usually takes 1-3 swings) swing the feet over to the left one last time. At the peak of your leftward swing slide the left hand up the rail until it meets the right hand. As the feet swing back to the right use the momentum to throw your body across the gap. Reach as far over with the right hand as you can so that you leave enough room for the left hand to land un-obstructed by the right hand. Let the right hand land just before the left and try to absorb a little downward energy into your right arm. Now as the left hand comes in for the landing turn the left hand in 90 degrees and grab the left end of the landing platform. Really put all your weight into you left arm as you use your lateral momentum to help plant your left hand onto the end of the landing platform. If you didn't fall off smile and continue towards the right! 3 things I learned very quickly when I was doing the cliffhanger at muscle park were: 1: Because the middle board is slanted the best place to grip it is not the actual surface of the board, but the very end where it comes to a point. 2: The slanted board makes building a good swing awkward, but you get a lot more leverage by holding the hands apart about shoulder width. 3: While holding the hands apart helps you build a swing, having the left hand way over to the left totally messes you up when you try to get a good jump. So to avoid that you have to bring your hands back together right before you actually jump.
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Post by RiderLeangle on Apr 29, 2009 23:49:49 GMT -5
I know you aren't responsible for him failing, I was just messing with ya' XD.
And that sounds about right, after checking all 4 clears of it that's how it was done. Well except for Urushihara who barely swung but made it.
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