tns8597
Jordan Jovtchev
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Posts: 1,282
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Post by tns8597 on Sept 20, 2020 6:03:04 GMT -5
Assuming someone has never seen or trained for Sasuke, what sport do you think maximises the chance of a competitor doing well? Here's my rationale.
Rock climbing: good for Stage 3 but doesn't really give you many skills for tackling Stage 1, for example, which is much more focused on agility and athleticism.
Parkour: good for Stages 1 and maybe 2 (as shown by Jun Sato and Americans) which are time limited and are easy to make mistakes (which in parkour can sometimes mean your life), but isn't necessarily focussed on raw upper body strength which is required by some Stage 3 obstacles.
Track and field: again, good for Stage 1 but doesn't rely much on the upper body.
Powerlifting: this one should be obvious; focuses on raw strength which is maybe good on a couple of obstacles like the Tackle or Wall Lifting, but very little else, even if the competitor is light enough.
I would go with gymnastics as it's a very multi-disciplinary field which relies on several skills required for Sasuke like flexibility, timing, speed, as well as raw upper body strength; but even here we've seen competitors like Iketani and Jovtchev go out early on Stage 3, so I'm not really sure.
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Sept 20, 2020 14:08:03 GMT -5
This may be from moreso an ANW perspective, but I feel like it still applies to Sasuke:
From watching the show, I'd say that Gymnasts, Rock Climbers, and Stuntmen/women are at the greatest advantage.
Parkourists used to be a favoured group, but as ninja has become more upper body focused, their skills are becoming less helpful. This is also why Rock Climbers etc... are better. They can string together a performance to get through Stages 1/2, but parkour athletes just can't do the same on Stage 3.
As for gymnasts... you only have to look at people like Jordan Jovchev and Rene Cassely (technically not a gymnast but has a very similar skillset), to see how OP they can be. They have it all: coordination, focus, insane upper body strength AND endurance.
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Post by Kane-Not-Kosugi on Sept 20, 2020 21:27:55 GMT -5
I'd say gymnastics/acrobatic training easily. Najee Richardson Adam Rayl Sean Bryan Jessie Graff Rene Casselly Ben Polson Jordan Jovchev All of these people have made Stages 3 or 4 across different eras of Sasuke, ANW, or a spinoff. Of course, there are MANY many others who have performed well in their countries or in other countries and come from a gymnastics or acrobatic background. Funny enough, Sasuke doesn't have too many Japanese competitors in that background, but competitors like Yusuke are consistently the last man standing, and that's because... they train the best way, which is by making replicas of the obstacles. End of discussion.
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Sept 21, 2020 3:33:57 GMT -5
I'd say gymnastics/acrobatic training easily. Najee Richardson Adam Rayl Sean Bryan Jessie Graff Rene Casselly Ben Polson Jordan Jovchev All of these people have made Stages 3 or 4 across different eras of Sasuke, ANW, or a spinoff. Of course, there are MANY many others who have performed well in their countries or in other countries and come from a gymnastics or acrobatic background. Funny enough, Sasuke doesn't have too many Japanese competitors in that background, but competitors like Yusuke are consistently the last man standing, and that's because... they train the best way, which is by making replicas of the obstacles. End of discussion. Don't forget Tim Champion. Dude was pretty much an olympic level gymnast and ended up winning NWUK!
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tns8597
Jordan Jovtchev
100%
Posts: 1,282
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Post by tns8597 on Sept 21, 2020 4:58:21 GMT -5
It's very difficult to tell what sport alone is good for Sasuke.
A lot of prominent competitors who do well on Stage 3 like Tada, Matachi, and most significantly Morimoto are avid rock climbers and boulderers; Morimoto himself was the president of his university's rock climbing society. But the reason why this doesn't consolidate rock climbers for me is because they've also been practicing specific Sasuke obstacles for 10+ years, including Stage 1, which isn't related to climbing per se. If anything, Ryo's training is only really either rock climbing or other upper body-related exercises, and he really tends to struggle on Stage 1, so that's an omen to people who ONLY do rock climbing etc. perhaps not being so adept at more agility-based courses. Talking ANW, people like Brian Arnold who always did well on Stage 3 but would falter on Stages 1 or 2 usually DESPITE training for the course, is another set of examples.
You're right about parkour: a good example is Levi, given that he competed when ANW wasn't really a thing and hence Americans didn't really train specifically for the course. His pro-freerunning background gave him the ability to navigate Stages 1 and 2 easily, but he was never really that strong on Stage 3. Same with Brian Orosco, mind you both were significantly taller and heavier than the Japanese so this worked against them.
I went with gymnastics because it gives you the flexibility and dexterity to do well in the agility-based stages, but your upper body strength is also insane beyond belief. I have heard that they have weak fingers though, not sure why this is the case but I've heard this multiple times. I suppose it makes sense e.g. Casey Finley in ANW6, Iketani in basically every Stage 3 appearance, Jovtchev on the Cliffhanger etc.
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