[SPOILERS] Has Ryo....

[dakohosu]

So I’ve noticed that Ryo’s started to become far more active on social media and from a lot of training videos seems to have a much more positive attitude towards training and Sasuke. Beforehand I noticed during his Stage 1 drought especially that he seemed far colder and as though he just didn’t care that much/his head wasn’t in the game.

Do you think Ryo’s recent performances have re-sparked his passion for Sasuke? Do you think we could see him return to his previous heights and reach the Final Stage again?

Personally I’m quite hopeful as he was making Stage 3 look like an absolute piece of piss until the Swing Edge which was obviously a new obstacle, and his Stage 1 run was probably the most impressive out of the entire field given that he completed the Double Warped Wall in the rain despite his height and struggles on the Tackle.

[ArbuthnotBlob]

I think so (I hope so)!

I had noticed in the run up to 39 that he was definitely more involved, showing up in more training videos and pictures than he used to, looking a bit more chipper, and was being brought up as the one to watch in a decent number of those mini interviews. I banked on him to do well, and he actually did better than I thought, as I had the Wall Lifting getting to him!

There was a bit, I think either just before or during his S3 run where he let out this big grin, and it’s the happiest I remember him looking in years, so I really hope he’s found his second wind - a lot of SASUKE competitors hit their peak in their 30s, after all!

[dakohosu]

Yeah agreed with all of the above.

In fact his social media activity between taping and the air date actually gave away to me that he’d probably reached Stage 3 again, and if that’s the kick he needed to really get back into the game then I’m really happy for him.

I think he mentally checked out after he got #100 in Sasuke 31 and was the favourite to win it all, but then ended up failing Stage 1 and Yusuke won instead (you could see after Yusuke won that he didn’t stand up and clap as he was clearly pissed), followed by a nigh on impossible Stage 3 renewal. A part of me felt as though that’s what led him to just give up and resulted in his five consecutive Stage 1 fails. I think he always cared about Sasuke, but a defence mechanism when you experience a traumatic event is to just tell yourself you don’t care, which I feel like he did.

Now that he’s back in the game results wise I think he’s starting to believe in himself again, which I’m really happy about. Ryo’s decline was one of the biggest shames given that everyone knew how capable he was of reaching the Final Stage, unlike say Shunsuke or Kanno who I don’t think are as well positioned to beat Stage 3.

Hopefully we’re seeing another Yuuji situation; similarly to Ryo, everyone thought he was done for good but then he bounced back and is once again a favourite to clear Stage 3. I hope Ryo keeps up the good work and makes a third Final Stage appearance. Stranger things have happened.

[subtleagent]

I would probably say he isn't quite as ferocious as he was before, but he definitely seems to be on his way back compared to Shunsuke and Kanno who seem like they've mentally given up. Maybe him being less ferocious and more relaxed is a good thing since when he got stopped in 31, he mentally seemed to go in the opposite direction.

[dakohosu]

Yeah it’s probably a good thing, and likely partially to do with him being a lot older now. I’m not a psychologist or anything but hear me out.

Back in his prime he was in his early 20s and was still really fresh into competing, as well as sort of being in between different jobs and living with his parents. Sasuke was had basically been his life since he was like 12 (hence why ANW called him the Superfan) which no doubt had a hand in making it ever more crushing after he started his decline in Sasuke 31, resulting in him just losing confidence completely.

Now though he’s 32 and probably has a lot more going on in his life with a stable job and a girlfriend etc. There’s more to his life now than Sasuke which makes his performances less pertinent to his self-worth and thus he has the ability to take a much more relaxed approach, which I think will probably serve his future performances better with less added pressure. The more fun you have on the course, the better you do as you don’t allow your mind to cloud your judgment on the course which has often resulted in rookie errors.

I mean compare the performances of someone like Okuyama who was always super relaxed and stoic, as well as having a family and career, to that of Yamada who gave up everything for Sasuke. Both were probably almost equally invested, but Okuyama performed exceptionally consistently whereas Yamada just failed on every obstacle that spooked him.

[Ninja Relaxer]

One can hope, but the real question is, can he maintain that passion for 10-11 months? Because that is when the next tournament will film (unless we get our wish for a return to bi-annual competitions, of course).

I was happy to see Ryo reach Stage 3, by the way, and I'll be curious to see how he trains for the Swing Edge, as it doesn't seem like a very easy obstacle to replicate at home (easier than some, though).

[dakohosu]

Jan 1, 2022 23:41:15 GMT -5 Ninja Relaxer said:

One can hope, but the real question is, can he maintain that passion for 10-11 months? Because that is when the next tournament will film (unless we get our wish for a return to bi-annual competitions, of course).

I was happy to see Ryo reach Stage 3, by the way, and I'll be curious to see how he trains for the Swing Edge, as it doesn't seem like a very easy obstacle to replicate at home (easier than some, though).

Matsuda's already built a replica of it so I don't think that'll be an issue.

Also to address your first point it's more than likely. He's probably verified to himself that he's still in with a chance of achieving Total Victory which should keep him committed. Whereas especially from Sasuke 32-34 where he hit his biggest decline imo, Stage 3 was basically impossible so he probably felt as though he'd missed his chance hence his mental checkout.

[sasukefinnja]

The fact that Ryo was able to pass Stage 2 is proof that he has been training. Stage 2 has not been his strongest stage and he did really good job on that.

[ArbuthnotBlob]

Jan 2, 2022 11:25:02 GMT -5 sasukefinnja said:

The fact that Ryo was able to pass Stage 2 is proof that he has been training. Stage 2 has not been his strongest stage and he did really good job on that.

I reckon his borderline bizarre performance on the Salmon Ladder last tournament gave him a bit of a shake-up - I think he’s been getting back in the zone since his breakthrough run in 36, but 38 was perhaps the wake-up call that if he really loves SASUKE and wants to be up there, he needs to step it up a gear - which he certainly has!

As I said, I believed he would do well, but given his history with Stage 2 I thought he’d hit the Walls again and he 100% proved me wrong!

On a slightly different note, I think people tend to somewhat underestimate how important the mental game is to any sport, including SASUKE - it’s easy to point at his slump and poor attitude in 32-35 and say Ryo wasted some of his prime years being petty or foolish or not trying, but in truth, when you fall into a mental block like that, whatever the source, it can be a brutally hard thing to get out of again. I’m really glad that he seems to have found a way to tap into his passion for the show again.

[lightningmatt]

I will say, the fact that his fail in SASUKE 37 seems to have been due to taking a calculated risk to go as fast as possible before reaching the Tackle, and the fact that despite that he's cleared the First Stage 3 times in the last 4 tournaments, really bodes well for his future prospects. Especially with that theory for the reason behind his one fail - mentally, it's a lot easier to get past a failure if you knew beforehand you were taking a risk.

[yomerengues]

Well with Ryo, he is inconsistent because he can fail 1st Stage but next tournament he can reach far like 3rd Stage and if he keeps training he could reach Final Stage once again, but there are more competitors which are stronger and consistent than him, but he can prove us that he can reach those stages