You’ve probably seen the commercials featuring incredible athletes doing incredible feats on an incredible obstacle course. American Ninja Warrior has captured the hearts of the country by showing what humans can accomplish with training and persistence. Where did this show come from? How do competitors get on the show? Who has the biggest advantage on the course? We’re going to take a look at some fun info all about American Ninja Warrior. If you want to see how you would fare on Mount Midoriyama, come to Rebounderz here in Sunrise and test your skills on our Ninja Warrior course!

-No Casting Call

When it comes to most competition shows on TV, there are massive casting calls held to find new competitors. Because of the nature of American Ninja Warrior, it would be unfeasible to test everyone’s physical prowess and choose who will be on the show. Instead, Ninja Warrior hopefuls send in audition tapes that show what they’re capable of and what their story is. From there, producers select around 100 people to run the course in each city they are visiting. If your audition tape doesn’t get picked, you can test your luck with the walk-on line.

The walk-on line has been compared to waiting for a Black Friday sale, with many people camping out in line for over a week in some cases. People even bring tents! Sadly, only about 20 to 30 people from the walk-on line get a chance to run the course. It all comes down to how much time is left for filming and how far other competitors advance through the course. Would you be willing to camp out for a chance to compete?

-Ninja Warrior Origins

You might be able to guess that American Ninja Warrior has a connection to Japan. It is based on a Japanese competition show, called Sasuke, which aired in the United States for many years on the now-defunct channel, G4, under the name Ninja Warrior. While American Ninja Warrior is an hour-long program that airs weekly, Sasuke has turned into a massive event. Twice a year, a three-hour-long TV special is aired showing the competition. Cameras keep rolling as the sun sets and the weather changes, which can add even more challenge to the course to compete with.

Since the show started in 1997, only four competitors have achieved total victory in Sasuke, one of whom has beaten the course twice! Of the hundreds upon hundreds of people who have attempted to summit Mount Midoriyama, 35 have reached the final stage, and five have gotten there more than once.

-Imposing Course

Many competitors of American Ninja Warrior are taken aback by how large the course is in person. When the camera focuses on portions of the course, it makes it seem much more manageable on TV. Most competitors practice on obstacles very similar to the ones found on the show, but when it’s all in front of them — with lights in their eyes and a cheering crowd watching on — it gets intimidating!

-Keeping the Course Fresh

Quite a few of the obstacles that make up the course come directly from Sasuke, while others were created specifically for American Ninja Warrior. Obstacles are designed, built, and tested with athletes to hone in on how difficult it is. Sometimes, a small change is made, like moving a rope either closer or farther, and it totally changes how the course feels. Making these updates from season to season makes the course feel fresh and surprises competitors with obstacles they haven’t had a chance to train for. That’s where you see some really incredible talent come to the surface, as a competitor will have to think on the fly and use all of their experience to conquer it.

-Surprising Body Types Have an Edge

When many people think of who would be the best American Ninja Warrior, their imagination will conjure up images of a super-strong, muscle-bound guy. Over the show’s run, the most successful competitors have actually been on the smaller size, setting it apart from most American sports. The most important thing that leads to success is a good ratio of strength to weight. If you’re carrying less weight, you’re putting less strain on your muscles when you’re forced to hold yourself up for long periods of time. The strength comes in handy with the ability to move your body weight with little struggle. You can see this on display with American Ninja Warrior All-Stars’ Kacy Catanzaro (the first woman to compete on the American show) and stuntwoman extraordinaire, Jessie Graff. Their small frames combined with incredible strength have served them well and resulted in some truly incredible acrobatic feats.

-Video Submissions Keep Coming In

When American Ninja Warrior first began, it received around 1,000 audition tapes from aspiring competitors. In more recent years, producers have been bombarded with over 50,000 videos. It’s pretty clear that the show has captured a lot of people’s imagination and inspired them to test their ninja skills over the past eight years.

Do you think you have what it takes to conquer Mount Midoriyama? Come to Rebounderz here in Sunrise and test your might on our Ninja Warrior course. Whether you’re seriously training or just want to prove that one obstacle isn’t as hard as it looks on TV, we’re the best place to try it out. If you work hard enough, who knows, you might join the rare ranks of the few to achieve total victory.