Maruta Kudari

Maruta Kudari (丸太下り), originally named Taki Kudari (滝下り), called Rapid Descent in English broadcasts, was the third obstacle in the first two SASUKE tournaments, however, with the introduction of Rolling Maruta and Yureru Hashi being relocated in SASUKE 3, it became the fourth obstacle in that tournament and SASUKE 4.

This obstacle was essentially the opposite of Taki Nobori, in which it consisted of five rotating drums that angled downwards at forty-five degrees where competitors must climb down and jump over a pit.

In its debut tournament, the drums were also textured like a waterfall, resembling the name of the obstacle (Taki means "Waterfall" in Japanese). Another notable difference of the Taki Kudari was the third drum that was automatically rotating, probably to resemble the movement of a waterfall.

When the obstacle's name switched with Taki Kudari in the following tournament, the design of the obstacle was also modified, now textured as logs, which is the same case of when Taki Nobori's name changed to Maruta Nobori. The third log also no longer rotates.

Competitors could either try to make a huge leap from the top of the obstacle (faster but riskier) or climb down the drums/logs one by one like climbing down a staircase (slower but safer). Most opted to go by the former strategy, as the more contact time with the drums/logs, the more chance for the competitors to fail at the obstacle. The structure of the landing platform would change in various tournaments:


 * SASUKE 1 had a flat platform at almost the same level as the water
 * SASUKE 2 had the platform elevated at the same height as the last barrel
 * SASUKE 3 had an angled platform, replacing the flat structure of the past tournaments
 * SASUKE 4 had a curved platform, with a similar structure to the previous tournament

Despite doing a fair amount of damage, when Kanzenseiha was achieved by Akiyama Kazuhiko in SASUKE 4, this obstacle was replaced by the more harder and iconic Jump Hang, though it would later return in SASUKE 31, for which it was combined with Maruta Nobori to create a new obstacle known as Rolling Hill.

Competitors' Success Rate

 * All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.

丸太下り 滾木下坡