Kane Kosugi

Kane Kosugi (ケイン・コスギ) is an Actor specialise in Action films, who was born in Los Angeles, California, but travelled to Japan during his younger days. He competed in SASUKE five times and notable for being the only competitor with 100% clear rate on First Stage with five or more appearances in SASUKE.

SASUKE Career
He was one of the first 100 competitors in the first tournament, in which he become the only non-Japanese in the tournament. Given #89, he struggle a lot during First Stage, as he almost fail Burasagari Maruta and slipped on his landing on Taki Kudari. He also can't find a good foothold and grip in Free Climbing, as well as losing his grip on Kabe Nobori, making him clear First Stage with only two seconds left, which is the second slowest time that day. He maintained his slow approach in Second Stage, but despite the struggle, cleared Second Stage with 4.9 seconds left. However, his luck ended in Third Stage, where a rush in Pole Bridge ended in him falling down to the mats below him.

He then had hiatus and returned in SASUKE 4. Despite the course had changed quite significantly since his last appearance, he seems didn't affected by it, as he went faster during his last appearance, clearing the stage with over 14 seconds left. However, in Second Stage, he scare himself by clashing with Goren Hammer's first hammer. Despite that, he still manage to clear Second Stage, albeit slower than last time with 2.3 seconds left. In Third Stage, things went smoothly until new Cliffhanger. Despite seemingly not fatigued and having a steady approach, when he transitioning to the third ledge, his hand suddenly gave in, ending his run.

After another hiatus he again returned in SASUKE 6. Here, he clear First Stage without any problem, with 14.75 seconds left on the clock, the fastest that day. After that he clear Second Stage like all the competitors in that tournament, with 2.61 seconds left on the clock. However, in Third Stage, he struggled with Body Prop which he never attempted before, eventually fail it about halfway of the obstacle.

In SASUKE 7 he again did well as expected, clearing First Stage with 16.66 seconds left, missing out the fastest time by only 0.1 seconds difference. However, he shockingly went out on the revamped Spider Walk on Second Stage, after struggling to walk across the obstacle and falling into the water when time was about to expire. He decided to start immediately the obstacle without using the spray (despite his brother's advice to use it) and this probably costed him the defeat.

In his final appearance in SASUKE 8, despite a downpour that upset the course, he was not discouraged and cleared First Stage with 10.5 seconds left on the clock. In Second Stage, thanks to the increased time limit exclusively for that particular tournament, he took his time taking the spray before Spider Walk and so he was able to clear the obstacle and the Second Stage with 5.2 seconds left on the clock. In Third Stage, he managed to avenge his past Body Prop defeat and later he even cleared Cliffhanger Dansa. He also clear Pipe Slider, advancing all the way to Final Stage. Here, due to the prohibitive climatic condition, he had some problems on Spider Climb, barely passing it before the walls separations. He managed to arrive about five metres away (all the time using his hands alone) from the goal before time expired on Tsuna Nobori. After so, he started crying while he was thrown down to the ground, which lead to one of the most emotional moments in SASUKE. He hasn't compete since.

Kinniku Banzuke and Sportsman No. 1 Career
He competed in Daruma 7 with his brother. He showboated each time he cleared a level, however, his luck ended after only getting two levels cleared. He also competed in Trampoline, clearing the first level (also showboated heavily after clearing) only to fail the next jump.

Kane is also well known for being a competitor of the show, Pro Sportsman No.1, as well as it's sister show SPODAN, being one of the most iconic and dominant competitors on the show, particularly in the celebrity version. He also had a well known friendly rivalry with Iketani Naoki on Sportsman No.1.

He has competed in five Pro Sportsman No. 1 tournaments, with his best result coming in year 2000, where he was crowned as Winner that year. He also finished as Runner-Up in year 2001 and 2002, as well as finishing Fourth in year 1999 and 2004.

However, Geinojin Sportsman No. 1 (Celebrity version) was where Kane truly shined, winning 5 tournaments during his time on the show, which is tied with Nakayama Kinnikun for most wins on this version of Sportsman. He won 3 tournaments in a row between the 2nd and 4th editions followed by 2 consecutive wins in the 6th and 7th editions.

Kane recently competed on Sportsman's sister show SPODAN, alongside fellow rival Iketani Naoki, although neither of them won.

Hinting a Return
Around SASUKE 11, in an interview with the Kinniku Banzuke successor, Taiku Ookoku, he said, "私は訓練に時間があれば、私は競争したいと思います. ", which roughly translates to, "If I have time to train, I would like to compete.", however, due to his acting career demanding more focus, he was never able to get the time needed.

On September of 2016, Acko Mladenovic of The SASUKE Nerds asked Kane Kosugi on Instagram if he would return in SASUKE 33. Kane replied with “No plans to try SASUKE so far, maybe one day”. This means that Kane could return in the future.

Away from SASUKE
To this date, Kane is still an Actor, occasionally starring in few Japanese films and series. In fact, his new film, MAXX, will be screened on theatres in 2021.

Kane also began to stream on Twitch, where he mostly played the popular multiplayer game, League of Legends. However he has been inactive since March of 2020.

Kane had also married since 2009 with a woman from Hong Kong. They will eventually be gifted with a daughter around 2019.

Trivia

 * Kane was the first American and the first non-Japanese competitor to attempt SASUKE, doing so in SASUKE 1 (preventing that tournament from an all-Japanese roster).
 * Kane is the only competitor who has competed at least five times and never fail First Stage.
 * Kane is only one of four people who could reach the top support of Jump Hang, as he achieved that feat in SASUKE 7.
 * The other three who achieved that feat are Hatakeda Yoshiaki in SASUKE 6, James Okada in SASUKE 7, and Paul Anthony Terek in SASUKE 17.
 * Kane is the first and thus far only American to make it to Final Stage in SASUKE.
 * Kane, Geoff Britten, Isaac Caldiero, David Campbell, Mike Bernardo, Drew Drechsel, Daniel Gil and Kaden Lebsack are the only eight Americans to finish Third Stage in any SASUKE format.
 * Kane is one of the four foreigners who attempted the Final Stage, along with Jordan Jovtchev in SASUKE 8, Lee En-Chih in SASUKE 24, and Rene Kaselowsky in SASUKE 37.
 * However, during SASUKE 37 broadcast, there was no mention of Kane's Final Stage attempt during SASUKE 8, possibly due to his Japanese heritage, as Rene was considered the third foreigner who attempted the Final Stage, with Jordan being the first and Lee being the second. This is even though there is a footage of him attempting the Final Stage present in the broadcast.
 * Kane was invited to compete in SASUKE 30, however once again he declined.
 * Kane competed with his brother, Shane Kosugi, on four occasions (SASUKE 2 and SASUKE 6 until SASUKE 8).
 * In JET broadcasts, Kosugi is referred in the subtitles as KEN.
 * During his Spider Walk's attempt in SASUKE 6, the cameraman accidentally tripped by the supporting metal of the obstacle, marking one of few funny instances the cameraman did something wrong and it was caught on camera.

Gallery
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