Sidewinder R

The Sidewinder R (サイドワインダー・R), being referred as simply Sidewinder, is an obstacle in the Third Stage debuted in SASUKE 31 as the third obstacle. The official naming of the obstacle became the first instance in which both Japanese Katakana and Latin Alphabet letters were used.

In essence, the obstacle consisted of four poles that competitors must get across one by one to the other side and each one has grips for the competitors to hang onto the poles. The four poles were parallel to each other, similar in a zig-zag formation. The distance between each poles was 1.8 m when the competitors crossed the poles one by one, similar to the function of the Hariyama or Pole Grasper. Also, there was a black line placed around each poles, which served as a boundary for the competitors to place their hands onto.

Since its introduction in SASUKE 31, there have been four versions, with Drew Drechsel, Hioki Masashi, Morimoto Yūsuke, Sato Jun and Kawaguchi Tomohiro being the competitors to attempt and complete the most versions, with three.

The Wind Chimes, which was used on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Pittsburgh was similar to the Sidewinder R, except the chimes were much thinner and shorter.

Sidewinder R [Version 1] (SASUKE 31)[]

The first version of the Sidewinder R (サイドワインダー・R) consists of four poles that were parallel to each other similar in zig-zag formation that competitors must get across one by one to the other side.

Though no one failed on the obstacle, it exhausted most of the competitors who attempted it, leading to all but two (Morimoto Yūsuke and Kanno Hitoshi) failing the Crazy Cliffhanger. This was similar to the relationship between the Tackle and Soritatsu Kabe in the First Stage.

Sidewinder R Kai [Version 2] (SASUKE 32)[]

In SASUKE 32, the tournament following Morimoto Yūsuke's kanzenseiha, the obstacle was modified. To make the obstacle harder, it was modified with the second and third pole would drop 60cm when the competitors put their weight on them (similar to the fourth pole of the Pole Grasper during American Ninja Warrior 7's Stage Three). Therefore, its name was changed to Sidewinder R Kai (サイドワインダー・R 改), and its position still remained as the third obstacle.

This obstacle took out André Sihm, who was the only competitor to fail on this obstacle in that tournament.

Even though this obstacle was difficult enough, this only lasted for one tournament, as it was modified once again in SASUKE 33.

Sidewinder Kai [Version 3] (SASUKE 33-38)[]

In SASUKE 33, the obstacle was modified once again, making it one of the many obstacles to be modified in three consecutive tournaments and the only obstacle that warrant a name change for each version.

This time, the second and third pole would still drop 60cm when the competitors put their weight on them. However, all poles were arranged in a straight line instead of the usual zig-zag formation. The name has left out the letter "R" thus was called Sidewinder Kai (サイドワインダー改). The obstacle was called the Sidewinder (サイドワインダー) from SASUKE 35, likely due to the announcer referring it simply as it is.

To make the obstacle harder, it was tied together with the Flying Bar with no rest. With that change, only Drew Drechsel attempted and completed the obstacle due to the immense difficulty of the previous obstacle.

In SASUKE 34, all of the competitors managed to complete the new modified Flying Bar, though this obstacle took out two competitors (Obata Satoshi and Suzuki Yusuke).

Also, a unique method of attempting this obstacle was made by Jessie Graff in the same tournament, as she locked her legs on the poles, thus allowing to rest her arms in the process.

In SASUKE 35 and SASUKE 36, the Sidewinder Kai was moved to the second obstacle, due to the removal of the Drum Hopper Kai, but still being preceded by the Flying Bar.

Sidewinder [Version 4] (SASUKE 39~)[]

After Morimoto Yusuke's second kanzenseiha, the obstacle was modified in SASUKE 39 based on the Sidewinder Kai, now simply called Sidewinder (サイドワインダー), with a few differences. The first and third pole now rotates anti-clockwise in a slow speed (due to this aspect, the obstacle is also known as Spinwinder in fan circles), along with the second pole remaining stationary but dropping by 60cm. This change brought various difficulties in multiple aspects:

The transition from the Flying Bar to the first pole became trickier due to the fact that competitors must time themselves to grab the holds in the right timing and position.
The transition from the rotating poles to the stationary poles requires good timing, which is very crucial as it can mess up the timing in which competitors do their transitions.

In its debut tournament, it took down a fair amount of competitors such as Mutou Tomohiro, Suzuki Yusuke, and Yamamoto Keitaro.

In SASUKE 41, the rotation was changed to rotate clockwise and the landing platform was slightly modified by splitting the long platform into two smaller platforms with a gap in between. This change provides more leg space that would be needed for the Swing Edge, but it comes at the expense of having a smaller area for competitors to land on.

Other Appearances[]

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia[]

SNWMongolia2019 Sidewinder — SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia's Sidewinder

On SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia, the Sidewinder R made its first international appearance outside of SASUKE, appearing as the third obstacle in Stage Three. The obstacle is similar to the Sidewinder Kai with a few noticeable differences, being:

The poles are thinner compared to SASUKE,
The obstacle is not directly preceded by an obstacle, and
The second and third poles would not drop down once competitors apply their weight (similar to Sidewinder R).

Competitors' Success Rate[]

All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found

Sidewinder R
SASUKE	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
31	8	8	100%
Total	8	8	100%

Sidewinder R Kai
SASUKE	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
32	3	4	75%
Total	3	4	75%

Sidewinder Kai
SASUKE	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
33	1	1	100%
34	7	9	77.78%
35	5	5	100%
36	8	9	88.89%
37	8	8	100%
38	4	4	100%
Total	33	36	91.67%

Sidewinder
SASUKE	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
39	6	9	66.67%
40	10	12	83.33%
41	14	15	93.33%
Total	30	36	83.33%