Kane Kosugi (ケイン・コスギ) is an action star who attempted SASUKE five times. He is also the first American to attempt the course. He first competed in SASUKE 1 but failed the Pole Bridge, the first obstacle on Stage Three.
He returned in SASUKE 4, clearing the First Stage with ease and he barely passing the Second Stage with 2.3 seconds left. However he failed the transition on the last ledge of the new Cliffhanger, one of five to do so.
He then returned in SASUKE 6, he complete the First Stage with almost 15 seconds left. Then he passed the Second Stage like the four competitors who cleared the First Stage that day. However, like his brother Shane, he struggled at the Body Prop in Third Stage and failed halfway of the obstacle.
He returned in the the 7th tournament. Yet again, he stormed through the First Stage with ease. However, in Stage 2 he struggled at the new Spider Walk and failed here with almost 16 seconds left. His difficulty in walking in the walls are due to the fact that he forgot to get the spray. This was his earliest defeat, as well as his only Stage 2 failure,
In the next tournament, he completed the First and Second Stage with ease. He completed the Body Prop and Cliffhanger that had taken him down in previous tournaments. He even completed the Pipe Slider and therefore joined Jordan Jovtchev as 2 of only 3 foreigners ever in the final stage ( Li En Zhi being the third in SASUKE 24). Kosugi became the first man to reach the rope in the new Final Stage but missed kanzenseiha by a few meters. It should be noted that it was raining during the whole tournament. He is currently the only person to have a 100% First Stage clear percentage and compete at least five times. Kane is originally from Los Angeles, California.
He competed with his brother, Shane Kosugi, on several occasions.
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, he has not competed since SASUKE 8. A few years later, it was revealed that Kane quit SASUKE because of a feud he had with the company that ran the competition at the time, Monster9. Monster9 released a SASUKE related game including Kosugi as a playable character. However they did not got permission from him and Kane became furious about the extreme rainfall. After not settling the situation on the court, Kane promised that he would never compete in SASUKE again. At the moment Tokyo Broadcasting System runs the competitions because of Monster9's bankruptcy. It is unknown if he'll return or not.
He was invited to compete in SASUKE 30, however once again he declined.
Trivia
- Kosugi was the first American and the first non-Japanese competitor to attempt SASUKE.
- Kosugi is the only competitor who has competed at least 5 times and never fail the First Stage.
- Kosugi is the first American to make it to the Final Stage, and the only American to doing so in SASUKE 8, until ANW7.
- In JET TV broadcasts, he is referred in the subtitles as KEN.
- Kane is the first American to finish Third Stage , but nbc skip this
- He is only american to finish Third Stage in Japan
Results
| SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89 | Failed Pole Bridge (Third Stage) | |
| 4 | 97 | Failed Cliff Hanger (Third Stage) | |
| 6 | 98 | Failed Body Prop (Third Stage) | |
| 7 | 98 | Failed Spider Walk (Second Stage) | |
| 8 | 91 | Failed Tsuna Nobori (Final Stage) | Time Out, about 17m up. |
Gallery
