Sidewinder R

The Sidewinder R (サイドワインダー・R), nowadays 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. The obstacle was allegedly created by Matachi Ryo, hence the letter "R" was there in honor to him.

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 pole was 1.8m (5.91 ft) 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 pole, 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, shorter, and more loosely held together.

First Version[]

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.

Second Version[]

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

Third Version[]

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 warranted 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). 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.

Jessie Graff rested her arms on the Sidewinder Kai, SASUKE 34

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). In addition, 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.

From SASUKE 35, the obstacle was later renamed to the Sidewinder (サイドワインダー) during SASUKE 35, likely due to the announcer referring it simply as it is. It was moved to the second obstacle, due to the removal of the Drum Hopper Kai, but still being preceded by the Flying Bar.

Fourth Version[]

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 anticlockwise 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 difficulty changes 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.
With the poles now rotating automatically, navigating them requires less physical effort. This change, however, introduces a strategic decision for competitors: they must choose whether to jump later for optimal timing but expending more energy, or attempt to jump earlier to save energy, which increases the likelihood of inaccuracy.

In its debut tournament, it took down a fair number of competitors such as Mutou Tomohiro, Suzuki Yusuke, and Yamamoto Keitaro. However, 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, but it was easy as once again, as only Araki Naoyuki failed the obstacle.

In SASUKE World Cup 1, the same modifications as the previous tournament reappeared and it was slightly harder as three out of four women competitors failed: Oshima Ayano (Team Japan Red), Watanabe Mai (Team Japan Blue), and Olivia Vivian (Team Australia), as the former two Japanese struggled to transition from the Flying Bar.

In SASUKE 42, it only eliminated Uchimiya Shuzo in a digested performance on the first transition.

KUNOICHI Appearance[]

As part of the course reboot in KUNOICHI 12, a toned-down version of the Sidewinder Kai, simply called Sidewinder (サイドワインダー), appeared as the second obstacle of the Black Stage, replacing the Arm Bike. Similar to the one used in SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia (see below), the obstacle is not directly preceded by an obstacle, and the second and third poles would not drop down once competitors apply their weight.

This obstacle was relatively tame during its debut as out of six attempts, only two failed it: Tsuboi Honami (who failed the second transition) and Mizuno Yūko (who failed the first transition). Meanwhile Oshima Ayano and Watanabe Mai both got their revenge on the obstacle after failing the transition in SASUKE World Cup 1. In KUNOICHI 13, every competitor completed the obstacle with no problems.

Other Appearances[]

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia[]

On SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia, the Sidewinder R (Агаарын Багана, literally Air Column) made its first international appearance outside of SASUKE, appearing as the third obstacle in Stage Three. The obstacle is based on 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.

The latter two changes made the obstacle very similar to the original version. Out of seven attempts, only one competitor failed it.

As a side note, this version was later used in KUNOICHI 12, except the poles are thicker.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found

SASUKE[]

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%
World Cup 1	13	16	81.25%
42	15	16	93.75%
Total	58	68	85.29%

KUNOICHI[]

KUNOICHI	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
12	4	6	66.67%
13	4	4	100%
Total	8	10	80%