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Spider Walk (スパイダーウォーク) is an iconic Second Stage obstacle that has been used in all of the first seventeen SASUKE tournaments, then from SASUKE 28 onwards. However, during the tournaments it was absent, the idea of traversing between two walls were inserted in Jumping Spider, which appeared from SASUKE 18 to SASUKE 24, then in SASUKE 26 and 27. It is derived from an Event with the same name in Kinniku Banzuke.

The obstacle requires the competitors to traverse the space between two parallel walls without touching the ground or grabbing the top part of the walls, from right to left. The gap between the walls is 1.2 metres, enough for the competitors' hands and feet to reach, except for Tanabe Chie in SASUKE 2, when she couldn't prop herself to the walls.

Most of the top competitors have failed here at least once, with Yamada Katsumi being famously disqualified here at one point for failing to remove his gloves while attempting the obstacle. There have been four versions of this obstacle, with Yamamoto Shingo being the only competitor to attempt all four versions at least once.

First Version[]

Notfinal

Ugokukabe in SASUKE 1, viewed from close range

The first version of Spider Walk, appearing from SASUKE 1 to SASUKE 4, was by far the longest out of the four versions existed, with competitors sometimes taking as much as half to almost all of the allotted time limit.

In this version, there are eight medium walls being put horizontally across, with one side being made of glass and the other being a covered wall. Interestingly, in the first three tournaments, it was divided into three parts, being:

  • Spider Walk (スパイダーウォーク), the first two walls, sometimes also referring to the whole structure of the obstacle.
  • Ugokukabe (動く壁), the third wall, noticeably being the only non-static wall.
  • Spider Climb (スパイダークライム), the last five walls that has walls built on an incline (not to be confused with Spider Climb that appeared on Final Stage).


TBS officially counts the three parts as separate obstacles. However, in English broadcasts, both Ugokukabe and Spider Climb were counted as parts of Spider Walk.

In SASUKE 4, possibly due to the introduction of Arm Bike and Cliffhanger in Third Stage, Ugokukabe is no longer counted as an official obstacle, merely being considered as a medium to Spider Climb in a similar fashion of how Taki Kudari is to Free Climbing in SASUKE 2. In its first three tournaments, throughout the entire obstacle, there were only mats to fall on. In SASUKE 4, the bottom of the obstacle's first half was now provided water to fall on, leaving only the obstacle's second half, which is Spider Climb section, to have mats to fall on.

This version was dubbed as the toughest version in SASUKE, as the obstacle eliminated almost half of the competitors who attempted it. It also caused havoc for two future members of SASUKE All-Stars, Yamada Katsumi and Akiyama Kazuhiko, as the former failed on it in SASUKE 2, while the latter struggled on it and timed out later on the stage in SASUKE 2 and 3. However, after Akiyama himself achieved Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 4, the Spider Walk would be modified.

Second Version[]

Yamada Katsumi attempting Spider Walk in SASUKE 6

Yamada Katsumi attempting modified Spider Walk in SASUKE 6

The second version of Spider Walk appeared in SASUKE 5 and 6, now being placed as the second obstacle. It was shortened to five large sets of glass panels on both sides, which would remain in all future versions of the obstacles, with the second and fourth panel sets moving in a vertical motion independently and again dubbed as Ugokukabe (動く壁), although like in SASUKE 4, it was not counted as an official obstacle. From this version onwards, the area under the whole obstacle was filled with water.

In its debut, it took out Takeda Toshihiro and Yamada Katsumi, with the former had his feet slipped right away in the beginning, while the latter had his feet slipped when making transition to the third panel. However, every competitor that attempted the Second Stage in the following tournament all managed to clear it easily, prompting another modification from the producers.

Third Version[]

Spider Walk SASUKE 7

Modified Spider Walk in SASUKE 7

The third and arguably the most iconic version of the Spider Walk appeared from SASUKE 7 to SASUKE 17. This time, the panels were arranged like an upside down "J". Competitor must go 3 metres upwards, then 5 metres horizontally, before going 5 metres downwards.

SASUKE 7 vs

Comparison of Spider Walk's bar to the landing platform as seen during Yamamoto Shingo's run in SASUKE 7 (Left) and Kane Kosugi's run in SASUKE 8 (Right)

After that, instead of reaching for a pole, competitors must reach a horizontal bar to make the dismount to the landing platform, although in its debut tournament, due to its placement that was higher compared to the other tournaments, some competitors skipped it entirely. Interestingly, the obstacle was initially named in SASUKE 7 as Spider Walk (Kai) 「スパイダーウォーク (改)」. The name was barely used at all during the tournament and it was reverted back in the following tournament.

Yamada attempting Spider Walk with Gloves

Yamada Katsumi wearing his gloves while attempting Spider Walk (Kai) in SASUKE 12. He was subsequently disqualified because he forgot to remove his gloves.

With the introduction of Chain Reaction in the same tournament, competitors were advised to wear gloves for safety reasons while attempting Chain Reaction, but they must discard them before attempting Spider Walk or they will be disqualified. This particular rule came into play when Yamada Katsumi forgot to take off his gloves during his run in SASUKE 12. Even though he later cleared Second Stage with 3.55 seconds left, he was then disqualified.

Starting in this version, sticky spray was provided at the start of the obstacle, which competitors could use before attempting the obstacle in order to prevent their hands/feet got slipped. However, several competitors skipped the spray entirely in order to save time, which sometimes proved to be costly as few of them failed after slipped at the panels, most notably Kane Kosugi in SASUKE 7 and Honma Kōta in SASUKE 17.

When Kanzenseiha was once again achieved, this time by Nagano Makoto in SASUKE 17, this obstacle was replaced by Salmon Ladder, before making its return six years later. As mentioned above, during that same period, a similar obstacle, named Jumping Spider, appeared as the fourth obstacle in First Stage.

Fourth Version[]

In SASUKE 28, Spider Walk returned to Second Stage after a six-year absence as part of the renewal/revival as the fourth obstacle, taking the spot from the Balance Tank which had previously been the obstacle after the third version of Spider Walk from SASUKE 10-17. The structure of the panels were the same as the one used on Jumping Spider, but without the trampoline and with an additional pair of panels added at the end. The extension was placed a few centimetres lower than the fourth panel. With its appearance in SASUKE 39, the fourth version holds the record with most appearances in SASUKE.

Yamamoto Shingo attempting Spider Walk in SASUKE 30

Yamamoto Shingo attempting modified Spider Walk in SASUKE 30

In SASUKE 30, the obstacle was modified with the extended panel being near the same height as the fourth panel in order to introduce Spider Drop, where competitors must drop down to another set of panels to reach the end. It, however, wasn't counted as an official obstacle until the following tournament, in which it was modified with the replacement of the black mats with a curved panel.

Ultimately, despite its time on the course, this version is seen more as a time waster before Backstream. In fact, only four competitors have ever failed this obstacle, being Nagasaki Shunsuke in SASUKE 34, Nakagawa Takaharu in SASUKE 36, Suzuki Yusuke in SASUKE 37, and Takasuka Hayato in SASUKE 40.

In 2022, the original producer of SASUKE, Ushio Higuchi created a show named "Ninjathlon" designed as an obstacle course racing competition in which various SASUKE obstacles were incorporated such as the Spider Walk, Cliffhanger, and Warped Wall. With this, Higuchi filed numerous copyright to other various obstacles such as Rope Maze, Jumping Bars, Unstable Bridge, and the aforementioned three obstacles. With the usage of the name Spider Walk in Ninjathlon and the filing of copyrights from Higuchi, this led to a copyright dispute between Ninjathlon and SASUKE with regards to the name of the obstacle. In response to this dispute, from SASUKE 40 onwards, the Spider Walk was renamed the Spider Run (スパイダーラン). Despite the name change, this obstacle stayed the same as the previous tournament.

KUNOICHI Appearance[]

Spider Walk (スパイダーウォーク) appeared as the second obstacle in BLUE Stage (Second Stage) from KUNOICHI 2017 Spring onwards, with the obstacle being a simple three-panel-long straightaway from left to right, as opposed to the pathway changes/moving panels of the SASUKE versions. The design was somewhat similar to Ninja Warrior Sweden as well as the Spider Wall/Spider Jump, which was used as the fourth obstacle during Qualifying and Semi-Final of American Ninja Warrior 1 and 2, with the walls arranged in a straight line.

In its first tournament, the BLUE Stage lacked a time limit, but starting from KUNOICHI 2017 Summer, with the implementation of a time limit, similar to the fourth version of Spider Walk from SASUKE, this obstacle now acts as a time waster and as such, only two competitors have ever failed this obstacle, being Asahina Aya and Saiki Reika (both doing so in KUNOICHI 2018).

Izumi Hikari attempting Spider Walk in KUNOICHI 2017 Spring

Izumi Hikari attempting Spider Walk in
KUNOICHI 2017 Spring


Other Appearances[]

Spider Walk[]

Ninja Warrior Sweden[]

NWS Spider Walk

Ninja Warrior Sweden's Spider Walk

On Ninja Warrior Sweden, the Spider Walk appeared as the fifth obstacle in Qualifiers, Semifinals and Finals' Stage One. The walls were arranged in a straight line, similar to the Spider Wall/Spider Jump in American Ninja Warrior 1 and 2.

As a side note, the Spider Walk in Ninja Warrior Sweden is more commonly used for some international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats which have space constraints, including KUNOICHI and American Ninja Warrior Junior.

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia[]

SNWI Spider Walk

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia's Spider Walk in Semifinal Stage 1

In front of view of Spider Walk

In front of view of Spider Walk, with water below

On SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia, the Spider Walk appeared as the second obstacle on Semifinal Stage 1, which was very similar to the one used in SASUKE 28.

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia[]

SNWMongolia2019 Spider Walk

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia's Spider Walk in Stage Two

On SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia, the Spider Walk (Аалзны Алхаа) appeared as the third obstacle on Stage Two. It appeared similar to the one used in SASUKE 30 but with the panel that is used for the Spider Drop is connected to the Spider Walk instead, with no black mats to separate the panels at the end.

Ninja Warrior UK[]

NWUK4 Spider Jump

Ninja Warrior UK 4's Spider Jump

On Ninja Warrior UK 3 and Ninja Warrior UK 4, the Spider Walk appeared as the first obstacle in the finals' Stage 2. However, the obstacle was erroneously called as the Spider Jump (not to be confused with the Jumping Spider, in which on Ninja Warrior UK and Ninja Warrior UK 2, the obstacle was called as the Spider Jump).

For the Spider Jump on Ninja Warrior UK 3, the sets of walls were arranged in almost similar fashion to the Spider Walk used from SASUKE 28 onward, except that there was a gap between the first two set of wall (similar to the Bouncing Spider). While on Ninja Warrior UK 4, the sets of walls were arranged in a similar fashion to the Spider Walk used in Ninja Warrior Sweden, except there was a gap between each set of walls.

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG 6-Preliminary Round-Obstacle-Spider Walk to Ring of Fire-1

Ninja Warrior Germany 6's Spider Walk

In Ninja Warrior Germany 6, the Spider Walk, locally called Tunnelsprung 2.0 (literally Tunnel Jump 2.0) appeared as the first part of the the fourth obstacle in every Preliminary Round. This time, there were three sets of walls present, and were arranged in a similar fashion to the Spider Walk used from KUNOICHI 2017 Spring to KUNOICHI 2018. However, there was now a gap between each set of walls (similar to the Bouncing Spider) and the panels would increase in height per set as well. Once competitors would reach the end of the third set of panels, they would directly attempt the Ring of Fire to advance. And unlike other obstacles of obstacle combinations, this obstacle was offically considered as one portion of Spider Walk to Ring of Fire, locally called Tunnelsprung 2.0 zu Ringrutsche (literally Tunnel Jump 2.0 to Ring Slide), and not as one separate obstacle.

Ninja Israel[]

NWI Spider Walk

Ninja Israel's Spider Walk

On Ninja Warrior Israel, the Spider Walk, locally called קפיצת העכביש (Spider Jump) like Ninja Warrior UK 3 appeared as the first obstacle in the Finals' Stage Two.

Spider Walk and Jumping Spider

Comparison between Spider Walk (above) and Jumping Spider (below) in Ninja Israel

Interestingly, unlike SASUKE and most international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats, the obstacle use the same wall as the Jumping Spider did in the Semifinals, albeit without the trampoline at the start. This signified the rarity that Ninja Israel has both Jumping Spider and Spider Walk in the same season. However, unlike Jumping Spider which eliminated most competitors in Semifinals, all five competitors cleared Spider Walk without any problem (possibly due to the removal of the trampoline, making it easier to mount the obstacle). On Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Spider Walk (along with Jumping Spider in Semifinals) was replaced by Bouncing Spider in both Semifinals and Stage Two.

Ninja Warrior France[]

NWF7 Spider Walk

Ninja Warrior France 7's Spider Walk

Nwfr7 spider walk top

Ninja Warrior France 7's Spider Walk (viewed from top)

On Ninja Warrior France 7, the Spider Walk, locally called La Traversée de Cristal (literally The Crystal Crossing) appeared as the third obstacle in the Finals' Stage Two, which was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior Sweden.

American Ninja Warrior Junior[]

ANWJ2 Spider Walls

American Ninja Warrior Junior 2's Spider Walls

The Spider Walk (called Spider Walls) appeared as the third obstacle in American Ninja Warrior Junior 2 for Bracket 1, kids aged 9-10, which was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior Sweden. 9 competitors fell on the obstacle, including Charlie Ball.

Ninja Israel Junior[]

NWIJ Spider Walk

Ninja Israel Junior's Spider Walk

On Ninja Warrior Israel Junior, the Spider Walk appeared as the fourth obstacle in Semifinals and Finals' Stage One. The obstacle was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior UK 4, except that there was a rope at the end of the obstacle, in which competitors must reach the rope and swing to the landing platform. It also resembled the walls of the Bouncing Spider used in Ninja Warrior Israel 2 as the fourth obstacle in the Semifinals and then reappeared as the first obstacle in the Finals' Stage Two.

Zig Zag Climb[]

American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja[]

NvN Zig Zag Climb

American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja's Zig Zag Climb

A variation of the Spider Climb appeared on American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, as the ninth and final obstacle of the extended course during the Final Matchup, in the form of the Zig Zag Climb.

On this obstacle, the walls were 57 feet (17.37 meters) in length and arranged in a zig zag formation, requiring the competitors to go up in an angle first, then go down, and once again go up to reach the buzzer at the top. Also, similar to the Spider Walk used during the first three SASUKE tournaments, the area below the obstacle was filled with safety mats. Overall, nine competitors fell on the obstacle throughout the season, including Sean Bryan, Najee Richardson, Grant McCartney, Jon Alexis Jr., Ian Dory, Mathis Owhadi, JJ Woods, Brian Burkhardt (who even injured his shoulder at the start of the obstacle), and Barclay Stockett.

Team Ninja Warrior Germany[]

Tnwgr2 zig zag climb

Team Ninja Warrior Germany 2's Zig Zag Climb

In Team Ninja Warrior Germany 2, the Zig Zag Climb from American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, locally called Zick-Zack-Tunnel (literally Zig Zag Tunnel) appeared as the final obstacle of the K.O. Rounds.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the TBS/Keshet 12 broadcast and external information found.

SASUKE[]

SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
1 15 23 65.22%
2 17 34 50%
3 9 13 69.23%
4 16 37 43.24%
5 1 3 33.33%
6 5 5 100%
7 5 6 83.33%
8 5 5 100%
9 6 7 85.71%
10 4 5 80%
11 10 10 100%
12 10 11 90.91%
13 10 10 100%
14 13 13 100%
15 7 7 100%
16 16 16 100%
17 10 11 90.91%
28 4 4 100%
29 17 17 100%
30 17 17 100%
31 10 10 100%
32 8 8 100%
33 7 7 100%
34 16 17 94.12%
35 8 8 100%
36 14 15 93.33%
37 8 9 88.89%
38 10 10 100%
39 12 12 100%
40 22 23 95.65%
41 17 17 100%
Total 329 390 84.35%


KUNOICHI[]

KUNOICHI Clears Attempts Percentage
2017 Spring 5 5 100%
2017 Autumn 5 5 100%
2018 8 10 80%
Total 18 20 90%

Ninja Israel[]

NWI Clears Attempts Percentage
NWI 5 5 100%
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