Parkour is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing feats of acrobatics. With roots in military obstacle course training and martial arts, parkour includes flipping, running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, and quadrupedal movement—whatever is suitable for a given situation. Parkour is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others, and is usually carried out in urban spaces, though it can be done anywhere. It involves seeing one's environment in a new way, and envisioning the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features.
Sébastien Foucan is a French freerunner.
A ninja was a secret agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war.
Kane Takeshi Kosugi is an American actor and martial artist of Japanese and Chinese descent.
Kunoichi is a women's obstacle course competition held in Japan and broadcast on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It is a spin-off of Sasuke, another obstacle course series. Kunoichi is different from Sasuke in that the competitors are exclusively female. The show is re-broadcast as Women of Ninja Warrior on the American G4 channel. It originally ran for 8 tournaments between 2001 and 2009 with the first tournament held as Kinniku Banzuke special. In 2017, after an 8-year hiatus, it was renewed for a 9th tournament which aired on February 12, 2017. The 9th, 10th, and 11th tournaments took place on an indoor course at the Makuhari Messe Convention Hall, unlike past tournaments taking place at Mt. Midoriyama Studio City.
Kinniku Banzuke a.k.a. Unbeatable Banzuke is a Japanese television program that aired weekly and was the premier sports entertainment variety show of the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). Its successors were Taiiku Oukoku and Ougon Kinniku. They were succeeded by Muscle Musical. Several seasonal specials were also made, such as Pro Sportsman No.1 and Sasuke.
The American Ninja Challenge was a nationwide competition sponsored by G4 TV to send a number of American citizens to Japan to compete in the TBS hit TV show Sasuke. The American Ninja Challenge has been held since Sasuke 19 and currently merged into the TV series American Ninja Warrior that premiered on December 12, 2009 and succeeded the American Ninja Challenge.
American Ninja Warrior is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show Sasuke, which also serves as a successor of American Ninja Challenge. It features a set of obstacle courses in various cities, which contestants attempt to conquer. The obstacle courses are divided into Qualifiers courses, Semifinals courses, and a four-part Finals course which is based at Las Vegas Strip. The contestant who finishes all the courses in the fastest time wins a cash prize of $1,000,000. Starting with season 10, if one remaining contestant fails on any of Finals course parts, but has completed it more than the others in the fastest time, he wins a consolatory $100,000 prize. The show is hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. To date, only Isaac Caldiero, Drew Drechsel, and Vance Walker have won the main cash prize. Furthermore, Geoff Britten and Daniel Gil are the only two runners-up who have achieved Total Victory.
The World Freerunning Parkour Federation (WFPF) is an international federation or organization that was established in 2007. Its focus is to bring together patrons of Parkour and Freerunning and aims to bring the sport and philosophy to the mainstream audience.
Luci Romberg is an American stuntwoman. She is also the co-owner of Tempest Freerunning, a parkour lifestyle brand that also operates multiple training facilities and is based in Los Angeles.
Jessica Lauren Graff is an American professional stunt woman, martial artist and athletics-based television personality. She is a black belt in Taekwondo, a black sash in Kung Fu, and is trained in five other styles of martial arts. She is also a championship pole vaulter and a competitive gymnast.
Ninja Warrior UK is a British physical obstacle assault course game show, created for ITV. The show is based upon the format of the Japanese game show Sasuke, created by Ushio Higuchi, which is aired in the United Kingdom and other countries as Ninja Warrior.
The fifth season of American Ninja Warrior premiered on G4 on June 30, 2013, with subsequent shows airing on both G4 and NBC. Host Matt Iseman returned for his fifth season, while newcomers Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Jenn Brown replaced skier Jonny Moseley and Angela Sun. Similar to previous seasons, the winner receives $500,000 and the coveted title, "American Ninja Warrior". This also marks the second season Mount Midoriyama was held on U.S. soil.
The fourth season of American Ninja Warrior began on May 20, 2012, and aired on NBC and G4. This was a landmark season for Ninja Warrior, as the entire format was overhauled. For the first time, the finals took place on U.S. soil. In addition, regional qualifying and finals were added, taking place in the series' flagship location, Venice Beach, CA, Dallas, TX, and Miami, FL. New co-host Jonny Moseley replaced Jimmy Smith, while Angela Sun replaced Alison Haislip. Again, the winner would have received $500,000 and the coveted American Ninja Warrior title. Brent Steffensen became the first competitor to complete the Ultimate Cliffhanger.
The second season of American Ninja Warrior began on December 8, 2010, in Venice Beach, California where 300 competitors took on the course. The 15 semi-finalists moved on to the "Ninja Warrior Boot Camp" in the remote California mountains, where they competed in a series of team challenges. Then, the final moved on to compete in the season finale of American Ninja Warrior 2 as a part of Sasuke 26 at Mount Midoriyama in Japan. The series concluded on January 2, 2011, same as Sasuke 26 was aired in Japan. This season was hosted by Matt Iseman and Jimmy Smith, with G4's Alison Haislip as a sideline reporter.
American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja is an American reality television obstacle racing team competition series and a spin-off of American Ninja Warrior. The series features ANW alumni racing in teams of three against each other, with the winners receiving a cash prize.
The eleventh season of the reality/sports competition series American Ninja Warrior premiered on May 29, 2019, on NBC. City qualifying and finals competitions were held in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Seattle/Tacoma, marking the first time a course was held in the Pacific Northwest, Baltimore, and Cincinnati.
The first season of the American reality television series American Ninja Warrior premiered on December 12, 2009, with the first four episodes of the season. The final four episodes were released on December 19, 2009. The season was hosted by Blair Herter and Alison Haislip and the finalists were sent to Japan to compete in Sasuke 23. All eight aired on G4, an American television network. Levi Meeuwenberg was the "Last Ninja Standing," meaning he made it the furthest of any American competitor on Sasuke 23. The season operated on a lower budget than any other season, and only two contestants who competed in the first season also competed in all thirteen other seasons: Brian Kretsch and David Campbell.
The thirteenth season of the American game show television series American Ninja Warrior premiered on May 31, 2021 on NBC. The season contain 12 episodes. A spin-off from the Japanese reality series Sasuke, it is hosted by Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and Zuri Hall. As with the twelfth season, this season used a smaller number of filming locations with no audiences during taping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
