American Ninja Warrior

To start like the others, I'm not sure how I felt about this course. It was unfortunate that so many people slipped on Cannon Ball Drop because they removed the Fly Wheels from Qualifying in attempts to make the front half easier, yet it was ironic, too, because more people probably fell on the Cannon Ball Drop than the Fly Wheels. I thought they would get rid of the Ring Turn because it looked fairly taxing and complicating if you didn't have a clear plan of attack. It was easy to picture people struggling and hanging on too long, but I guess they don't want to change it too drastically. I think L.A. had the biggest change-up with the Sky Hooks being replaced. I still feel like Dallas' Nail Clipper was the hardest 8th obstacle because while the Crazy Clock proved to be a problem, if you could do it like Niemitalo or Graff it wasn't as long or taxing (looking) as the Nail Clipper, and the Giant Cubes did have the opportunity to use your feet. However, I think the St...

Ok, let's talk about the course really quick. I think they are changing the Qualifying half of the course in order to help more people finish, but it is a little uneven between the cities. To begin with, the city courses are uneven, and their changes are no exception. In Dallas, I already have an issue with the Bouncing Spider because I hate trampolines. Obviously, it didn't need to be changed because it doesn't expend a lot of upper body strength to begin with, but the balance obstacle was a little surprising. The Tuning Forks were a big problem in Qualifying, so it makes sense to replace that instead of the Bouncing Spider if their goal is for more people to advance. However, it is just lopsided compared to L.A. The city courses all follow the same formula, but I still think the overall difficulty is unbalanced. The Bouncing Spider is easier than the Sky Hooks but both were still the 3rd obstacle. I do realize a lot of people fall on trampoline obstacles, but it's mor...

Okay, I have a few things to say about the L.A. Finals. First, why change the qualifying half of the course? The Floating Steps is fine; it's whatever, but why change the Sky Hooks to the shelf grab obstacle? I think this change contributed to the higher number of athletes who finished/ran farther. The Sky Hooks could be taxing on strength if you get stuck up there, but the Flying Shelf Grab doesn't really allow you to hang on as long. People could have trouble getting the ring over the hook or possibly transitioning. Both obstacles require momentum, yes, but the Flying Shelf Grab seemed much quicker and easier to fly through. I definitely think it helped athletes conserve strength for the back half. I am assuming they will make adjustments like this for the next 5 cities, otherwise it is very unfair and doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm guessing they made the change so that more athletes would have better runs, but it still doesn't make sense to me. I also was surpr...

Alright, as the last city, let's switch it up and talk about the course instead of the athletes first. I was surprised that the cutoff was the 4th obstacle, the Diamond Dash. 6 people qualified by only completing 3 of the 6 obstacles. I know Dallas had the same thing with the Tuning Forks, but I don't think it was that many people. It's hard to say whether or not the course was harder or the people weren't as good. The big names like Joe, Lance, Meagan, and Jake all made it in fine, so it comes down to the rookies more than the big names. The Ring Jump seemed very tricky for people, but that was definitely geared towards the rookies and sophomores. Look at Joe. He completed the same obstacle last year in Cleveland, and he is a total pro. He took on the incline section in two leaps. It is absolutely no problem for Joe, but a lot of people, I don't know if it was really so much a strength problem as it was technique and comfort. Last week, the 5th obstacle was the ro...