By: Jonathan Gamboa, Layout Designer | Photos By: Jonathan Gamboa & Josh Kronberg
Former student and “American Ninja Warrior Season 4” contestant Josh Kronberg said that physical and mental preparedness as well as staying consistent with training will help future competitors get past the obstacles in the competition.
Taking each obstacle aggressively and really attacking it was something he learned from his failure in seasons two and three, his first and second appearances on the show, he said. In season two he said he was too cautious and almost fell on the first two obstacles before finally falling on the third because he was intimidated.
“The training course I built to match the obstacles I encountered in season two and three really helped out in the fourth season. I knew I could accomplish these obstacles at the Dallas mid-south regionals, because I already trained with an almost exact replica of the course for five months at home,” said Kronberg.
He said he trained for the fourth season of Ninja Warrior for three months before auditioning. He trained for another two months after being selected as a regional contestant.
The mid-south regional competition aired Sunday, June 17 on G4 and Monday June 18 on NBC, he said. He placed 19 out of 100. The top 15 move on to the next round, said Kronberg.
The first four obstacles: quad steps, log grip, bridge of blades and cargo net were easy because of all the practice time, he said.
“There was this rope junction obstacle which was taking out a lot guys, because nobody had seen it before and nobody knew what to do,” Kronberg said.
When he got to the high wall he could not get over it, he said. He was eliminated at the Dallas regional finals with the thirty-fifth best time.
“One of the reasons why I didn’t make it up the wall was because I was emotionally, mentally and physically drained, I didn’t have any adrenaline left,” said Kronberg.
This year “American Ninja Warrior” has become very popular in the United States, because the Japanese version is no longer available, he said Nine hundred contestants are competing to be one of the top 100 who go to the finals in Las Vegas, NV. One hundred fifty participants tried out in each of the six U.S. regions – northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, midwest and mid-southwest, said Kronberg.
Fifteen participants from each region and 10 wild cards will compete in Las Vegas in July, said Kronberg.
Kronberg and another “American Ninja Warrior” participant, Daniel French, plan to open a Ninja Warrior gym in the downtown area later this summer, said Kronberg. The gym will include Ninja Warrior 101 and Ninja Warrior advanced classes taught by Kronberg, he said.
“I really feel that training on the specific obstacles make a huge difference in skill and confidence,” Kronberg said.
To see Kronberg’s audition video, go to youtube.com/ madwiseman. For more information on “American Ninja Warrior,” go to g4tv.com/anw.
