The University of Minnesota’s Ninja Club encourages students to challenge themselves and beat obstacles like those seen on the TV series, American Ninja Warrior. 

The club meets weekly to practice with a variety of obstacles and work on biceps, back strength and grip.

Caden Hanninen, a fourth-year student and the club’s president, said the club works on balance by using BOSU balls and rolling logs. Club members go through obstacles where they can practice with holds like nunchucks, cones and ledges. 

The club usually goes to Obstacle Academy, a ninja gym in Eden Prairie, once a month where they can further train and practice on obstacle courses without cost, Hanninen added. 

“At the RecWell, there is also a rope we use to train by continually grabbing it,” Hanninen said. “On the show, on the last stage of the finals, they have to climb a 70-foot rope, so it is pretty similar to that.” 

The club also practices a lot with lache-based obstacles, where they move their bodies from one spot to another while hanging, Hanninen said. This kind of obstacle is often seen on American Ninja Warrior.

Ewan Kahnke, a first-year student and club member, said the club plans to participate in some competitions this year, though they have not yet. 

“The overall format is relatively similar to the show in that you run a course and whoever gets the furthest the fastest wins,” Kahnke said. “The progression of the obstacles also tend to get harder as you get further along in the course.” 

Physical preparation is extremely important in preparing for competitions, Kahnke said. He added mental preparation is also important in order to get centered and not psych out. 

At the beginning of each fall semester, Hanninen said the club works to recruit new members by holding an outdoor workout. The club has also planned an outdoor workout at Superblock for the spring semester.

“They just added a new rig outside of Superblock where there are a bunch of pull-up bars and boxes for box jump-type things,” Kahnke said. “There is also space for push-ups, cardio and that kind of thing.” 

People of all skill levels are welcome to join the club, Hanninen said, with modifications for beginners, such as using bars in replacement of difficult holds.

“Within the club, a lot of our members have experience and a desire to help everyone be able to do the best they can,” Kahnke said. 

Colin Stout, a second-year student, said his favorite part of being in the club is getting to continue the sport he is passionate about. He loves to coach people and help them get better. 

Kahnke said the ninja community is a strong group of people and he enjoys continuing to build it.

“The amount of support that everyone has for each other is just an incredible thing, and I hope to expand it and continue with it as much as I can,” Kahnke said.