Confidence is key: Motus Ninjas of LS students scored big at national competition

If you’ve ever watched “American Ninja Warrior,” you have an idea of what a ninja obstacle course looks like. But what about trying to complete one yourself? That’s what several athletes from Motus Ninjas of Lee’s Summit did recently at the National Ninja League’s world championships.

T.J. Rehak, co-owner of Motus Ninjas, and 8-year-old R.J. Brown, of Smithville, both placed well at the competition in Greensboro, North Carolina. Twenty-six others from the same gym also competed in the 2,000-person field.

R.J. placed second in the world championship kids category, competing in all three stages of the event, and also placing fifth for the strongest ninja category. Another Motus athlete, Alex Rapp, took third in the full swing category.

The regular course competition is judged on how far the players get through the obstacle course, then by who got to that point the fastest.

For R.J., it’s all about the fun of doing the course.

“I just like being in the air. I don’t know why,” he said.

The competition has eight divisions based on age, and divisions are separated by gender. Rehak competed in the masters division, which is for people older than 40, placing fifth in the overall course category, second in overall skills and first in the strongest ninja category.

“I like running the course — I really enjoy that. The challenge (is) to try to beat the course and to try to be fast, too. I like to be as fast as possible. I generally don’t take breaks on the course,” Rehak said.

All of the competitors had to qualify for the championships through local and regional events. The three stages to the course are progressively more difficult. If you don’t complete a stage of the course, you can’t go on to the next one.

Each stage takes only a few minutes, but those minutes are full of physical challenges.

“Ninja’s more like sprinting, versus a long-distance run. It’s definitely not a marathon. You’re going to go hard and be done,” Rehak said.

He finds the balance obstacles to be the hardest ones, but everyone has different preferences. Rehak also enjoys watching his fellow competitors.

“The environment there is different than most competitions. Everyone is cheering on everyone to go further. It really is tough. It’s tough to beat the course,” Rehak said.

If you fall during the course, you aren’t allowed to get back up and continue it. But with time as a factor for earning points, competitors push it as much as they can to finish the fastest.

In addition to the tri-stage course, skills events reward aptitude in different abilities you need for the obstacle course. That might be hanging from ledges by your fingertips or jumping off angled platforms to catch bars.

Rehak usually does five or six competitions each year. This one included competitors from at least five other countries, he said. The kids’ divisions are generally larger than the adult ones.

To get ready, he trains three to four days a week doing things like rock climbing and strength training. R.J. comes to the gym twice a week and sometimes attends an open gym session.

Motus Ninjas has gyms in Lee’s Summit and Overland Park, and Rehak encourages to people who are interested to come to an open gym session and see if it’s right for them.

“The sport is still new. (It’s) this other way to stay fit,” Rehak said. “One of the biggest things people realize is it takes a lot of confidence to do some of this, so then we see a lot of confidence being built.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.