Moorestown resident Josiah Pippel advanced to the national finals of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” season 15 earlier this month, after competing against Jamie Rahn in the semifinals.
Ninja, a sport that Pippel fell in love with when he was 7 years old, instilled perseverance in him, among other qualities. And from his perspective, Ninja teaches people to get back up when they fail.
“There’s no certainty that you’re going to win or complete a course ever,” Pippel noted. “Everybody’s different, so it really just pushes you to get back up when you fail and not beat yourself about it, and learn from it and move on.”
Pippel was one of five “American Ninja Warrior” competitors to make it to stage 4 last season, and although he didn’t achieve total victory, he placed third in stage 3, fourth in stage 2 and seventh in stage 1. Since then, he’s been training specifically for the stage 4 rope, and he’s changed his climb technique to account for the secure, taut nature of the rope.
“ … Me and the training partner who helped build the gym I was talking about (Ninja Fitness Zone in Moorestown), we built – we call it ‘the elephant’ – but it’s basically a 40-foot-tall trust tower that we hang a rope from, and so we climb up and down that twice. And that’s been my main training for the rope.”
Pippel connected with Fitness Zone founder Marc Schneider through his training partner, who helped him build “the elephant.” Pippel is a head coach for advance-level kids and adults, and sees Ninja as something different for people, a sport that’s not like any other.
“There’s no requirements,” he explained. “You don’t have to be a certain body type or a certain height or whatever. You can do it at whatever age, however much you want to. It’s a sport for anybody.”
“For me, as someone who’s been in it for so long, I’m really pushing to not only get new people in, but push myself to get better,” Pippel added, “and push all the other experienced Ninjas to get better to promote the sport.”
Pippel and his competitors faced six obstacles in the “American Ninja Warrior” semifinals, including the Beehive, Hopscotch, Sling Shot and Cargo Climb. Every season, Pippel takes a step back to see how far he’s come, and his accomplishments don’t go unnoticed.
“It’s always one of those things, I think, as the years go on and you start to do it more and more and you keep getting there,” he noted. “It feels less and less special, but when you think back on it you’re like, ‘Not many people even get there’ …
“This is such an honor to be able to compete in the national finals and go to Vegas for a third year.”
Pippel’s Instagram has a quote from American rally driver Ken Block: “If you’re not scared, you’re not going fast enough,” a saying that helps Pippel step out of his comfort zone to achieve his dreams.
“That for me means … if you really want to push the page and really want to push yourself, you should be a little bit scared, or at least a little bit intimidated,” he observed.
“Now there is a sense that you always want to be in control, but you should never settle for okay.”
