Without Sasuke, there is no American Ninja Warrior. The Japanese show is the grandfather of the Ninja Warrior format and was the initial inspiration that sparked many Ninja athletes to start training.

This year, the show is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Two iconic American Ninja Warrior competitors have flown to Japan to take part in the competition: Jessie Graff and Drew Drechsel!

Drew has competed on Sasuke before, but this is Jessie’s first trip to Japan for competition. Both seem pretty excited to have the opportunity.

Well, here we go again... Could this be the year? :p #Sasuke34 #20thanniversary @anwnation @ninjawarrior A post shared by Drew Drechsel (@reallifeninja) on Jul 22, 2017 at 2:22am PDT

I can't believe I'm here, in Japan, about to compete on Sasuke!!! Thank you so much to @inuimasato for inviting me. It is such an honor! A post shared by jessie graff (@jessiegraffpwr) on Jul 22, 2017 at 2:39am PDT

Check out these photos from the course!

The show will be recorded over the next few days. Good luck to Drew, Jessie, and all the Ninjas taking on this incredible competition! We can’t wait to find out how they do!