AGELESS NINJA

Many of you may know, watched, or have heard of the show American Ninja Warrior. For those who have never heard of it or watched the show, it is pretty much a competition between an incredible athlete versus an obstacle course. The athletes are competing for the ultimate prize of $1,000,000. Only 3 have won that since 2009.

 What many of you may not know is that this is being recognized as a bonafide sport. Where once people were known to set up courses in their backyards. Now you have gyms and League forming across the world. So much so that the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO) World Obstacle was formed in 2014 as an international governing body for obstacles & and related sporting events.

 Currently, there are a few gyms in the suburbs of Buffalo but none in the city. Enter Dave Kozak – affectionately and professionally known as the Ageless Ninja. He’s currently 76 years young. He trained in Lancaster at Hybrid Ninja Academy. He’s been on the American Ninja Warrior show twice! And in November 2021 he was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as being the oldest Competitive Ninja Warrior in The World! (*) He started this journey competing in Spartan competitions with family members. He eventually saw a call for athletes for a local competition for Ninja Athletes and he’s been training and competing ever since. It is a sight to witness the youth at Hybrid Ninja Academy transform into a cheerleading squad for every competition! 

Dave’s goal is to bring the love of this sport to Inner City Youth who may not have transportation and/or means to experience the exhilaration of working to overcome an obstacle in a very physical sense. Not only for the accomplishment in the gym but for the lessons that transmute into everyday challenges. 

 For as long as he has been training and competing is as long as he has been able to bear witness to how this unique sport has changed the lives of young people. Not just improvement in the way of physical fitness but their emotional, psychological, and socialization skills improve as well. The “athletes experience positive changes in self-awareness, self-discipline, self-confidence, and many other personal attributes.”

 Just as he has had this opportunity, he wants the opportunity to be opened in the City of Buffalo for youth. As such he embarked on a venture and has secured non-profit status for The Buffalo Ninja Academy. His hope is to secure a location within 6 – 18 months. As well as funding for daily operations to offer training for youth at little to no cost.

 A suitable home for The Buffalo Ninja Academy would be approximately 3000-4000 sq feet with a 10-12 foot+ ceiling. If you have led to such a space – connect with Dave as soon as you read the end of this article!  If you would like to financially contribute to this non-profit endeavor, you can reach Dave Kozak at: dvkozak@yahoo.com 

 The Buffalo Ninja Academy website is also under development at: http://buffaloninjaacademy.com

 You can follow him on Facebook at Ageless Ninja.

 (*) To see the feature on WGRZ-TV: Search Local Athlete is World Oldest Ninja

or click here: https://youtu.be/nbn1fg6DO-Y?si=PDo6SVpXrzA6657b