Cade Lucas
Michelle Goldsmith wants to make one thing clear: her kids are not Japanese warriors.
‘A lot of people get confused when they hear ninja” said the Point Cook mother about the sport her two children are very good at.
“There‘s no fighting, it’s not that kind of ninja” she explained, before adding a crucial clarification:
“You’re competing against a course.”
‘Oh, an obstacle course, like that reality TV show…’
This is the light bulb moment most people experience when Ms Goldsmith’s explains what her 10 year old daughter Eden and eight year old son Mason do in their spare time.
She’s having to do it quite a bit lately as Eden and Mason will next month represent Australia in the World Ultimate Ninja Championships in Florida.
Like the contestants in the reality show, Ninja Warrior Australia, the two students from Point Cook’s Alamanda College will try to run, jump and clamber their way through an obstacle course as fast as possible.
While both were fans of the show, their mother said it was Mason’s surplus of energy that led them to the sport.
“Mason’s always been the kind of child that’s jumping off things so we looked for an outlet for the kind of skill set and desire he had.
We wanted it to be a safe environment so we looked into ninja,” Ms Goldsmith said.
With Eden coming along too, both started after the Covid lockdowns finished in 2021 and now train two to three times a week at the Fighting Lyons Gym in Essendon.
Ms Goldsmith said their rapid progression was due to a mixture of background and ability.
“They’re both naturally skilled towards this type of sport”
“Mason used to do gymnastics and Eden still does so it’s a natural progression.”
For all their physical prowess though, accidents still happen.
“It can be a dangerous sport.
Mason has busted his chin open once, but that’s just part of it,” explained Ms Goldsmith who added that the World Championships in Florida will present as much of a mental challenge as a physical one.
“We won’t know what the course is until we get there.
It can be absolutely anything, we won’t know until the night before.”
Ms Goldsmith and her husband will accompany their children to the championships, which Mason qualified for by finishing in the top five in the Australian titles, while Eden came via a global qualifying process.
Once they return home their mother said they hope to perform on an even bigger stage.
“Hopefully next year a network will pick it (Australian Ninja Warriors) up again and that’s the aim, to one day to compete on the tv series.”
