MONROE - "American Ninja Warrior" is a television competition filled with moving metal bars, ropes and steep ramps for contestants to maneuver while mostly swinging 12 feet above a pool of water they cannot touch. Popular in its last eight seasons on NBC, it began as a Japanese competition called Sasuke. Monroe native Dakota Phillips knew he wanted to be a part of the contest even as he watched the early iteration, understanding little but what he could grasp from quick-moving subtitles on the screen.