Ninja

Ninja
Ninja's statistics
Participation Information
Series	S1.5 (This is Fighting Robots)
Team Information
Team Members	Paul Streeter
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Thwackbot

Ninja was a robot from the United Kingdom which competed in Season 1.5, the debut of This is Fighting Robots. Although it was not initially selected by any of the celebrity team captains, it was chosen by Sa Beining during its preliminary battle against 008, Saturn and Xiake, securing its place in the tournament as part of the Yellow team. Under the controls of Sa Beining, Ninja lost a battle to Thunder and Lightning, but it managed to win a Judges' decision over Wrecker, which was vying to take its place in the competition. Ninja was finally eliminated after losing a four-way rumble to Tungsten, prompting Sa Beining to drop it from his team just before the Top 8.

Design

Ninja with Paul Streeter

Ninja is a 'axlebot', driven by two large tires at either side of the robot similar in design to former BattleBots competitor OverKill. It was armed with a large sword, which swung overhead courtesy of the robot's drive power, and a wedge which enabled it to get underneath, push and attack other robots using the sword. As a axlebot, Ninja is also invertible. The robot lacks a weapon motor, which means that it cannot attack from a standstill, and needs to reverse, or halt on a forward drive in order to deliver a blow.

Robot History

This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)

Ninja (background) pushes Xiake while Saturn attacks 008

Ninja was not initially chosen by the celebrities in their initial selection process, and was required to fight in a four-way rumble in order to impress the celebrities. There, it faced 008, Saturn and Xiake, in a battle which was only partially shown in Episode 2. In the aforementioned highlights, Ninja was initially seen to push Xiake across the arena, at the same time that 008 had its wheel ripped off by Saturn. However, it was unable to land any significant attacks on its remaining opponents, despite coming close to striking Saturn as the British machine drove up its wedge. Ninja continued to dodge and mistime its attacks throughout the battle; however, its aggressive display impressed Sa Beining, who chose it to become part of the Yellow team. As a result, Ninja's place in the main competition was secured.

Ninja lands an attack on Griffin Mk II

Ninja and Blue pound the lifeless Bonfire

As part of the Yellow team, Ninja fought fellow British machines in Bonfire and Griffin Mk II, alongside the American Blue. Ninja initially fought Bonfire, and landed an overhead blow on Griffin Mk II, following this up with a lighter hit. Ninja was later forced to abandon its private battle with Griffin Mk II to target the immobile Bonfire, which Blue was relentlessly attacking. Ninja followed suit, and landed several attacks on the motionless Bonfire before leaving the beaten machine. Griffin Mk II came in to hold Blue in place, and Ninja landed an overhead hit on Blue. Ninja and Griffin Mk II collaborated to push Blue back, ultimately resulting in Griffin Mk II's immobilization under an arena hammer.

Ninja is stranded by the ramrods

Ninja holds Blue against the Grinder

With only Ninja and Blue active, both robots attempted to strike each other from above, but largely missed. After narrowly missing an attack on Ninja, Blue turned itself over when retracting its weapon. Ninja pushed Blue back, managing to prevent it from self-righting, but became stuck on the ramrods. The momentum of Ninja's push sent Blue sliding back, where it could freely self-right. Ninja continued to pin Blue against the wall, and Blue missed with its retaliating strikes. In the final ten seconds of the battle, Ninja drove under Blue, which climbed even further up the body of Ninja by swinging its weapon, but Ninja pushed Blue towards the Grinder, before the battle concluded. The episode was left on a cliffhanger, which was resolved in Episode 4; the subsequent Judges' decision went against Ninja, ultimately resulting in Sa Beining losing the first round of the competition to Green team captain Zheng Shaung, despite being tied on three points each.

Wu Chun's Lightning rams Ninja's wedge into the air

Sa Beining's Ninja strikes the wedge of Lightning

Sa Beining then elected to drive Ninja in a celebrity-only battle against Thunder and Lightning, driven by Wu Chun. Ninja immediately exposed its wedge to a hit from Thunder's disc, and swung its weapon around aimlessly, being lifted up by another blow from Thunder. Ninja retreated into the corner of the arena, and the back end of the robot was hit by Thunder's disc, briefly causing it to lose traction. Ninja spun in place, knocking Thunder aside, while Wu Chun drove Lightning into the way of this attack. Wu Chun lined up his shot, and Lightning slammed into Ninja's wedge, throwing the robot up. Attacking in co-operation, Thunder and Lightning pressured Ninja, until a swing from Ninja's mace threw sparks from the wedge of Lightning.

Paul Streeter activates the flipper under his own machine and his opponent

Thunder rips away Ninja's mace

Thunder and Lightning retaliated, but Ninja pressured Lightning onto the floor flipper, which lifted both robots up, after Paul Streeter of Ninja's team activated the flipper. Lightning rammed into Ninja, but the thwackbot wedged under Thunder and pushed it towards the arena wall. Ninja returned to the center of the arena, offering no offense, and Lightning rammed it, to the celebrations of driver Wu Chun. Ninja's mace landed on Thunder, producing more sparks. Critically, after Ninja hit the arena floor several times, it fed its mace right into the disc of Thunder, which ripped Ninja's weapon away, throwing it into the wall.

Ninja's wheel hub is damaged by Thunder

Thunder capitalized, and struck the wedge of the weaponless Ninja, and after a combined attack from both multibots, Thunder attacked the left wheel of Ninja and bent the hub. Thunder followed this up with another strike to Ninja's wedge, and Lightning slammed into the back of Ninja just before time expired on the battle. With no knockout, the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, which was awarded to Thunder and Lightning. Nevertheless, Ninja remained in the competition despite this loss.

Wrecker throws Ninja backwards

Ninja throws its weapon onto the top of Wrecker

Ninja's place on the yellow team was challenged by the American entry Wrecker, which fought Ninja for a place on Sa Beining's selection of robots. Both robots came together, and Wrecker boasted the lower ground clearance, but lost grip on Ninja. Similarly, when Ninja slammed straight into the front of Wrecker, it was buffeted into the air, while Wrecker's minibot threw flames. Wrecker was being edged towards the arena corner, and Ninja still could not breach its scoop, and Wrecker threw it backwards, but not over. Wrecker held its ground in the center of the arena, and flipped itself over, but this allowed Ninja to drive straight under it, toppling the American machine. Ninja then sought out the back end of Wrecker, causing the American machine to flip itself over, and fire its scoop as though it were an axe, on the wedge of Ninja. Despite this, Ninja continued to push Wrecker back, towards the Grinder, and then landed the first blow of its weapon, straight onto the top surface of Wrecker. Afterwards, Ninja wedged under the back of Wrecker and landed a second overhead blow.

"As soon as we started to hit them on top, we noticed that he just keeps going, keep going, keep moving away"

— Paul Streeter of Ninja's team, on Wrecker's driving

Ninja's final attack on Wrecker

Ninja again wedged under the back of Wrecker, although its tyre caught the scoop of Wrecker, and Ninja was momentarily lifted. Wrecker's minibot was now incapable of throwing fire, and could not leave its location in the center of the arena. Ninja drove the disadvantaged Wrecker towards the Grinder, and landed another hit. In the final ten seconds, Ninja used its wedge to stay under Wrecker, hitting it once again, impressing Zheng Shuang. Time expired on the match, and Ninja was declared to be the winner, defending its place on the yellow team.

Ninja and Vulcan collaborate to attack Tungsten

Ninja's final battle on the yellow team was a four-way rumble against Thunder and Lightning, Tungsten and Vulcan. Ninja was immediately bumped by Lightning, which was outfitted with its wedge, but the larger Ninja simply overturned it. Ninja missed Lightning with its sword attack, but Vulcan struck the underside of Lightning with its own axe. Ninja then proceeded to privately battle Vulcan, largely off-screen. Ninja was pinned in the corner of the arena by Vulcan, failing to retaliate. Ninja briefly pushed Lightning back, but the multibot was already immobile. Ninja and Vulcan then seemingly collaborated, holding Tungsten in a corner, which allowed Vulcan to land a blow with its axe, although Ninja missed with its own attacks, before keeping its distance for a large part of the match.

Ninja is thrown over by Tungsten

Tungsten's late hit on Ninja

Further into the battle, Tungsten drove under Ninja's wedge and struck it with an attack using its vertical spinner. Ninja was thrown over entirely, and was forced to retreat. Towards the end of the battle, Ninja was trapped on the ram rods by Vulcan, and time expired on the battle. Split seconds after the battle had officially ended, Tungsten landed a late hit on Ninja, which had already stopped moving, and threw it over one meter into the air. Although this late attack was likely discounted, Ninja ultimately lost the Judges' decision to Tungsten, although it still earned a point for the yellow team as a reward for surviving the full three minutes.

However, the Yellow team ultimately lost this stage of the competition, and Sa Beining was required to cut two of his three robots, opting to save Shrederator Tiger Claw in favor of Ninja and Formula. As a result, Ninja was eliminated from the competition just one stage prior to the Top 8.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 3

NOTE: Ninja's preliminary rumble is not considered a win or a loss.

Series Record

Series	Ninja Series Record
Season 1	Did not enter
Season 1.5	Selected by celebrity, one win
Season 2	Did not enter

Outside King of Bots

Paul Streeter is part of Robo Challenge, a Birmingham-based engineering company whose founders entered Spectre into King of Bots and This is Fighting Robots. This connection also meant that Streeter was a driver of the House Robots in the UK show Robot Wars.

Trivia

• Ninja's team had not previously competed on any television show, despite being based in the United Kingdom, although Paul Streeter was connected to Robot Wars as a House Robot driver.