Most people see an obstacle and think, “How do I get over that?”

Muhammad Syakirin Bin Muhammad Zaki sees it and starts problem-solving. Leverage. Footing. Grip points. A physical puzzle waiting to be solved.

“I’m a strategist type of athlete,” he says. “Viper Challenge suits me because the obstacles are designed to slow you down. You need to be methodical.”

That mindset, part athlete and part analyst, started back in university after binge-watching Ninja Warrior Japan. “I always watched Makoto Nagano,” he says. “Then one day, my university hosted Pahlawan Malaysia. That was my first obstacle race, and I really fell in love with it.”

Since then, he has not stopped racing. Or thinking.

“The harder the obstacle, the more it excites me,” he says. “I sign up for races to test my abilities and gain experience.”

That mentality shows in his training. Mornings start with grip work. Even at the office, he uses the stairs to build leg strength. Evenings are for strength and speed. Weekends are reserved for endurance and swimming.

“For upper body, I do finger hangs and typewriter pull-ups. For legs, I do one-leg box jumps and hill repeats.”

Everything is intentional. Everything serves a purpose.

Heading into Viper Challenge 2025, Syakirin has two obstacles in his crosshairs: Headspin and Monkey Swing.

“I struggled with Headspin before. It was slippery, and my grip was not strong. This time, I want to finish it easily,” he says. “For Monkey Swing, I’ve trained a lot on my lache technique. I want to test it out.”

He is also not going at it alone. His team, Ninja Gelak-Gelak, has become a critical part of the journey.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” he says. “Everyone in the team has their own style. I improve just by studying them.”

Syakirin does not care much for finish times. For him, success is simple: complete every obstacle.

“No skipping. No failing. That’s the point of obstacle course racing,” he says. “Without the obstacles, it’s just another running event.”

As an engineer, he approaches training like a feedback loop. Race, review, fix, and improve.

“I record every event so I can analyse my mistakes. That’s how I find ways to improve.”

 

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Looking ahead, he is gunning for podiums. Not out of pride, but as progress checkpoints.

“My skills right now are more suited for ninja-style, short-distance races. But I’m building up for speed and longer events. I want to master everything there is to know about obstacle course racing.”

And his advice for beginners?

“You can run without training. But you can’t overcome obstacles without it,” he says. “Start with callisthenics. It builds strength and control.”

Obstacle course racing, for Syakirin, is not chaos. It is structure. It is challenge. It is curiosity made physical.

“Every obstacle is a problem that can be solved,” he says. “You just have to build your way there.”