

Kozaru
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Everything posted by Kozaru
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Well dang, they sure look up to foreign soccer players, American football players, rugby players, basketball players, race car drivers, golfers, etc (even Barrack Obama!). I know, because I get speeches written about them constantly! This argument doesn't make any sense, and seems flat-out racist. Do you want to re-think it? Why shouldn't they look up to a foreign rikishi? I looked up to several foreign athletes when I was a kid. Oopsie, sorry about the triple post.
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So you don't think that people following sumo in more countries would help its cause? You think it would have no effect? I do believe the IOC looks at these things when they vote.
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Wait a minute..... so we have admission that: 1. the timing of pre-match rituals has been changed before, in order to adapt to new realities (ie. TV) 2. the tachi-ai has been changed, and start lines were added to the ring (NHK showed pictures of old tachi-ai positions this basho) 3. the traditional poles were removed from the corners of the ring 4. the Japanese no longer produce the same level of talent that they once did 5. tickets are in less demand than they used to be 6. the Japanese population is falling 7. they're shit at promoting their sport (sure, let the European TV contract expire) Why do these points not support my argument? Changes do happen, and sumo in Japan is not doing as well as it used to. I merely suggest that these trends will not stop here, but will continue.
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Hehehehe, funny you should say that, as I'm the most outspoken advocate of henka far and wide. I love a good henka and never feel cheated or short changed. A good henka is a work of art. Alright then. Touche? I don't like it when people call henka 'girl sumo' or 'coward sumo', because it's within the rules. But as a fan, I don't find it enjoyable, and I'd support it being made illegal. People ask, "How could you decide if it was a henka?" The answer is the same way that balls and strikes are decided in baseball. The judgment call of a trained official.
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I've said this before, and I'll say it again... the best thing they could do, immediately, to show the fans some love is to ban the tachi-ai henka. I pay money 3-5 times a year to go see sumo in the arena, and I don't want to see a henka ruin what could be a very exciting match. That would be a change to the rules that I think you'd agree with?
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Yes, but go deeper. Why is that? Have you asked yourself? Why is Japan no longer producing the young talent that it once was? It seems there could be a connection to what I'm saying about the lack of connection. Hockey in the winter Oympics went pro years ago. I don't like it, but it did. Sumo might want to. But the main point is that allowing more foreigners into sumo can increase the number of people who watch, and participate in sumo in their own countries. How many people in Bulgaria and Estonia were interested in sumo 20 years ago? And now? Wouldn't it be cool if they made space for a few more Brazilians or some Australians, etc?
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The match was unusual, and that's what I reacted to. Other than seeing my fav, Takami, take a beating about his face, there was no anger or 'being put off' in my post. If you interpreted it like that, it was not what I meant. You put your own feelings into my words. The 'What the hell was that?', in my head, was spoken in a Krusty the Clown voice. The disqualification was also something I haven't seen much of. And according to the list we were given, I missed the matches the last 2 times it happened (I travel a lot). So it had been a long time. So yes, it looked like a street brawl. But you'll notice that I didn't call it impolite, because it's within the rules. Perhpas it shouldn't be within the rules, and I'd support that change. Anyway, be grateful for what you have. You have a sport in which the athletes are overall tremendously polite and well-behaved. You only have to look at sports in Western countries to see how lucky you are in that respect. To me, this is a little bit like when Japanese adults complain to me about the education system, because it fell from 1st to 8th in world surveys. That's still pretty good!
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So is your argument that sumo can do what other businesses can't? To survive in its current state, without adapting, in a rapidly-changing entertainment environment (unlike anything the world has ever seen), while the population falls at the same time? Ask yourself what businesses the existence of video games has already impacted. Truth is, you really don't know what will happen in this environment, and neither do I. I'm told that the arena in Tokyo used to sell out on weekdays. Is that true? (I actually don't know the answer) The foreigner-Olympic relationship just might be real. They'll likely need to build a critical mass of athletes and public interest in a number of countries outside of Japan if they want to get in. The Olympics don't tend to want sports in that nobody cares about. Baseball even got dropped. Could sumo ever have been considered if they had never allowed any foreigners in? Edit: I don't vote on the IOC, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. So this is all speculation. But I am sure that allowing in more foreigners couldn't hurt the cause.
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I agree. I like Chiyo. If he loves sumo, why shouldn't he continue to fight? I don't think he has to feel shame if he is demoted from Ozeki (Japanese fans might feel differently). He had an excellent run, and he could almost definitely go on as a Maegashira.
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It looked personal, didn't it? Like I said in the first post, it seemed like a street fight. Oops, didn't you write this a moment ago? You called many rikishi impolite, not just Aran. Oops? And the hair-pulling was almost definitely an accident. You think he went out there with the intention to get himself disqualified? That's not reasonable. And like it or not, slapping a guy silly is within the rules. That's another thing they could change if they wanted to. The fact that sumo is a sport in which even following the rules is frowned upon, is something that I can't deal with. Why not make it against the rules to attack the face and throat if it's considered so 'impolite'?
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I also like that. It's one of the things I like best about sumo. I just draw the line in a different place from you. I wouldn't consider a Yokozuna being caught in a t-shirt to be news-worthy. It's a long, long way to go before they're carrying guns at night clubs or clubbing guys in the face with hockey sticks after the whistle. So your argument is that this generation will come to like sumo as they get older? What if they don't? Every generation is different. I don't believe the young people of your generation had choices such as a popular professional soccer league (is that right?), and they definitely didn't have electronic entertainment to choose from. The choices are becoming more and more numerous. Sumo competes with other forms of entertainment for the money people have available to spend on such things. At its core, it is a business. And it seems to be losing ground. Unless the next generations have a lot more expendable income available, how can it maintain the same level against the increased competition if it stagnates? Also, this is the first generation that will be smaller than the last, no? I'd predict that over the next 30 years, ticket sales steadily fall (without some substantial changes). Some changes I predict they might try in that 30-year time-frame: 1. Moving matches to prime-time. 2. Increasing the number of foreigners allowed, in order to attract international attention, and to attempt entry into the Olympics. 3. Shortening pre-match time limit (one time to the salt is enough?). 4. The scrapping of the basho in Kyushu to allow for some serious domestic and/or international touring.
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It looked personal, didn't it? Like I said in the first post, it seemed like a street fight.
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The situation du jour is that sumo has managed to nearly completely alienate an entire generation. Has that happened before? Can the sport survive without creating new fans? Sumo needs to sell seats, just like any other sport. The older generation is dying off. Sumo must create new fans. The young ones have more choices than they've ever had for their entertainment yen, and sumo is not registering on their list of priorities. Ever seen any sumo souvenirs on a young Japanese person's school bag? Now what about baseball and soccer? No, I don't claim to have it all figured out. I know some things need to change, but what exactly, I really don't know. I just know that I really like the prime-time idea. (Credit to Mike at ST for being the first person who put that idea in my head) Which modernisations would cause me to leave? Bad ones. So implement good ones. I can't help avoid the impression that people who have been watching sumo for a long time would think that almost any modernisation is bad, just on the principle.
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So we tread on parallel lines. In the end, either you'll come to see it as a different sport, or you'll drift away from it. No middle ground. Really? I think there are plenty of things to like about sumo without believing in any of the traditions that dominate it. The accessibility of the athletes being a huge one. Sounds like you're saying that there is no such thing as a casual sumo fan. That would be middle-ground, no? But I'll say this. I teach young people. I work with them every day (well, every working day). And the majority of them either don't like, or can't stand sumo. Some of them are disgusted by it. I mean, full-on disgust, with the facial expressions and everything. There are a number of them who still think Wakanohana is wrestling (not a joke). They know nothing, and couldn't care less. There is a tremendous disconnect between sumo and the young generation. I see that as a death sentence. They've attempted to do something about it with the new mascot, but I doubt that will have any effect at all. Sumo will have to adapt in some ways, and part of that might be to ditch the pre-match ritual, allowing them to pack more matches in to a shorter time, and having the top matches in prime-time. Even among my foreign friends who don't like sumo, the #1 complaint is the ritual between the matches (even beating out the half-naked fat men objection). It bores them, and drives them away from the sport. Adapt to survive. Stagnate and die. All businesses face this at some point. (You are going off-topic...)
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Yeah, that's never happened before. I have a few ideas about what this comment might have meant. Can you clarify, please?
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'Impolite' is very relative. They would be considered quite average, behaviour-wise, in many sports in other countries. In those sports, the athletes are getting arrested for carrying guns, violent crimes, torturing animals, etc. These rikishi are getting chewed out for not bowing correctly? Or for driving cars? Wearing a t-shirt? Sumo wrestlers, even the evil foreigners, have to be the best-behaved athletes in the world. I think some lightening up and modernisation are needed. And if it doesn't happen, sumo will likely die a slow death, as the young Japanese just don't give a shit about it. And yes, I think sumo is 'just another sport'. My favourite, but just another sport. There are no gods in the ring, and the salt doesn't do anything except probably provide some traction.
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Rest up, Chiyo! Let's see what you've truly got left in the next basho!
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Yes, Hakuho seems very shaky. The pressure of the record? The pressure of the yusho race? By my count (from memory), Hak has been beaten or nearly beaten 4 times this basho. Asa only once..... Does anybody dispute my recollection?
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That's pretty rough. None of these guys are repeat offenders. All names on the list from 2003 appear only once. That's pretty harsh to call them impolite because of a single incident which was most likely an accident.
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It's good to see Haruma winning again, too. He won't yusho himself, but he is very capable of impacting the race by defeating one or both of the Yokozuna. He might even be the deciding factor.
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Facts are facts, and the race has already been won. With the small numbers involved (8 incidents), and the large number of foreigners in makuuchi, I don't think there would be any statistical significance to the fact that there have been 5 incidents by foreigners. Any mathematicians want to disagree?
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Since January 2003: 40 tournaments + 9 days = 609 days approx. 21 makuuchi matches per day = 12,789 matches 8 disqualifications / 12,789 matches = 0.06% or 1-in-1,599 matches Is this really a huge problem?
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Hansoku seems to appear more and more frequently nowadays. It happened 13 times in Makuuchi since 1955, 8 times after 2003. Last time it occured was Haru Basho 2009. Anyone wants to speculate about the increasing of hansoku? I missed most of Haru.... which would explain why I don't remember that at all. As for the cause, shouldn't we blame Asashoryu?
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If somebody can get the replay on here as soon as possible, that would be great.
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Whatever the reason, I'm glad they matched Kaio and Chiyo early. With Mitsuki and Kotooshu doing well, hopefully there will be no "consideration" given. But MK is virtually assured, as the Yokozunas will not bend. Now we can all hope they'll give Chiyo the Ozekis early next basho, and maybe Kisenosato on the final day. If rumours are to be believed, Kise won't hesitate to go all out. We'll see if Chiyo REALLY has what it takes to remain at the rank. If he does, so be it. If he doesn't, he can continue below Ozeki or retire. Personally, I'd like to see him continue on for another little while at whatever rank best suits him. Mid-maegashira?