Naganoyama

Sorry for the duplication, I have only just seen Fu-san's post.

I am still having problems with it. I think it is rather a risky thing to have launched this new site such a short time before the basho. If there are any teething problems (or should I say any MORE teething problems) it could seriously jeapardise the basho coverage. I logged in for (and couldn't get at) the torikumi and the kyujo. Do you suppose this could have been delayed until later in the month to get it well bedded in in time for Haru Basho?

Sounds much better that way (Nodding yes...) I like Mongolian names a lot, for some reason... Me too. There is something a bit 'Grand-Vizier'-ish about them as in the Arabian nights. Is this because Mongolian is a Turkic language?

As long as it isn't Fubar! (Nodding yes...)

I would be interested to know a bit more about the allegations of match fixing which often seem to surface in Sumo. Were matches fixed (as far as you know): - to affect who won the Yusho? - to change the promotion/demotion prospects for specific rikishi? - just so that money could 'change hands' due to unexpected wins against the odds Was anyone charged? Was anyone found guilty? Or is it all just rumbling without any specific cause? (Obviously no libel invited, please word responses appropriately)

Just to let you know that I have been enjoying your e-zine so much that I am now attempting to brush up my French! Keep up the good work. :-D Just going off to download your latest.

Yes it looked to me too as if Takasago was there to make sure that Asashoryu would not 'bunk off' (go AWOL from school).

Love it! (Whatever above, it is funny...) Now if he 'does a Wajima' and becomes Yokozuna, you will always be able to say you fought him (and it won't matter which bit of your anatomy he kicked).

Using, of course, his 4th and 5th arms.

Surely there is a less destructive way of accomplishing this. Coaching perhaps? ...and Tochinonada to fight all rikishi with the same intensity he fights Ozeki and Yokozuna Ah, its from our medic that Zenji-zeki gets his idea that 4 is not the standard number of limbs! ;-)

Kotomitsuki is lurking in the wings. If he can stave off injury he could do great things.

Yes, I mixed those two up. Both tragic.

I would call it killing myself. The woman died after all. I am sure that it was an accident but I seem to remember Toki saying that he hadn't really been concentrating. A car is a dangerous weapon in the hands of someone who is not really concentrating. There, but for the grace of god, etc. (BTW Syd Hoare said that he dropped to Makushita. Well, who believes what Syd Hoare says anyway...)

As with all competitive activities, much of the ability to win comes from the head. Good keiko is in the first instance about physical condition, but in the case where good physical condition helps to improve confidence, it will improve results too. A rikishi who is borderline MK-KK may just manage to get over the line by believing more in himself. Some rikishi will always be more confident than others. Asashoryu climbed the ranks by progressing forwards in a bulldozer fashion because he had a certainty in his head that he could do it. Wakanosato approached his ozeki promotion (do you say ozeki-dori?) in a tentative manner as if to say he wasn't really sure he was ready for it. Hence the difference in the outcomes. I understand where Fujisan is coming from. On the forum a particular rikishi may well be 'talked up' on the basis of his performance in keiko, probably on the basis of physical criteria. Unless his mind-sumo is in good condition, this may not translate to results in the dohyo when the basho begins.

According to the texts, a rikishi is not entitled to be absent from a bout (basho itself, not keiko) even if his mother dies. Wasn't there that occasion when Chiyonofuji came out and fought even though his little boy had died (kitchen accident if I remember rightly?) Asa should probably have turned up even if his thoughts were elsewhere. These foreigners don't know how to behave.

Could it be the 'putting bums on seats' award? Or the 'raising the profile of sumo by appearing most in adverts' award? Or the 'beating oneself up more than the opponent to make the opponent feel better' award? Or the 'not fighting too hard in keiko to give the other guy confidence' award? tongue into cheek> Sorry, couldn't resist. (Hugging...)

This is great. (Hugging...) Here in the UK it is hard to get much insight into the up-and-coming talents. Thanks for spending the time putting these thoughts together.

I find this all too sad. He has done nothing to add lustre to his great great name. I have to agree with Fujisan. K-1 fans will look at him and say that if that is the best that one of the all time greats of Sumo can do, then Sumo sucks. :'-(

Yes thanks Adachi-san - I know about that and it has definitely helped but it is a bit concise and low-res for soothing the sumo-pangs. (Like hunger pangs but currently harder to assuage!)

Anyone see a resemblance to Chiyotaikai?

I agree 100%. Sumo, any sumo. (Even without a commentary). :'-(

Great Kaio pic! (Enjoying a beer...)

I am sure he used to be much better, or at least that he used to be more enthusiastic. He certainly got me hooked on sumo. Perhaps he has become bored. I used to find that he could throw some interesting light on many aspects of sumo but hasn't done much of this recently. He has very much moved into 'repeating his standard facts every time' scenario. e.g. - What a technician Kyokushuzan is (despite the fact that many of his recent wins are hatakikomi or hikiotoshi) - Tamanoshima's father is a pro wrestler - Miyabiyama's father's threat - Iwakiyama being the cleverest rikishi and going to graduate school. - Translation of particular shikona every time the rikishi fights. (As if he knows only about half a dozen of these translations). etc. Many of these things might well be interesting the first time round, but repetition can become a bit boring. I think some of his general commentary skills are pretty good though. He always seems to have plenty of time to say things, even during the bouts. He compares favourably in this respect with the NHK guys (it is NHK in the banzuke.com bouts isn't it?) who sometimes descend into strange noises or multiple repetitions of one of the rikishi's names.

I don't really know enough details of the case, not having seen what is reported, but I think there is a certain element of foreign rikishi attracting criticism here. An aggressive gesture by a foreign rikishi almost always gets adverse notice whereas Japanese rikishi are allowed much more slack. Viz my comments about Takanohana above. Also remember the picture of Tochiazuma clenching his fists after winning the Yusho at Kyushu. (Perfectly OK in my opinion but can you imagine what the press would make of it if Asashoryu made that sort of gesture?)

In recent times Takanohana's personality has struck me as being rather 'superior'. I remember watching him fight Tochinonada in Aki Basho 2002 and, after a false start by Nada, Takanohana looked at him as if he were a piece of dirt on the ground. (If he were a foreign-born rikishi, I am sure that adverse comments on his hinkaku would have been made at this point...). If he applies this same mentality to coaching, I am not sure that it will be successful. OK it works in the army, but I don't know how it will pan out in the sumo world.