igirisujin

Wow! Another awesome Takanoyama bout. Bye bye Takamisakari; you won't be forgotten in a hurry, that's for sure. Bye bye Miyabiyama, from Makuuchi at least; doubt he'll be back in this division but credit to him for sticking it out. Good job Baruto got the win; we can now enjoy him properly focusing on regaining Ozeki status next basho. Well done HF for the zensho yusho! And lastly, many thanks to Kintamayama!

This will do Ama's confidence the world of good. He's tended (sometimes because of injury) to perform poorly for some time after a yusho. Good on him. Not good for Baruto; started the basho hoping for a quick return to Ozeki and is now facing down the barrel of potential demotion to Komusubi.

"The henka atmosphere has everybody hopping" lol

It seems that Takanoyama, one of the crowd favourites and best entertainers, is not beyond blatant cheating to get the job done. I'll be honest, though I don't like it a part of me is applauding him for being ruthless in doing whatever he needs to do to get promoted again; mostly he'll try hard with sumo, but if he really needs to he'll unashamedly cheat.

Miyabiyama - dude has just lost all heart. If he really has retirement in mind, it might be better to bail out now and quit; the thing is though, I think he's still in conflict about retirement and just doesn't have his head in the game while he's deciding. Aran - agreed Kintamayama, Aran is a lot better than we realised; I was one of his biggest critics but I have more time and respect for him now. We'll see if he keeps it up.

That won't be good for Haramafuji's confidence; he didn't look like he had a chance. He could well finish on single figures - NOT good for a Yokozuna, debut or not. I'm just not sure he has a sufficient plan B if his tsuppari fails him. As for Hakuho, it'll give him plenty of confidence having comfortably beaten a (usually) tricky opponent for him. If he beats Ama tomorrow, that'll definitely give him the psychological "top dog" edge again which will work firmly in his favour next basho. Again, thanks for the uploads Kintamayama.

Kintamayama-san, arigatou gozaimashita. Another excellent collection of highlights you have put together for us. And as always, the comments never fail to amuse. Thanks again!

I think Haramafuji bypasses the slippery mat altogether by turning himself into a speeding bullet lol. This is why he has so much success in Nagoya. July 2009 was my first full basho and I remember that he did the trick then, back when the three-headed Mongolian monster ran over everything in its path.......now it's just 2.

Quite enjoyed watching the live stream. For once I didn't have to rely on Kintanayama's excellent video posts. Well done Haramafuji; he moves like a runaway shinkansen out there. Good if he can keep it up, but I still remember the disappointment from the basho's following the last two tourney's he won. Would love to see him do it though, and join Hak at the top level. Was it me or was the award session longer than normal? All sorts of sponsors out there. Loved the big coke bottle lol.

SPOILERS BELOW. DON'T LOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE VIDEO: Well done Kyokutenhou! Nearly retired and what a way to go! Overall though, what a crazy basho! Everyone damn nearly beating everyone else, just like a brawl down at the local - you can't predict a winner lol

In very general terms, the idea is that forward-moving sumo puts you in charge of your own destiny, while going backward means you've ceded the initiative to your opponent and all you can do is react. But of course that's not entirely true, there are plenty of rikishi who've honed their evasive skills to such a degree that it's an actual offensive weapon for them. I think the notion is that it's more difficult to break through (= become a sekitori) with that type of sumo, though. I wonder how willing rikishi were at pulling against the likes of Asashoryu. I think we need someone with his gusto and aggresion to make these guys think twice about 'ceding the initiative'.

I think pulling is a perfectly acceptable strategy after a solid tachiai; what gets my goat is that some guys will immediately try to circle and pull down, and they do it with annoying consistency, pulling off a string of cheap henkas. But again, if the opposition are consistently dumb enough to fall for it....... I'd like to see Hak beat Ama tomorrow, just to shake up at least one of the Ozeki for the next basho after (Kisenesato aside) very sporadic performances from all of them. Mind you, the whole basho has been a bit all over the place lol. Good luck to whoever yushos - it'll be something to remember, even if they never reach those dizzying heights ever again, it'll be something to tell the grandkids :-)

Kakaryu didn't exactly put up much of a fight there. Kintamayama - don't worry about it being late. We all appreciate the effort.

Hakuho STILL has not gone kyujo?!! Has a Yokozuna ever gone make-koshi? With the Ozeki still to face him, this is now a very real possibility if he doesn't bow out.

I agree. Hakuho to pull out soon, with whatever's wrong with him. He just looks so ordinary, it's bizarre. Again, thanks to Kintamayama for these excellent streams.