Tochinofuji

While I assume he remains the king of the keikoba, things have been oddly silent on him in the lead up to this basho!

Honoured to be an underling on that crew!

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To my mind, the leg grab is too low for the "mata" in komatasukui, but I'm definitely no specialist. Or even generalist. I am, however, happy to see Hakuho having some fun with technique! I just wish he'd bust out the occasional yobimodoshi again :)

I would think some form of ashitori.

Well, I suppose that all involved can hope that Tochinoshin simply (though likely not easily) secures his 10th win over the weekend and seals his return to ozeki. Failing that, given the botched call I would say the thing to do as the Kyokai would be to simply re-promote him at any rate. As I understand it, promotion to ozeki is discretionary. While that discretion is generally exercised after a wrestler wins 33 or more matches over three tournaments while ranked at sekiwake, or winning 10 matches after being demoted to sekiwake, is there anything (aside from lack of precedent) stopping the Association of exercising its discretion to bump him up to ozeki? He's kachikoshi at sekiwake and has likely proved he should be ranked at ozeki with what should have been a 10th win. Entirely the pipedream of an aggrieved fan, I appreciate, but hey, one can always fantasize about some justice in the world.

No worries. I've been a hanger on for nearly 11 years now, and not too long ago just posted my own question about some of the shorthand in the database I hadn't seen before, so know the pain!

Haridashi and makushita tsukedashi, respectively. From Wikipedia: haridashi (張り出し) Overhang. If there are more than two wrestlers at any san'yaku rank, the additional wrestlers are termed haridashi. Prior to 1995, such wrestlers were listed on the banzuke in extensions or "overhangs" to the row for makuuchi wrestlers. This is now an informal designation, since presently all wrestlers are listed within the normal bounds of the row. makushita tsukedashi (幕下付け出し) A system where an amateur wrestler who has won one of the four major amateur titles is allowed to skip the bottom three divisions and enter pro sumo at the makushita third highest division at the rank of makushita 15. In the event of achieving two of these titles in the same year, he can begin at makushita 10. The original system has existed since the Taishō era, and until 1966 any wrestler who was a university graduate could enter pro sumo at the bottom of makushita. The system was changed in 1966, and from then until 2001 a wrestler who had achieved success as an amateur would begin at the rank of makushita 60, though the criteria were not as strict as post 2001. (See also sandanme tsukedashi.)

Tochinoshin definitely is looking a bit more muscular to me this tournament, especially in his shoulders and traps. Not sure if there's been a bit of a drop of weight to bring out the muscle or if he's just been able to get back into form, but it's heartening to see.

Loved seeing Tochinoshin looking strong, but I'm with you, as soon as he hoisted Chiyotairyu I was practically yelling at my monitor telling him to put the writhing dragon down. But I hope it was a good confidence boost for him. One of the worst things we've seen in him is when he doubts his body can put out the strength he needs from it. I'm hoping the day 1 bout was a good check in for him. Other highlight bout for me: Terutsuyoshi's win over Kotoeko. Fantastic move at the end to take it.

One of my favourite BJJ dojos in Japan. For anyone with any interest, here's a great highlight of one of their head instructors (Gifu branch):

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As another long time subscriber, I will greatly miss your uploads this coming basho. Hope to catch more of the fantastic Moti humour in July, but completely understand the need for a break. You've put in a tremendous amount of work over the years, and have in many respects singlehandedly carried the sport for a lot of us far flung fans. Thank you for everything you've done to date, and we look forward to more when the Moti-vation returns!

Excellent, thank you very much!

Now that is banzuke nomenclature I haven't seen before. Can anyone shed any light on the meaning of the "BS"?