Morty

This. I was watching that bout yesterday and thinking the guy is going to end his career with buggered shoulders and elbows. There is only so much punishment your body can take and routinely fighting guys 50+kgs heavier than you and 15cm taller than means you will take a lot of punishment. I enjoy watching him but I worry that he is going to really hurt himself badly

Terunofuji says "Hi" from Makushita for example

The two Yokozuna and the three Ozeki are all walking injuries these days. I can't see Goeido or Tochinoshin ever contending for a yusho again. Takayasu might get lucky but only if he can get fit and get a basho where some other guys get injured to smooth his path. Kak and Hak are both still miles ahead of anyone else, when fit, but that only happens every third or fourth basho now. Mitakeumi, Takakeisho and Asanoyama feels like the next top group, with maybe Hokotofuji, Tomokaze and a couple of others in there for good measure. At least until Naya and Hoshoryu make it to the top level anyway.

This is kind of what I was kind of thinking of - the heavier you get the less mobile you get and the harder it is to do all the technical stuff, but it remains easy to just push and go forward. Thanks to everyone who has replied, it has been interesting to hear all the different ideas. I have two further takes on this - again they are just speculation and probably wrong: First, the case of Endo maybe gives a clue as to why oshi is prevalent. He came into sumo as a pure yotsu wrestler, and has had to learn how to do oshi, because once he got to the top level he got whacked in the head a lot by the really good oshi guys, while trying to get on the belt and as a result lost a lot. I have always thought he didn't like getting hit in the head ("not my beautiful face!"), but the basic fact is that he got hit in the head while trying to get on the belt. So going against an effective oshi opponent made it harder for him to get on the belt in the first place. It is only now that he has become proficient at oshi that he is starting to move to that next level - he has become a more rounded rikishi by adding oshi to his arsenal, in a way that makes his yotsu a more effective weapon. I have often thought of how daunting it must be to try and get inside and grab the belt of a guy as enormous and skilled as Aoiyama or Tamawashi while they are whacking you upside the head repeatedly. Is this also why pulling techniques have become more prevalent, because they are the obvious go-to for yotsu wrestlers against oshi guys when they can't get to the belt? The point here is that any up and comer who is a yotsu specialist and who isn't Ichinojo/Teronofuji/Tochinoshin size is going to get belted around by the top oshi guys once they get to the top level until they can learn to get inside effectively. Second is the influence of Hakuho, who is the absolute yotsu master. I have seen it happen in other sports where you have a guy who is so good at something that they effectively kill it for everyone else for a generation because no-one else can match them at it so they stop trying. I know that sounds counter-intuitive because you would think that people would try to emulate the excellence, but I can think of numerous examples - Shane Warne and leg spin bowling in cricket jumps immediately to mind. I think Asashosakari is onto something though - oshi is easier than yotsu when you are a big kid and your coaches at school are only interested in you winning...

I have wondered if the increased weight carried by rikishi these days is the reason there is more oshi, because it is easier to use that weight offensively by whacking people than it is by going to the belt? And the extra weight makes it harder to do the range of offensive throws required by yotsu sumo? This is purely speculation on my part, I don't know the answer but it seems that guys get above a certain weight and they get slow and clumsy. It also seems to me that the extra weight carried now by all rikishi is a direct result of trying to compete with the very successful eastern European (and Hawaiian before them) super heavy weights. So rikishi put on more weight to be competitive and the natural result is that more of the heavy guys do oshi, because it easier to do that when you are really heavy? Anyone with more inside knowledge think this is legit, or am I just talking pants?

No offense, but that would really suck.

Interesting basho. After about a decade of Yokozuna and occasional Ozeki winners, Makuuchi now feels more like Juryo, where anyone can win given a good two weeks. Most of the big names already almost nearly out of it and knowing them unlikely to get back to the lead; Goeido two behind, Kak three, Tochinoshin right out of it. I don't think Okinoumi will win it (he'll choke) and neither will Tsurugisho, Meisei, ishiura, Enho, and probably Abi. That leaves three previous winners in the mix - Takakeisho, Mitakeumi and Asanoyama, and a couple of possibilities - Endo, Myogiryu and even though it would be really difficult, Tomokaze or Tamawashi from three back (can't see that happening). I really, really like this open field sumo we have had the last couple of years. I loved watching Hak dominate, but this is fabulous, having half a dozen possibilities after the end of the first week. I'm hoping for Endo but Mitakeumi looks in the best form out of all of them.

Nothing wrong with that. Men crying or showing any emotion other than anger is a good thing .

Yes

Also Endo at 5-1 at Komosubi with half the Sanyaku behind him. After a 10-5 in the meat grinder last basho. Looks healthy and seems to have worked out how to win (and make the most of the talent he has always had)

That today is exactly why I think Asanoyama will keep improving and will take the next step. It is because he keeps winning from losing positions. He should have been toast today against a really good opponent who was in a really solid position, but he turned it around and won.

Gut feeling . He just seems to have the luck and the ability to get it done. I'm probably wrong. I usually am.

I've thought this for a while now but I think Asanoyama will be the next Ozeki and probably the next Yokozuna (the only one who will beat him to the latter is Takakeisho). Also, is Aoiyama carrying an injury or is he just not doing very well? Also, also, Endo 4-1 in Sanyaku... finally healthy and learned how to win tough.

I noticed watching the replay for that match, that shortly after Shohozan put on that hold it looked like Enho tapped his arm to indicate that he was choking him, and Shohozan noticeably changed the hold slightly to take the pressure off his throat. He didn't release it obviously but he changed it so it wasn't a choke hold

I really enjoyed watching the Yutakayama / Tsurugisho bout with Japanese commentary because even though I don't speak Japanese, I know what the word Henka means and the commentator yelled it at exactly the same time I did