Adil

Haha! I was about to ask if I heard that correctly, but you answered it already. When the interviewer said 途中凄い張り手でしたね (That was a great slap in the middle [of the match], wasn't it?)、Shouhouzan replied そうですね、まああまりよくないですけど　(That's right... It's not a good thing, though.). My question: Are harite frowned upon? If so, why does Shouhouzan use them all the time? I also remember Harumafuji being warned about using harite too much during keiko (or was that jungyou?); the oyakata who spoke about it was quoted in the newspapers as saying 'Sumou is not brawling'. Would a rikishi who uses harite too much be considered to be doing something 'wrong'? It is definitely legal, but judging from what Shouhouzan said during the interview, there seems to be a level of, oh I don't know, reluctance (for lack of a better term) about using it too much.

Tokushouryuu said in his interview (among other things) that he had contemplated the possibility of being demoted to makushita; he started crying and couldn't continue the interview after saying that. Is his yusho interview available anywhere? https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180923/k10011641441000.html?utm_int=word_contents_list-items_004&word_result=大相撲

Thanks!! Damn, I ran out of likes.

Is there a video of today's kesho mawashi close-ups? Does it happen only once a basho?

Thanks for the great pics, Akinomaki! A bit of an off-topic question: I will be in Japan from 12 June to 27 June. I was really hoping to plan my trip such that I would be able to watch at least a few days of the Nagoya basho, but alas! It's not to be. Is there, by any chance, an event or something where I could watch sumo during my trip? The only sumo related activities that I have planned so far are just trips to the sumo museum and watching asa-geiko through the windows at Arashio Beya.

I like Ichinojo as much as the next guy and I have been waiting (like most of the folks here) for him to wake up from his torpor after that meteoric rise, but I am starting to get the feeling he won't go too far. I don't think his body can take that much pounding - no, I am not talking about his opponents; I am talking about his own weight. Has there been a 200 kg+ rikishi in recent times who had a long, successful career as an ozeki/sanyaku mainstay? The three Hawaiian behemoths come to mind, but Musashimaru and Konishiki became ozeki at the age of 23 and 24 respectively and Akebono was yokozuna at the age of 24. (Anyway, the three Hawaiians are more like the exception than the rule.) Ichinojo will be 25 in three months; if he becomes ozeki in 2018, one could say that his rise to the top is roughly in the same timeframe as the three Hawaiians. If not, father time will start catching up with him real fast. If he becomes ozeki soon, he can start playing the kyujo/kadoban game to let his body recuperate. In that case, I guess he can have a long, successful career as an ozeki and maybe even become yokozuna. If he doesn't become ozeki soon and he keeps posting the kinds of results that he has been doing for the last three years (no double-digit wins in 2015, one in 2016 from M11 and one in 2017 from M4) in 2018, his chances of becoming an ozeki will go down real fast as his body starts breaking down because of the stress of having to compete in each and every basho. Summary: If he doesn't become ozeki in 2018 or early 2019 while he still appears to be in good shape, he's not going to make it because his weight and body shape will affect his knees and back very much.

I've been meaning to comment on this for a few months now, but I've just been so damn busy. Plus, I have this bad habit of letting my posts ramble on for hundreds of words when I intend to make a two sentence comment. Oh gosh, looks like I'm going to do it again! Some time during the last year (I've forgotten the exact time, but it appeared to happen overnight), Takayasu fine-tuned his tachiai. It is no longer the usual get up and charge. The trajectory of his charge is more vertical than horizontal, and he accentuates that by giving an upwards and backwards shove with both arms after slamming into his aite. The effect on his aite is a thing of beauty to watch. I have been amazed at the terrific impact and how it knocks the opponents back because of the sheer power and technique. Even the 200+ KG Ichinojo felt the power of that tachiai and he was knocked back a bit. To the untrained eye (myself included), sumo looks a sport that relies solely on brute strength, with two massive individuals trying to knock each other over with random shoves and throws, but things like Takayasu's new tachiai show the importance of technique. Everybody can throw a punch, but I remember reading the early 20th century boxing legend and world champion Jack Dempsey's book in which he goes into great detail on how to generate power in a punch to knock a guy out. I wouldn't have known how much thought and perfectionism goes into something that appears to be so simple. Anyway, I can't be the only one who has noticed his new tachiai and its effect, so I am guessing other rikishi will start to use techniques to neutralize it, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. Incidentally, I just remembered that Takayasu's new tachiai looks similar to Chiyotairyu's wild jump-into-the-swimming-pool lunges during bouts, except Takayasu's tachiai appears to be more controlled. When Chiyotairyu connects one of his lunges (for lack of a better word), it is usually curtains for his aite, but because it is very difficult not to telegraph it, it is sometimes easy for Chiyotairyu's opponents to counter it. I am now ending my post, trying to pretend to myself that I didn't do what I was afraid I will end up doing.

Is there a repository/collection of high resolution kesho mawashi pics on the internet? This is a great thread to see them, but I am wondering if there is a website that lists all the kesho-mawashi on one page and then I could click and view whichever one I want.

Loved the chess match between Hakuho and Ichinojo. I noticed that Hakuho broke Ichinojo's left hand grip almost exactly the way he did against Harumafuji in Natsu 17: My hopes of Osunaarashi becoming a top rikishi in makuuchi have been going down steadily over the years because of all his injuries. It was almost too painful to see him today after his victory as he stood by the dohyo waiting to give the chikaramizu to the rikishi getting ready for the next match. He appeared to be in incredible pain. He could barely lift his right hand to even take the chikaramizu ladle from the yobidashi. Even though he's not one the glamorous rikishi (Ha! For some reason I just remembered the 1980s WWF tag team, The Glamour Girls), the thing I love about Takarafuji is that he fights very intelligently. He must study his opponents very closely because I have noticed that he always makes it very difficult for his opponent to employ his signature style, whatever it may be. Notice how he didn't let Chiyomaru use his signature 'extend-both-arms-and-instant-pull+extend-both-arms-and-instant-pull' today. He also makes it difficult for his opponents to get to his belt. I am now ready to take my bets off Osunaarashi and Chiyootori and place them on Hokutofuji. I love watching his matches. Here's looking forward to a career that isn't plagued too much by debilitating injuries (it's useless to hope for an injury-free career in sumo). Speaking of which, the thing that I have started to admire the most about Hakuho is his ability to limit the effect of injuries on his career. The dude has been at the very top for a long time and he still looks so sharp, although I've been reading for years on this forum that 'Oh, he's way past his prime and he'll retire at the end of this year'. Well, I'm a sumo noob who only started watching in 2012 and maybe he is past his prime, but to think that he can still be the top dog in pretty much each and every basho that he competes in even ten years after his promotion to the rank of yokozuna is amazing. To put this in perspective, look at how some of the others at the top of the current banzuke have fared with injuries: Harumafuji (injury department store with knees, elbows and ankles gone) Kakuryu (one tournament completed this whole year) Kisenosato (hasn't completed a tournament since his promotion and looks like a wreck even when he does compete) Terunofuji (his career at the top was effectively ended after that devastating knee injury against the aforementioned Kisenosato) Kotoshogiku (his once formidable gaburi yoris are not what they used to be) Yes, I am starting to believe that the number one factor that makes Hakuho one of the greatest of all time (sorry Konishiki, but you don't know what you are talking about when you say Hakuho might not even be an ozeki in your day) is his ability to adapt his style in a way that allows him to be an unstoppable force at a time in his career when many top rikishi become so broken down that there's no place for them to go but down the banzuke. Damn! When I started this message, I was planning to write only two lines. Sheesh!

I see.... I never watch the English stream / digest, so I didn't know.

I just saw John Gunning's name as one of the three English announcers on the Japanese feed. Is this his first time? In any case, this is major news and congrats to Gunning-san.

I agree that he doesn't look like a real powerhouse. That's why I was surprised when I read a post here on the forum a couple of years. It quoted Isegahama oyakata as saying that Takarafuji is incredibly strong and that he can bench press some crazy weights. Come to think of it, could it be I mistook a quote about Terunofuji?

Saw this graphic during the broadcast. It says something about different kimarite. I can only make out some of them, like okuritsuridashi, which are rarely (if ever) seen during honbasho. Were they talking about the rarest kimarite or something?

Haha! Good one.

It's a bummer about Hideyoshi. So I guess the Japanese in taiga isn't as archaic / non-standard as I thought after reading those other forums I mentioned in my first post.