Kotogouryuu

I was about to write a post that to me, it looked like Daeisho was falling backwards and instinctivelly sought to grab Meisei for support. They were both already on their trajectiories. Then I watched the slowmo again. It doesn't look good. That was grab, an extended hold and several yanks that definitely hindered Meisei, who was trying to regain his balance. There have been a couple of borderline cases in the recent years. That wasn't one of them. I didn't actually see it the first time around, my eyes were on their feet, and apparently I wasn't the only one.

He'll certainly hit a wall and it'll happen soon at this rate. He'll come up against opponents who can counter his size with their skill. That said, three basho in a row without a single loss is remarkable enough to make me think the wall won't be quite as solid as we might expect.

Hokuseiho with his 7th win in Jonidan. There's no one left at 6-0 so that's two yusho in two tournaments for him. He'll surely soon rise to a level where his size isn't enough to counter the skill level of his opponents but he has certainly made an impressive debut.

I'd venture a guess that since his technique relies so heavily on his brilliant legwork, even a minor injury can take the base off him. When he's on form, he can beat anyone, but he has quite a lot of bad days.

Interesting. I just thought of doing this, after seeing the clip about Hokuseiho being Hakuho's recruit and winning the Jonokuchi yusho in his first basho. Although I have a a feeling I won't be the only one keeping an eye on this guy...

A playoff would have been fun to see but straight up overpowering Mitakeumi... well, fair enough. Let's hope Terunofuji's knees hold up for a while longer, he makes a good show.

Enho jumping straight back up looked like there was a glitch in the animation engine.

I wonder which percentage of my posts are about Endo's legwork, but that was Endo's legwork at 100% today. Endo can move quick, and once he got his feet planted, he was stationary, not matter what Hokutofuji threw at him. That full power angle and depth of the position requires Endo to be healthy, but when he is, he is punching way above his weight.

Well that would explain it a bit, because to me it has always sounded like they're getting their time estimates from Doctor Who.

Well, I mean... the same as any analysis of a match or win or loss or technique or injury on this board. We like talking about sumo. And yeah, Hakuho isn't in his prime, but at least a few of us seem to agree there is something more acute causing him issues right now. I agree that he has lost muscle recently, so the injuries may be affecting his training more than he lets on.

I was about to write exactly the same thing. Something was clearly slowing down Hakuho's legwork, and threw him off his pace, which allowed Tamawashi to attack. Perhaps the same thing prevented Hakuho from planting his feet solidly yesterday.

Well, this day sure deflated the basho a bit. Awful to see Mitakeumi limp out like that.

Watching Mitakeumi's bout I was preparing to write a post about how I appreciate the nuances and various techniques in sumo, nothing pleases me like a good show of pure power. Mitakeumi just pushed Kakuryu out with authority and I enjoyed it. Then came Hakuho and showed me the true essence. Never give up, always know where you are, move fast but be precise. I love sumo.

I remember how impressed I was when Ichinojo first showed up in makuuchi. He seemed to have the ability to stop at will when pushed back. I still think it's possible he'll find a way to tap into his full potential. That said, I'm liking what I'm seeing in Ryuden. It hasn't been an easy basho for him, but I expect him to do better in the future.

Ichinojo remains a mystery. Paraphrasing a saying I've heard of one MMA fighter: He looks like that character in a video game that has totally overpowered stats but is controlled by your special needs cousin.