RabidJohn

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RabidJohn last won the day on June 1 2023

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About RabidJohn

  • Rank
    Ozeki
  • Birthday 05/03/1963

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    North Lincolnshire, England

Affiliations

  • Heya Affiliation
    Kokonoe
  • Favourite Rikishi
    Chiyonofuji

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  1. RabidJohn

    Rikishi Health check February 2025

    This makes me want to circulate a flyer to the Japanese construction industry showing 10 rikishi sliding off a steeply inclined, Scandinavian-style roof...
  2. It's not only the clothing styles that've changed. When did the oicho-mage acquire the sculpted flare to the end of the top knot seen today? Most of the rikisihi pictured here are wearing oicho-mage with the back shaped like a ginkgo leaf, but the top knot is flat like a chon-mage.
  3. I'd describe it as necessarily harsh rather than excessive. It's the only way the NSK can stamp out the bullying and hazing that was customary a couple of decades ago, and show that it remains committed to doing so however long it takes.
  4. RabidJohn

    Yokozuna Hoshoryu

    Harumafuji is a very high standard that few match up to. The first time I saw Chiyonofuji's dohyo-iri I was blown away by how he moved forward, akin to seeing Michael Jackson moonwalk for the first time. But that was nearly 40 years ago, so my recollection might be a little rosy.
  5. Tsukebito running errands for their sekitori is commonplace, isn't it? Being sent to buy feminine hygiene products and underwear wouldn't have fazed me in the slightest, but I know I'm in a minority. I used to be the one asked to buy condoms for my mates because I could look the cashier straight in the eye while doing it. Older lads who weren't my mates used to pay me. Madness even had a hit with a song about it called 'House of Fun'. Most adolescents found it mortally embarrassing, but it was also laughed about. I can well imagine Tobizaru thinking it was funny to sending his tsukebito off on that errand. It's the sort of wind-up that was practiced on British apprentices forever. "Go to the stores for a tub of elbow grease," or being sent to find a "long weight" only to discover you've been sent for a long wait. But that was getting on for 50 years ago... It's evident from Kintamayama's last post that the Weekly Shincho is a muck-raking tabloid with an anti-NSK agenda. Unfortunately it does have a track record of seeing the smoke and finding the fire.
  6. RabidJohn

    New kesho mawashi

    Could someone please pander to my ignorance and tell me what these stylized kanji mean?
  7. The apparently long-term nature of the bullying makes me think it was going on before Hokuseiho dropped Miyagino in it, which makes me wonder if it's nothing out of the ordinary at Oitekaze-beya. The pace of change in ozumo is indiscernible at times. Tobizaru, though? That's so disappointing. I really liked him.
  8. RabidJohn

    Rikishi Health check February 2025

    Is Hoshoryu the 1st active yokozuna to wear specs? He's certainly in the minority of rikishi who'll watch their blood being drawn. Most of them appear to be like me: no fuss, but keeping it out of their line of sight while it's happening.
  9. RabidJohn

    Yokozuna Hoshoryu

    No, it isn't ballroom or latin, but it is performing the right steps in the right order and hitting the right shapes at the right time. I don't know if it's a quirk of translation, but I have seen both the yokozuna dohyo-iri and the yumitorishiki referred to as dances before.
  10. RabidJohn

    Sumo setsubun 2025

    Every year this comes around and makes me nostalgic for SWTOR...
  11. RabidJohn

    Yokozuna Hoshoryu

    I'm not Mongolian so I don't want to make light of it, but it's just the gutter press doing its thing. I can't believe how often he's had to do it already, considering he's only had the tsuna for 3 days. On the bright side, it shouldn't take him long to get it down pat with that much practice.
  12. RabidJohn

    Yokozuna Hoshoryu

    It's actually quite simple. Takanohana was active early on in the period when yokozuna promotions came only after back to back yusho. It began some time between the ousting of Futahaguro in 1987 and the promotion Asahifuji in 1990, and ended with the promotion of Kakuryu in 2014. Much of the discussion hereabouts arises from folk still coming to terms with that era's passing.
  13. RabidJohn

    Terunofuji career pics overview

    You can't see it under the suit trousers, but it's evident under the NSK uniform trousers in the main pic. Same hinged brace we've seen under his bandages.
  14. RabidJohn

    Hatsu 2025 discussion (results)

    There's no denying the absence of a truly exceptional rikishi on the dohyo over the last few years. Terunofuji was for a while during his comeback and climb to the top, but we all knew he had time-bomb knees. That said, I've been really enjoying all the new and unexpected yusho winners: the run of hatsu yusho at the Hatsu basho, the sekiwake/komusubi yusho, and the M17s. Kinbozan going on a tear this time was fabulous, as was Oho showing us he's not reached his ceiling. The fact is, parity makes for great, unpredictable competition. IMHO, the main difference between, say, Wakatakakage, Kirishima and Hoshoryu is that the latter has managed to stay fit and healthy. I've convinced myself that we're due another dominant rikishi very soon, though, and I've a feeling it might be Onosato. We could well have started moaning about him winning everything by this time next year...
  15. RabidJohn

    Yokozuna Hoshoryu

    I won't be around when it comes to pass, but I know exactly how this Heisei generation will feel when their kids and grandkids tell them, "You can't say that now!"