Eskbibs

Congrats to Kirishima. Atamifuji is good and solid - but I don't know if he's shown anything to be really excited about, in terms of skill. Which sounds odd to say considering how he's been thoroughly involved in the yusho race two bashos in a row. Maybe I just haven't been watching closely enough or I'm forgetting something really obvious...and of course, he's young and has time to get better and all that jazz. Just visually speaking, he hasn't looked particularly convincing to my (untrained) eye.

I thought there must have been an incident during the jungyo or during training or something, as I recall things like this happening as a result of such incidents. But I also don't remember seeing anything of the sort reported here, so...who knows. Otherwise Gonoyama seems like a very random target for such a staredown.

My Japanese isn't the best but I think they said the same on NHK - Atamifuji is still young, he'll remember this experience. I'm not a fan of his, but you have to feel for him a little. Is it his fault for not expecting it? Maybe. But that's a lot to expect from someone who's in their first ever yusho contention, much less playoff. Here's to hoping he stays good for a while to come.

Takakeisho, not like this...

I don't think there's any timeline in which Hokuseiho ever beats Hoshoryu. He's basically the most leg-trippable opponent you've ever seen, and Hoshoryu is something of a leg tripper himself. A bad match-up for him if there ever was one.

Man I hope Atamifuji loses his (regularly scheduled) bout. It'd be a shame if he just wins, long before the musubi no ichiban, and then the rest of the bouts are for small change. That being said, I feel like I've been hoping for this outcome every basho and it always ends disappointingly with the person 1 win in the lead just winning.

Aoiyama not giving up at the edge. Shodai obliterating Asanoyama. Daieisho beating Kirishima in a belt battle. Awesome day today.

Takakeisho...landed face first into the knee of that spectator? I almost can't believe what they showed on the replay, but it explains why he was blinking the one side of his face afterward. Spectators accidentally injuring rikishi, who knew it could happen.

Nishikigi, man...he's a danger for anyone who thinks highly of their yotsu-zumo. He came out blasting today. Shodai did good in exploiting what Takakeisho has shown so far this basho - he doesn't seem to have the power he once did to just shove people out directly, so he aggravates his aite (in this case with some thunderous harite) and tries to get them to come in to him as he goes for a tottari or something of that kind. Shodai read him like a book, you could see him being careful the whole way through. I generally don't like Shodai because he doesn't seem to try very hard considering what he is capable of - but he really came prepared today, which was a treat to see.

Huh? Huh??? Shock. There my man goes, just like that? I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the thread title...

Kagayaki's tits Surely distinguish him from Okinoumi?

Beyond happy for Ichinojo. Beyond happy! Feels good to be a fan, and I'm glad that everyone else seems happy too. My Japanese isn't good enough to detect his accent, but thanks to you guys who were commenting on it. My man looks like he's in so much pain!!

Before the basho began, there was the possibility of a double promotion to yokozuna. Takakeisho's out now, but would it be possible for Hakuho to get the yusho, Terunofuji to come as JY or lose in a playoff and still get promoted? I'm not a database wizard so I don't know how to check these things, but it's something I've been wondering about. Hakuho could possibly retire then in a true passing of the torch. Sorry if it's a silly question or if it's been mentioned elsewhere in the thread.

I was surprised at how surprised I was when I saw this on Kintamayama's video. No one can say that the intai wasn't expected, but now that it's actually happened...I find myself feeling rather sad. In my limited sumo experience, it seems like he's always been around as a kind of foil to Hakuho. Now he's left by himself on the lonely peaks of sumo.

Hi, I'm somebody around your age and size who also once considered trying my hand at sumo, though without much of your seriousness. To this end, a year or so ago I figured I would start doing shiko every day. While I'm no professional athlete, I do have some years of martial arts training, so I would just watch TV for an hour or so every day and do shiko throughout, followed by (extensive) stretching after. I can be a bit of an exercise nut at times, and this was definitely one of those. It definitely improved my strength and flexibility. However, after about 2 weeks, my knees began to bother me. Having already had some issues with overtraining and knee pain in the past, I stopped. My advice to you is, if you are indeed not the most athletic of specimens, take it slow at first, but stay consistent. These two things will compliment each other. You just don't want to destroy your body before actually getting started. On that same subject, it might be helpful to consider your weight. As it currently stands, you're even lighter than Enho, who looks like a dwarf compared to most other rikishi. Do you have any plan to gain weight? Let's say you set a goal of something like 300 pounds, which I believe would put you somewhere around Kotoeko's weight. Even then you'd be on the small side, but it'd be a lot bigger than you are now, which would help you not get blown up at first contact. You might also consider the effects of this kind of weight gain on your body and whether you're sure you want to go through with it. I don't want to discourage you from following your dream, although I will be honest and say that I don't think it's very feasible. It's just that there's a lot of parts to "being a sumo wrestler" that you need to see to yourself because you (probably) will not get to go to a stable. Best of luck.