Octofuji

Fair enough, "and that's all she wrote" is one of Raja's too. I was a little disappointed we didn't get any "trickeration" last week.

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of cliché is "a phrase that has very often been said or expressed before". Hiro gets accused of a lot of things but no-one can deny his unique take on the English language . I agree with you on everything else, his energy levels are amazing for someone approaching 60. His Saturday night spiel was virtually word-for-word the same as when I watched on TV on Wednesday, so his memory must be pretty good too.

The people around us didn't know much about sumo (although they did know Ura!) and absolutely loved it. Conversely there four big guys in the circle below equipped with towels etc... who looked like they might even be amateur wrestlers. They must have known what they were seeing wasn't real, but were able to get psyched up for it in the way that fans of pro wrestling do. So even if 90% of the audience were acting like it was all real, a lot of them may be playing along too. EDIT: @Koorifu I see know you have empirical evidence from a box and weren't just observing the crowd. (We snuck into a box on Saturday before the doors opened, you got an amazing view from there!)

Some sumo fans knew :) I think the risk of injury is being overstated a bit. Quite apart from the serious bouts that these guys do in training and at degeiko, I've seen moshiai at jungyos that have a lot of bite to them, and the lower rankers doing moshiai beforehand on Saturday were really going for it. But of course serious bouts will be far less of a spectacle, and I think that's the primary reason for the choreography. (As an aside, it's interesting how protective the kyokai are suddenly perceived to be when it comes to wrestlers getting injured ). All this has made me wonder about e.g. the Fuji TV tournament and whether that's equally scripted too. In which case I feel even sadder for Takayasu... All in all though, it was a fantastic night out and the Royal Albert Hall was just perfect as a venue.

Watching the BBC on Wednesday evening I was ready to tear up my tickets for tonight. In the end we did go and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cons - obviously, the staged bouts. Pros - seeing the lower rankers doing moshiai and butsukari with Shonannoumi before the start - the yobidashi calling the first few bouts had such a beautiful voice, heard in absolute silence from the audience - seeing Kotoeiho and Abi's shiko - Three hours standing up in the gallery felt like joining in with your own keiko! - walking back to Kensington High Street and seeing Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage (who was surprisingly huge close up) - also Mitakeumi with a very relaxed Shodai :) https://photos.app.goo.gl/26GwDEDzatmB3uJZ8

I was expecting/hoping for more of a middle ground. According to those who remember, the previous London koen was quite different. Also there are some very intense practice sessions leading up to a basho, that can (and do) lead to injuries and wrestlers missing the basho. So while perhaps unlikely, I don't think it was out of the question.

Gonoyama didn't convince me with his masterful yorikiri win ;) But yes, in general the second half was more watchable.

On a positive note, @kintamayama would enjoy Hiro getting Abi and Ichiyamamoto confused :)

The only bout that looked even a bit realistic was Tamawashi v Wakatakakage, albeit only half the usual intensity. So kudos to them for their acting ability. Very disappointing but with hindsight it was probably naive to expect anything else, what with jet lag, sightseeing, and no proper keiko. Also, I guess they didn't want the risk of the audience seeing someone leave in a giant wheelchair, not to mention the complications to the wrestler of getting injured in London.

Article in the Guardian about the koen https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/15/grand-sumo-wrestling-tournament-london-royal-albert-hall It's quite sweet they gave Hakakku the surname "Rijicho" :)

This link mentions a sumo photo exhibition free to attend for ticket holders, and also for anyone on the Saturday, as part of the "free entry open day". Does anyone have information about this open day? https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2025/sumo-exhibition

Thanks! I might even get a license for this :)

There's still £50 standing left if you switch to Saturday

Thanks! I booked standing for Saturday at 50 pounds, hoping for some interesting birds' eye views of the bouts.

I've double checked in an incognito tab and I can't register either, same site key error :(