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madorosumaru

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Shin-deshi Alan Gambaraev started keiko at Mihogaseki Beya on Thursday. He impressed those around him with his powerful teppo. "The guy is very muscular and awfully strong," marveled the oyakata. Gamby's problem is his lack of language skills. Mihogaseki Oyakata is planning to hire a tutor to help him with his Japanese.

In the mean time, Hakurozan, who is from the same ichimon, has volunteered to help out. He was at Mihogaseki Beya bright and early for junior rikishi asageiko to translate instructions from the oyakata. Maybe the remedial lessons would do Hakurozan some good too.

Edited by madorosumaru

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Tongan Hisanoumi received some good news earlier this week when he was officially naturalized as a Japanese citizen. However, his joy was tempered by the fact that he had cut the sole of his foot during the year-end housecleaning at the heya that required six stitches.

As a result, he cannot do any keiko. As you may know, Hisa had just returned from a long stint off the banzuke and was raring to go in Hatsu Basho. He is terribly disappointed, but Tagonoura Oyakata sees some silver lining. In the heya blog, he wrote, "The guy has a habit of overextending himself. This might turn out to be a nice break for him."

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Yes, Leella, he has changed a lot.

Hungarian Masutoo hated natto and raw fish when he first arrived in Japan. Now, he likes Japanese food more than some of his heya-mates. The other day, he went to kaiten-zushi with heya manager and gyoji. Look at his contented face.

Attila hasn't been doing well lately and he is down to jonidan for Hatsu Basho. Not to worry, says the manager. "Everyone goes through a slump. He is still very young and is just getting started."

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Nishikido Oyakata (former Mitoizumi) wrote in his blog about going to a Christmas party at Konishiki's restaurant, unbalance, which was remodeled recently and resplendent with all the lights (Photo 1).

At the door were two golden retrievers (Photo 2)--mother and son apparently--belonging to Konishiki. (What's it with sumo guys and golden retrievers? Kinpatsu dogs? (Alien stuff...) ) The male dog is named "Maru" after Konishiki's pal Musashimaru. The other one is "Popo" for reasons unknown. As mentioned in an earlier thread, the restaurant features a wild mixture of traditional Japanese cuisine, sumo-san chanko-nabe and Hawaiian luau food. The guests were a mix also of Konishiki's sumo friends, show biz cronies and folks from back home.

Daishi was there, singing Italian love songs and sumo jinku. Bands played and singers appeared one after another. Nishikido couldn't remember all the foreign-sounding names. "Maru," the yokozuna, was sitting in the back, heckling the performers. The host naturally was dressed as Santa (Photos 3, 4 & 5) and passed out presents in the gift-exchange.

Konishiki is going back to Hawaii for the next six months. He had promised his family that he would take some time off and he is also determined to lose some weight!

Nishikido is scheduled to go to Hawaii next June to be a shimpan for the jungyo. The two former Takasago heyamates vowed to get together at that time.

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Here is an item of very dubious significance. Former juryo HoshiTANGO, originally from--where else?--Argentina, made his pro resu debut at the Korakuen Hall. The 41-year-old erstwhile sumotori and restaurateur, who is now a naturalized Japanese citizen, teamed up with some guy almost half his age named Kakimoto (23) to defeat the pair of Michael Nakazawa (31) and the comically-monikered teenager, American Balloon (19).

With his former heya-mate, Jumonji, at ringside, Hoshitango, now at a svelte 130 kg as compared to his rikishi-day 169 kg, showed both speed and power as he lifted Nakazawa with a Canadian Backbreaker. While holding his thrashing high aloft, he switched to the dreaded Argentine Backbreaker. At 12:20 of the match, poor Nakazawa had no choice but to cry "Uncle."

After the bout, a happy Hoshitango said, "I was a bit nervous, but I felt he was rather light when I lifted him."

It'll take more than two to [beat] Tango!

Edited by madorosumaru

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Tochinoshin started out in '06 Haru Basho and he is already in makushita. In Aki Basho, he was undefeated during the regular tournament and made it to jonidan ketteisen. There, he faced Tokitairyu who started ozumo at the same time but has had a lot more experience as a college rikishi at Tokyo Agricultural U. Toki took immediate advantage with moro-zashi, lifted Tochi and forced him down and out of the ring.

However, Tochinoshin showed him back by going 6-1 in Kyushu. Now, he is in makushita while Toki is still at sandanme 10. As with most new European deshi, his Japanese is still at beginner level. "There is a Georgian person who is tutoring me," he said. However, he was able to communicate with the reporter: "In keiko, I do fine against sandanme. Against juryo, it's pretty hopeless." (quotes circa October)

As for Japanese food, "In the past, just a little. Now, I'm OK. The only thing I can't eat is 'kaki.'" The reporter couldn't figure out whether he meant persimmon or oysters--both "kaki" in Japanese.

The critical bout in Aki Basho was against Tamanoi's Takaazuma. "That Brazilian guy is pretty strong. I've fought him twice and this is the first time I won." Defeating a former makushita rikishi, even one on his way back from prolonged injury, must have given him a lot of confidence.

"I started out with judo and Brazilian sambo when I was 11," he said. "I participated in the 2003 Junior Olympics. As for sumo, I came to Japan in May 2005 and did keiko at Nichidai where I had a chance to work out with Baruto and Gagamaru."

His rise would have been even faster except for Nagoya when he hurt his left hand and also needed 7 stitches in his mouth. That forced him to take two days off.

"Sumo is difficult," he confided. "Butsukari is really tough. My shisho, Kasugano Oyakata, tells me to grab the mawashi from below. Hatakikomi is a definite no-no."

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Masunoyama has made a big impression since he made his ozumo debut in Nagoya. He has gone 6-1 in both Aki and Nagoya and is now already perched at jonidan hitto. He has also created a bit of a sensation at the heya by blasting a hapless heya-mate into the far wall during keiko.

When he was 6-1 in Aki Basho, he lost only to Tochiminato. "I had beaten the guy during mae-zumo [the previous basho]," he lamented. "I'm really upset because I had hurt my shoulder doing keiko."

It is no wonder Masunoyama is a tough kid. When he was in third grade, he joined a sumo club in Chiba where kiddie sumo is quite prominent. That year, he not only led his club to a local tournament victory by defeating a powerhouse team but won the individual championship. For that feat, he was recruited by the aforementioned powerhouse team. As a fifth grader, he reached the sekiwake level in the national peewee tournament. As an eighth grader, he won two Chiba Prefectural Junior High tournaments and came in third in the Eastern Japan Tournament. He represented Chiba in all the prestigious national junior high tournaments.

Now, you may ask why we are talking about this fellow in a gaijin thread. Well, it turns out his mother is a Filipina lady named Maria Christina. Thus, he has just as much foreign blood as Marvin Jr. who gets a lot of attention here. In fact, for his ninth grade year, he transferred to a school in his mom's homeland. It was after graduating from the school in Iloilo City that he joined Chiganoura Beya.

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As with most new European deshi, his Japanese is still at beginner level. "There is a Georgian person who is tutoring me," he said. However, he was able to communicate with the reporter: (quotes circa October)
I spoke with Tochi twice on the phone in mid-October from the amateur event (Sakai) as he (in Kasugano Beya on the day) was a friend of the Georgian lad fighting there.

No-one could communicate effectively with the Georgian participant, the ISF were largely ignoring him and had provided no-one to help him bar a limited Russian speaking old Japanese man (and the Georgian lad spoke very very limited Russian) and he made it known that Tochioshin and he were close.

As it was, we got hold of Tochioshin, they spoke to each other then I spoke with him (Tochi) for 5 or 10 mins on the phone once (twice?) and he communicated the Georgian lad's wants / woes etc etc - ie. he said no-one at the ISF had told him how to get to the airport / when he had to be there / costs involved etc.

No major problem at all. I think he is / was pretty good at Japanese.

"

Sumo is difficult," he confided. "Butsukari is really tough. My shisho, Kasugano Oyakata, tells me to grab the mawashi from below. Hatakikomi is a definite no-no."

a fine oyakata - but 'it's a legal kimarite' I hear some starting to squeal!!! (Nodding yes...)

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Kazafuzan had made his way up to his personal best makushita 16 in Aki Basho. Juryo was coming into sight. However, he injured a ligament in his right knee prior to the basho and suffered a 2-5 record.

After the basho, Tiger, the only rikishi from Kazakhstan, went to jungyo for the first time as a tsukebito to his shisho, Nishikido Oyakata, who had shinpan duties. The fall jungyo made news for reviving the old practice of yama-geiko where rikishi not on display on the main dohyo worked out in adjoining fields by drawing circles in the the dirt. Outside the venue, many of the lower-ranked tsukebito started keiko very early in the morning and are often joined by some of the sekitori. On the first day, Tiger was "pampered" for over 30 minutes by Kisenosato. His shisho stood by with a bamboo stick in his hand, making sure his prize deshi was getting all the benefits of Kise's largesse. "The sekitori felt very heavy to me," Tiger said after the butsukari. "I know I lack stamina so this was a great workout."

After the keiko with Kise, Tiger spent time with shisho doing push-ups and various exercises to strengthen his lower body. It is clear that Nishikido is fond of Tiger and expects great things from him. BTW, Tiger achieved KK in Kyushu and is now at makushita 24.

Tiger getting pampered out in the field by the Hanky Prince.

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Well, it turns out his mother is a Filipina lady named Maria Christina. Thus, he has just as much foreign blood as Marvin Jr. who gets a lot of attention here. In fact, for his ninth grade year, he transferred to a school in his mom's homeland. It was after graduating from the school in Iloilo City that he joined Chiganoura Beya.

Thank you thank you thank you for this informatino. This is the coolest thing ever. I myself am half filipino, and had no idea there was a fellow "half flip" in ozumo. Not surprised that hes 176 cm tall..most filipinos do not have much height in their genes. Myself at 190cm is quite a weird thing, especially since my other half, i have no height in that family for generations. 143 kilos though for masu. Impressive. Must be like a bowling ball like takekaze...just a few CM taller than take. Also very similar in stature to marvin jr.

Thanks again for giving me another guy to follow!

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Still no word on the other new tongan? Will be be in maezumo along with gambarev, mori, and the others? Not sure if i expect much from him..despite all the training at the heya, he wasnt in the top 5 for middle weight at the worlds was he?

I think it sucks that gambaraev still has to start at maezumo. After all he did win world openweight gold. That in itself maybe shouldnt count for tsukedashi 15, but should give him some kind of head start. Especially considering he beath ichihara twice, who gets makushita tsukedashi 10 status.

Has there ever been a gaijin enter sumo who won a gold medal at the world championships?

Barring injury, i expect gambaraev to have a tokitenku like start to his career. Ossetian yokozuna and i surely will star the heat the wall threads perhaps by the end of 2007. :)

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A little OFFTOPIC.

A little interesting fact about GABARAEV.

He eats as lion.

My nephew has offen seen as Alan was putting 2 or 3 kg pure meet on stove for boiling.

After 10 minits he was starting to eat meet pice by pice up to last pice not wating when meet boiled.

( It is true.

My nephew and GABARAEV are neibors.

In villige neibors are offen viziting each ather. )

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Great to hear that Tiger is doing so well! Thanks for the update. Juryo soon in sight, again, I hope.

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Must be a bowling ball like takekaze...just a few CM taller than take. Also very similar in stature to marvin jr.

Thanks again for giving me another guy to follow!

Here is an introductory karaoke serenade from Masu. He sings like a bowling ball.

Masunoyama is second from the left, bottom row. Hungarian Masutoo is right behind him.

10007785668_s.jpg

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Great to hear that Tiger is doing so well! Thanks for the update. Juryo soon in sight, again, I hope.

Nishikido Oyakata takes Tiger everywhere. Here, he is at an Azumazeki Encouragement Party, where Azumazeki Oyakata takes the time to call him over to his table for some words of advice and encouragement. Having been a pioneer gaijin rikishi, Jesse must know exactly what Tiger is going through.

The young man looks like he is listening intently. Nishikido Oyakata hopes that this encounter with Jesse would light a fire under his pupil.

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The young Mongolian rikishi are getting to be fan favorites among females both Japanese and gaijin. According to the chatter on the ladies' blogs, they are more svelte and "better-looking" than the local products. And, out of all the Mongolian "hunks," the two vying as top "ikemen" (lookers) are shin-juryo Hakuba and Gakutoh-san's choice, Daiyubu.

Daiyubu, last basho, changed his shikona from Daiyuchi. He has been futzing around makushita for the last three years and needed to change his luck. "I went to the oyakata and asked for the change. The character 'chi' has to do with dirt," he explained. "On the other hand, the characters 'yu' and 'bu' connote strength in battle."

Another reason for his recent upsurge is his weight gain. "I have trouble eating a lot [at one sitting]," he said. "However, after Nagoya, Tamarikido-zeki told me to eat more frequently in that case. As a result, I gained 8 or 9 kg and am at 122 (circa October). Now, I don't get pushed around as much."

There is an interesting story about Daiyubu. Under juryo, there is no tossing of the salt ;-) unless it is needed to stretch out the time before the main events. Daiyubu, apparently, has never lost on occasions when he has purified the dohyo. In Aki Basho, with salt on hand, he won his sixth bout against Sakaigawa's formidable Fukunaga, who was a peewee yokozuna as well as world junior champion. As Fukunaga tried to force him out, Daiyubu managed to counter with an utchari.

"I had broken my left wrist in Nagoya but it's a lot better," he said. "They tell me to keep my head low, hit hard and press forward." He must be doing something right, since he followed the 6 wins in Aki with 5 more in Kyushu. Now, he is up to makushita 8. Once he is in juryo, he will be able to toss salt everyday day of the basho.

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sorry to break the great sequence of your posts but i have to thank you for the Daiyubu stories ....

you make a virtual father proud of his adopted kid .... ;-)

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A little interesting fact about GABARAEV.

He eats as lion.

My nephew has offen seen as Alan was putting 2 or 3 kg pure meet on stove for boiling.

After 10 minits he was starting to eat meet pice by pice up to last pice not wating when meet boiled.

Looks like he's come to the right place. Stories of gourmandizing by sumosan, gaijin or local, abound.

We all know that a little pipsqueak of a Japanese guy has won a whole string of July 4th hotdog eating contests in America. Apparently, the recently-retired Kyokushuzan was talked into participating in a regional contest several years ago. The story is that he ate 16 20-cm weiners in the allotted 12 minutes. That was far short of the 31 that the winner consumed, but it was quite a feat for someone who did not train or even prepare for the event. The legend further goes that he continued eating even after the contest just for the enjoyment of it and was heard to say that he would have done much better if he had not eaten a full chanko lunch before the contest.

The yokozuna is pretty fair eater himself. At around the time when he first came up to sanyaku, he went on an eating regimen to bulk up. That included eating yakiniku every other day. How much did he consume? At least 18 portions easily. The story is that tripe is Ryu's favorite. Kakizoe may be a little guy but he is a champion yakiniku eater. He normally consumes 30 portions at a time. What makes it even more amazing is that he also eats 7 large bowls of rice to go with the meat. However, that doesn't even come close to the all-time champ. Legend has it that former komusubi Takamisugi (current Towakiyama Oyakata) once polished off 75 portions. According to witnesses, he stopped eating, not because his stomach was full, but due to the fact that he either hurt his wrist flipping the meat on the grill or that his jaws were so tired he couldn't chew any longer.

Edited by madorosumaru

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The Brazilian kid grew up dreaming about becoming a World Cup soccer star but got interested in the martial arts when he took up judo as a fifteen-year-old. A few years later, he learned that Wakaazuma, who had been with Tamanoi Beya, had retired and opened up a sumo dojo in Sao Paolo. From that time, he would make the hour-drive every Saturday and Sunday for his lessons. Apparently, he was a fast learner since in a matter of six months, he won a tournament in Brazil.

In 2004, Ricardo Sugano was chosen as a representative of Brazil to the World Juniors held in Japan, the homeland of his paternal grandparents. That tournament, which has been discussed elsewhere in the Forum, featured Sawai (Goeido), first place, Attila Toth (Masutoo), second, and Levan Gorgadze (Tochinoshin), third, in the open weight division; Kageyama (Tochiozan), first place in heavy-weight division; and Fukunaga, first place in middle-weight division. Ricardo was the other semi-finalist in the open division.

Ricardo followed up that achievement by winning the Brazilian open weight title the next year. With the help of Mr. Kuroda, Wakaazuma's father, he was accepted as a deshi at Tomozuna Beya. Despite his Japanese ancestry (he is a sansei), Sugano came to Japan speaking very little Japanese. At Tomozuna, Kainohama, a Brazilian who had naturalized, became his "big brother" and tutor. The oyakata's instructions to him are simple: "I don't care what you do or how you do it, as long as you keep pressing forward."

Ricardo, shikona-ed Kaisei, is determined to do fit in and do well. "The chore I hate is cleaning toilets," he told the press. "I also don't like to peel onions. It's embarrassing to stand there with tears in my eyes." According to Kainohama, "The kid probably never did any cooking or cleaning back home in Brazil." His goal is to become a powerful rikishi like Kaio. His favorite class in school was English and his least favorite was math. His favorite foods are churrasco (Brazilian Barbeque) and yudofu (tofu hot pot) and he doesn't like pig's feet.

He went 2-2 in maezumo in Aki Basho when he admitted that he was nervous. He did much better in Kyushu (6-1) in his banzuke debut. For Hatsu Basho, he will be at jonidan w66. The word is that he has been doing keiko against sandanme for a while so much upside is expected of him.

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This is the coolest thing ever. I myself am half filipino, and had no idea there was a fellow "half flip" in ozumo. Not surprised that hes 176 cm tall..most filipinos do not have much height in their genes. Myself at 190cm is quite a weird thing, especially since my other half, i have no height in that family for generations. 143 kilos though for masu. Impressive. Must be like a bowling ball like takekaze...just a few CM taller than take. Also very similar in stature to marvin jr.

Masunoyama speaks four languages--Japanese, English, Chinese and Tagalog. Apparently, his gourmandizing is already sekitori-class. When he first joined ozumo, he astonished his heya-mates by consuming in one sitting--four extra-large portions of katsu-don (pork cutlet and rice), a portion each of karaage (fried chicken), kushikatsu (cutlets on a stick) and fried rice. He washed all of that down with eight giant mugs of oolong tea and two 2-liter bottles of mineral water. Watching him eat, the heya manager was scratching his head, "Oy vey. The kid's gonna eat us into the poorhouse!"

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Au naturel

859396979aff38ccf578d04cj8.jpg

Who is this guy? Well, in the 1970s, a group of young guys came over from Tonga to join ozumo. Some of them were quite promising, but they got caught up in heya politics and had their careers nipped in the bud. Back home, one of them became a policeman but he never lost his interest in sumo. He spent his free time proselytizing sumo and trying to advance relations with Japan. He even named his son with his shikona, Minaminoshima Isamu Farebai (pictured above), who grew up to be a rikishi with Musashigawa Beya.

Tokoyama magic

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Minaminoshima junior went 2-5 at makushita 45 in Kyushu and is back in sandanme for Hatsu. However, he had a really good Aki Basho when on Day 14, he knocked out Hokutoarashi with a single blow to the jaw. The 173 kg opponent was so out of it that it took four guys to help him back to the dressing room.

"I was in really good form in Aki," said Minami. "I only lost to Sakaizawa." His dad calls to encourage him regularly. "He is really happy that I am following in his steps on the Kokugikan dohyo."

Minami attributed his recent success to working out with weight machines. "I have been rowing and working on my abs," he explained. "I want to get more speed and bursts of power." He has also been putting on more weight--from 125 kg to about 133. With more weight, he can enhance his tsuki/oshi prowess.

He told the press, he eats anything--including natto, the bane of most gaijin rikishi. "It tastes like $&!% but I need to eat plenty of soy."

Minami seen eating all sorts of strange Japanese stuff during Musashigawa New Year's party.

4fccfa653e2fa8e4f6589e0gl4.jpg

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Quasi- or erstwhile (depending on your p.o.v.) gaijin, Kykokutenho, has reached his 700th consecutive makuuchi appearance. Since he made his third nyumaku in Natsu Basho of 1999. he has gone on the dohyo without fail for 46 basho and 10 days. That, of course, is the current record.

The all-time record is a mind-boggling 1231 by Hawaiian-born Takamiyama, the current Azumazeki Oyakata. However, the increase in weight of rikishi in recent years has resulted in substantially more injuries. The #2 currently is Tosanoumi's 660 and that streak has already ended. As for on-goings pursuers, Takamisakari, at 445, is the closest to Tenho.

Kyokutenho started his ozumo career in 1992 with Kyokushuzan and a bunch of other Mongolian boys. Now, 16 years later, he has naturalized Japanese citizenship and is expected to take over Oshima Beya after retirement. As "Ota Masaru," he is getting married to a Japanese lady next month.

Asked about the secret to his longevity in sumo, he answered jokingly in fluent Japanese, "Well, if I sense that I might get hurt, I would quickly step out of the dohyo."

However, sumo people know him to be a diligent worker. His tsukebito are always amazed at the quantity and quality of his keiko. He invariably starts off with a regimen of preparatory exercises including shiko. Then, he tunes up with butsukari and other keiko. Rarely would he miss a session even during a basho when he is exhausted.

His record is definitely a product of all his hard keiko.

Tenho makes it a day to remember by defeating ozeki Kaio.

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His tactic of a tachia henka to grab an uwate worked perfectly. "I don't do that often," he explained. "I thought I'd do something a bit different." He appeared quite pleased with himself.

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Minami attributed his recent success to working out with weight machines. "I have been rowing and working on my abs," he explained. "I want to get more speed and bursts of power." He has also been putting on more weight--from 125 kg to about 133. With more weight, he can enhance his tsuki/oshi prowess.

Kaikitsune must be happy someone is reading his posts around here and follows his advice.

;-)

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In the back of my mind, I had Musashimaru as holder of the ironman record. But come to think of of it, Takamiyama has set an unbeatable precedence, and Kyokutenho is really streaking at the moment. Well done by Futuro-Oshima! ;-)

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