Gaijin Guide

[madorosumaru 7]

We all know from another thread that Musashimaru Oyakata is going to appear in a major motion picture with kakutogi superflop, Akebono, and coupla other fellas named Brad Pitt and George Clooney. In "Ocean's 13," which is scheduled to open in June, the two guys from Oahu are going to play--what else--sumotori.

NSK has a rule against its members appearing in movies but made special dispensations this time because it would promote sumo over the world. Filming of the movie was completed last fall. "We wore wigs for our mage," said Maru. "I was quite nervous, but it was a lot of fun. Now, he is anxiously awaiting the glamorous world premiere in Hollywood with all the skimpily dressed starlets. "I wonder if they'll let me walk on the red carpet in my mawashi," he mused. Egad. That would make even Madonna or Jay-Lo blush.

The acting bug has bitten the former yokozuna. "Next time, I want to play a karate guy and beat up Jackie Chan."

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

The acting bug has bitten the former yokozuna. "Next time, I want to play a karate guy and beat up Jackie Chan."

I would rather have him playing a godfather guy and stare down Al Pacino...

[madorosumaru 7]

The young gaijin rikishi in the dressing room was flushed with fury. He was mad at himself. In his bout of the day, he had gotten into his favored migi-yotsu stance but got jerked around by his opponent to the degree that he inadvertently stepped over the dohyo tawara. He knew he had screwed up by not forcing the attack after getting into an advantageous position.

Seeing him raging around, fellow Georgian Gagamaru came over to give a bit of advice: "Dude, ya gotta bull your way forward as soon as you get a hold of the mawashi . . ."

This was the first makushita basho for 19-year-old Tochinoshin (Levan Gorgadze) and he was on his way to a very respectable 5-2 basho, his fifth consecutive kachi-koshi since joining Ozumo after a distinguished amateur career. At Kasugano Beya, he is the hot young prospect after Tochiozan. His shisho, former sekiwake Tochinowaka, said, "His strength is that he already has a migi-yotsu kata. All he has to do is learn to be more aggressive in initiating his oshi move." Tochinoshin knows what he has to do: "I really need to improve my tachiai." If he can get a more powerful burst off the tachiai, he should be able to reach his goal of "juryo before year-end."

[ilovesumo 12]

Indeed- he is very impressive, quick and moving intelligent. He's not a one running into henka and will become somebody big-but not fat.

[madorosumaru 7]

As reported earlier by SF's ubiquitous K'kan habitue, young Daishoyu (Marvin Lee Sano) was finally able to get his hair coiffed into a mage during Hatsu Basho. "It really hurt when they yanked my hair," he said. With his giant Afro and dark skin, he was referred to by some as the "Akebono from the 'hood."

However, his idol was not the yokozuna from Hawaii, but fellow Tokyoite, Takanohana. As a kid, Marvin participated in a charity event at the K'kan and had the opportunity to "borrow" Taka's chest. When he grabbed the yokozuna's mawashi with both hands, he was advised, "Don't grab the mawashi. Push!"

Marvin was born and raised in Japan. He wanted to attend Taka's alma mater, Meidai Nakano, but failed the entrance exam. Instead, he went to the noted jock school, Saitama Sakae, where the sumo club won consecutive national high school championships.

In the January basho, he achieved kachi-koshi in makushita with a record of 5 and 2. He clinched the kachi-koshi when he blitzed his opponent out on Day 9. His idol, Takanohana, happened to be a shimpan during the bout, and afterwards, in the hallway, he told the youngster, "That was good sumo." The young prospect was overjoyed, "That really made my day."

Newly mage-ed Marvin.

[Mark Buckton 1]

Marvin was born and raised in Japan. He wanted to attend Taka's alma mater, Meidai Nakano, but failed the entrance exam. Instead, he went to the noted jock school, Saitama Sakae, where the sumo club won consecutive national high school championships.

Newly mage-ed Marvin.

Also spent his early dohyo days / non-school Sundays at the same club as Shibuya (Tamanoi for those not familiar).

Wonderful amateur club in northern Tokyo on the same road as my own house - shock to find after a decade of sumo.

Invited back so pics may follow.

[Manekineko 200]

I talked to this lady a lot last night. She speaks perfect English. She is not only beautiful but very intelligent with many interesting stories to tell.

Ensuing cousin-related chat moved to Off-topic.

[madorosumaru 7]

Six and half years after joining ozumo, Hoshihikari finally became a sekitori. Yesterday, he met with the press after being informed of his promotion to juryo.

The 22-year-old Mongolian rikishi had suffered a broken ankle last year in Osaka and missed the entire Natsu and Nagoya Basho. His rank dropped all the way down to sandanme. From there, he recovered and reached juryo with five successful basho in a row.

His injury was a blessing in disguise. "It was hell," he recalled. "But while I was laid up in the hospital, I put on more weight and now I don't get pushed back as easily."

Hoshi is the same age as the newly-promoted Yokozuna Hakuho. When they were kids, the two had sparred together at a Mongolian sumo camp. "To be promoted on the same day," he said with a smile. "This has become an unforgettable day."

Photo of the happy new sekitori

[Asojima 2,874]

Six and half years after joining ozumo, Hoshihikari finally became a sekitori.

Photo of the happy new sekitori

And that is a Mongolian flag that he is not holding. :-)

[madorosumaru 7]

A retrospective:

Nankairyu (Kiriful Saba) from West Samoa was quite an interesting rikishi. He joined ozumo in 1984 and was promoted to juryo in Natsu '87 and made makuuchi in Kyushu of the same year.

The future was bright for the strappling lad from the Islands except that he had a bad habit--he just couldn't stay away from the bottle. During Aki Basho in September '88, he got so drunk at a hotel in Asakusa that the proprietor called the police who escorted him back to the heya. The next morning, he complained of a stomach ache and refused to do asa-geiko. When his shisho, Takasago Oyakata, chided him, he ran out of the heya and missed his scheduled bout of the day. The next day, which was senshuraku, he started drinking from the morning with friends. When Oyakata confronted him with a choice between sumo and the bottle, he was supposed to have said, "I just can't help it." With that, he took off and left the country.

So Nankairyu was a sekitori. He had three basho in juryo and seven (including his final all-kyujo basho) in makuuchi with his highest rank being Maegashira 2. His sadly abbreviated sumo career ended officially in October '88 at age 23.

[madorosumaru 7]

Those that braved the early morning hours for mae-zumo, as one of our most dedicated forumer did, witnessed the debut of a most impressive shin-deshi. He is tall--190 cm; he is well-built--114 kg; and he is good-looking, as young ladies in numerous fan blogs have enthused. On the dohyo, he made quick work out of his opponents whether they were fellow shin-deshi or returning banzuke-gai veteran. One sumo enthusiast was heard to say, "He looks so much more poised than the other fellow who already has three years of experience."

Who is this young phenom? His name is Tumurbaatar Erdenebaatar and he hails from Ulaanbaatar by the way of Motosu, Gifu. He is the first deshi recruited by Kyokutenho, who is slated to take over Oshima Beya when the current oyakata retires in 2012.

The young man is 18 years old. Growing up in Mongolia, he was a basketball player, leading his middle school team to third place in a national tournament. When he was not dribbling around on the court, he did some Mongolian sumo. He was scouted when he was in high school and came to Gifu, Japan to do judo. He won two prefectural championships as a junior and came in third in a Tokai Region tournament. He caught the eyes of the sumo people and spent some time that summer at the Oshima Beya Nagoya lodgings, where he observed the professional rikishi at keiko. Tenho kept up the relationship by visiting his school's Cultural Festival and convinced him to join after his graduation.

His new shikona is Kyokushuho 旭秀鵬. The "Ho" is, of course, from Tenho but the "Shu" is not the character for Shuzan. Instead, it means "excellent, outstanding, brilliant." His role models, not surprisingly, are KyokutenHO and HakuHO. And yes, Verena, his ultimate goal is to become yokozuna.

[madorosumaru 7]

Takanoyama, the only rikishi from the Czech Republic, had been a makushita regular for thirteen basho before falling to sandanme last basho after two consecutive make-koshi. His problem was a poor tachiai and, as he said himself, "The others have studied and figured out my sumo."

To overcome that, he has been working hard on a tsuki/oshi attack. He has been "borrowing the chests" of sekitori at keiko to improve his technique. "It's not that easy to hit head-first," he said. "I am reminded of the importance of the tachiai." His goal is to develop an attack like that of Ama, a rikishi of similar body type.

Taka finds it difficult to gain weight and remains at around 91 kg. "The last time I was in sandanme, I got five straight kachi-koshi*," he reflected before Natsu Basho. "I don't know what I'll do if I go MK at this rank." Not to worry. He showed he was a cut above his sandanme opponents and went 6-1 in May. He will be baaack in makushita in Nagoya.

* Note: Taka has a poor memory. According to a very reliable database, the young Czech had three KK and two MK in the five sandanme basho prior to his last stay in makushita.

[madorosumaru 7]

Last year, Tongan Hisanoumi fell off the banzuke due to a severe knee injury. Through hard work and a high threshold of pain, he has managed to come back so that his 6-1 record in Natsu Basho assures him of returning to sandanme, where he was a year and half ago.

"I am still apprehensive about my knee," he told the press. "Before [Natsu] Basho, I went to the Dewanoumi Ichimon Rengo Keiko, but for every one day of keiko, I had to sit out for three days. When an opponent deked me, I wouldn't be able to keep my balance." His reliance on aggressive forward-moving sumo led to the successful results.

Hisanoumi has not been back to Tonga since he joined ozumo in 2001, but he plans to do so after Natsu Basho. One of the main purposes is to tell the folks back home, in person, about his naturalized Japanese citizenship.

"I plan to do a whole bunch of keiko, so that I can reach my goal of makushita by the end of the year," he said. Watch out for the determined Tongan!

[ilovesumo 12]

Kyokushuho 旭秀鵬. The "Ho" is, of course, from Tenho but the "Shu" is not the character for Shuzan. Instead, it means "excellent, outstanding, brilliant." His role models, not surprisingly, are KyokutenHO and HakuHO. And yes, Verena, his ultimate goal is to become yokozuna.

Here you see him, drinking the Basho-Sake as the very last ceremony on Senshuraku of Natsu Basho 2007. I am sad that I can only follow his way to the top from a distance now. When I go back to Japan in 2 years, everybody will know him as the rising star nobody will ever stop. All the best for the 3. mongolian Yokozuna. (Blushing...)

In Kyokutenho's Kesho Mawashi

Edited June 11, 2007 by ilovesumo

[Fay 1,677]

Kyokushuho 旭秀鵬. The "Ho" is, of course, from Tenho but the "Shu" is not the character for Shuzan. Instead, it means "excellent, outstanding, brilliant." His role models, not surprisingly, are KyokutenHO and HakuHO. And yes, Verena, his ultimate goal is to become yokozuna.

Here you see him, drinking the Basho-Sake as the very last ceremony on Senshuraku of Natsu Basho 2007. I am sad that I can only follow his way to the top from a distance now. When I go back to Japan in 2 years, everybody will know him as the rising star nobody will ever stop. All the best for the 3. mongolian Yokozuna. (Blushing...)

maybe the 4th :-)

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

Fay was thinking about Ryuo, wasn't she? (Blushing...)

[aderechelsea 125]

Fay was thinking about Ryuo, wasn't she?

i know I did .... (Blushing...)

[Fay 1,677]

Fay was thinking about Ryuo, wasn't she? (Blushing...)

No, not 2 Yokozuna from the same stable, this could come again to a bad end ...

[ilovesumo 12]

I hope there will be somebody in Nagoya. I wish to see Hoshihikari in his Kesho Mawashi.

I want him to make a KK. It will be hard but I believe he can do it!

Until now I have only seen him with O icho mage but not in a pretty Mawashi.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

I hope there will be somebody in Nagoya.

I'll probably go for shonichi

Lucky bastards! (Help me...) I miss those 38-degree days, 90 % humidity, sitting outside the Aichi-ken Taikukan eating the special chanko-nabe lunch offer (Bomb about to be blown...)

[Guest Rie]

Is there a website with names of the gaijin rikishi and where they are from (any information)?

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

Is there a website with names of the gaijin rikishi and where they are from (any information)?

Go to Kintamayama's and check out the "Foreigners" section.

[madorosumaru 7]

Sokokurai has been promoted to his personal high rank of makushita 11 on the new banzuke. The 23 year-old rikishi from Inner Mongolia won the sandanme yusho in Natsu Basho with a perfect 7-0 record plus a victory in the decisive ketteisen.

Those that have followed the wiry but tough young man were not surprised by his yusho. In fact, it was about time. Sokokurai had a quick start in ozuma as he won the jonokuchi yusho in his banzuke debut basho. Then, he missed all of the following basho when he returned home for personal reasons. He picked up right where he left off the next basho in jonidan by again going 7-0 before losing in the fight-off. In a year's time, he was already in makushita.

He suffered a severe injury to his right arm and dropped back to sandanme, but his potential was noticed by the experts so that he was featured as a "can't miss" upcomer by the Kyokai website and the sumo magazines. He was re-promoted to makushita but the lingering arm injury stymied his growth and caused him to bounce like a tennis ball against the proverbial wall. At that point, his shisho determined that Sokokurai cannot continue to rely on his dexterity and arm strength if he were to continue up the banzuke ladder. He had to work on a more forward-moving type of sumo using a shallow grip on the mawashi--a la Chiyonofuji. Additionally, last spring, Sokokurai underwent an operation to correct the problem in his arm.

No longer feeling the chronic pain and with the new aggressive attacking sumo, Sokokurai was ready for better things.

Here is a summary of some comments he made on the Arashio Beya website after his sandanme yusho.

Sokokurai said he personally did not make that much a deal out of the yusho, but he was truly surprised that so many people were happy for him. It wasn't just the people who came to the heya to congratulate him, but all the other who wrote messages on the internet and made the dozens of phone calls. He said he cannot express it properly but he was extremely grateful to everyone and he would redouble his effort to succeed.

He was happiest during the basho when he won his seventh bout. Before he hurt his arm, he thought he would spend a certain amount of time around makushita 15 to build up experience and confidence. Since that didn't work out, all he could think about as he floundered was to get to that level. That was his goal--his obsession. He knew that if he won the seventh bout, he would be promoted to upper makushita. That's why one could see on the tape of the bout that he was truly happy--with every movement manifesting that elated feeling.

He said he wasn't nervous. During Natsu Basho, he started using video tapes to analyze his own and his opponents' sumo. He would determine his strategy on the night before each bout--how to nullify his aite's strength and how to move to his own best advantage. He especially concentrated on his tachiai. Win or lose, he felt he had given it his all--in planning and execution. In past basho, there were many bouts where he had had regrets, but that would not be so anymore.

(To be continued)

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Many thanks for the Soukokurai update (Showing respect...)

[madorosumaru 7]

Sokokurai, Part 2

Sokokurai said he wasn't really thinking about yusho until the very end. In fact, he caught a cold after he won his sixth bout and needed IV therapy to make it on the dohyo. On the video that he used to analyze his bouts, he could see that he was getting progressively weaker.

He was not at all anxious during the ketteisen. He remembers clearly the crowd roaring and the cameras flashing as he lifted Daionami to the edge of the dohyo. He said he had already experienced a ketteisen when he was in jonidan. At that time, he was so nervous that he could feel his knees shaking.

Even though he won yusho, that is not the final objective. It only means he will make it to upper makushita. He needs to work even harder, especially on his tachiai and in gaining weight. The two are related. As he gets bigger, he feels more robust and is able to push opponents that he couldn't before and at the same time, withstand the assault of his aite more readily. He claims even one kg. makes a lot of difference. His goal is now 125 kg. (At the last official weigh-in, he was 114.5 kg--up from 86 kg at the time of his debut.)

Finally, some comments from his shisho: He should be promoted to the upper ranks of makushita next basho. Even if can't manage kachi-koshi [at that level], I would want him to work hard at keiko and go for at least 3 victories. I've been bugging him about "Moving Forward" all this time. It seems that even when he resorted to the nage, he did that as he was moving forward.

He may have been able to accomplish that because it was [only] sandanme. However, yusho is not something one can accomplish without both luck and ability.