The 97% of Ozumo

[Jonosuke 28]

As often indicated here Ozumo can be enjoyed at many levels. You can be a total newbie and see a bout for the first time, and will probably know who win or lose immediately. There are a lot of people who never graduate from there and they keep their interest solely focused on who wins and loses, never bothering to discover the whole world.

You can tell them who they are as they might say something like who cares about a jyungyo because no one cares who wins or loses. Again who wins or loses, that's where their interest stops. Or saying Asashoryu is the greatest the sport has ever seen. The depth of their interest is momentary and is not exactly deep. Let's wait for them until Asashoryu wins 69 straight bouts or go unbeaten for three years. For them Ozumo is nothing but a sport as their interest hovers around only on the result of each hon-basho day's Makuuchi bouts.

Though their Ozumo day starts at 4:30pm or so, for Ozumo officials it does begin at 9 AM. Their attention span only extends to Makuuchi bouts. As there are six divisions in Ozumo, they care about only 1/6th of what Ozumo has to offer. They are missing the majority of Ozumo.

For their argument sake, let's only look at Makuuchi bouts. Ozumo's typical bouts last eight seconds. So if there are twenty Makuuchi bouts, that's 160 seconds in total, less than three minutes. For them Ozumo is only worth three minutes out of 90 Makuuchi minutes, about 3%.

They ignore a yobidashi's call, rikishi going up on the dohyo, chikara-mizu, throwing of the salt and all that rikishi do on the dohyo before their 8 second bouts. The shikiri time is four minutes now (actually prior to NHK starting their radio broadcast, it went on 10 minutes or longer). So again their focus is on 3% (8 seconds out of 240 second shikiri time).

Of course you are free to ignore the other 97%. You can choose to deliberately dismiss the 97% but just because you do, it does not go away and the fact remains it still is the major part of Ozumo. Those only concerned about the 3% will never understand or care about the other 97%. The other 97% exists because Ozumo is more than a sport. In fact the non-sport part is greater and more significant. After all it's the 97% of Ozumo. One can keep watching Ozumo without ever understanding the 97% but that is the prime reason they could never figure out what Ozumo is.

Ozumo is more than winning and losing, it is more than a sport. So it is with jyungyo tours and so it is with yokozuna. When a yokozuna is to be judged for his worth, it isn't just 3% we look for but the other 97% as well. If he fails to meet the expectations in the 97%, he is failing the grade. He has not fulfilled the responsibility as yokozuna.

A yokozuna just does not get promoted automatically. Just ask Takanohana when he had his first opportunity. The promotion is based on a recommendation from Judging group to the Rijicho and then the Rijicho convenes a special YDC meeting. If they recommend the promotion, the yokozuna makes a pledge to the messangers from the Kyokai to uphold the traditions and customs of Ozumo. He accepts the position with the solemn pledge only a yokozuna is asked to do. He will do his ceremonial dohyo-iri at the Meiji Shrine and later will offer a prayer at one of the holiest Shinto shrines in Japan, the Ise Jingu. This is all in the other 97%.

When a yokozuna accepts the promotion, he accepts it realizing and acknowledging the other 97%. The yokozuna understands it so well, unfortunately his sports minded 3% fans don't.

[Chisaiyama 11]

Your knowledge always impresses me and your attitude is always impeccable but this, this is just unbelievable. This is guru level, it brought tears to my eyes.

This needs to be merged into the "Asa in hot water again 2" thread. I have to believe that after they read this the more hard headed, recalcitrant members would have to have an epiphany. It's what we have all been trying to tell them but the words just weren't there like this.

I agree 150%. I play Bench Sumo, Sekitori-Toto, Gusoyama's Salarycap Sumo and even Fantasy Sumo on that "other" sumo site so the 3% is important to me also. First thing in the morning I log into Info-Sumo and check out the videos or if they are not available the Matches & Topics page of the JSA site - have to find out how I did the day before in my games. However I pay $25 a month to my cable company to receive TV-Japan which is for the most part simply NHK re-packaged. I do this so every other month I can watch the makanouchi matches from start-to-finish including on good days when the juryo matches don't run overlong the full dohyo-iri's. I live for the 97% as well it is the most important. Quite ofter you can tell by the shikiri before they ever line up for the tachi-ai who will end up the kachi - wouldn't miss it for anything.

Again thanks for this truly inspirational piece of writing and again I would strongly suggest that this thread be merged with the other to let the many people that have contributed to and followed that thread experience this for themselves.

[ilovesumo 12]

and don't forget, being part of Sumo means living it. It's not that you "go home to normal life" after work. It's life. 24hours-all the time. (the sponsors know best...)

[Yuriyama Ren 1]

Thanks to the wonders of p2p I've seen a couple of NHK sumo broadcasts. To be honest, quite a lot of the 97% you mentioned, is missing there. The slow-mo replays from different angles and commentary hide a significant portion of how the rikishi are preparing for the next bout. In a way the low-res NSK feed is better in some aspects like crowd reaction etc. :)

But the fact that NHK has all these replays etc means that there is demand for this, that people are more interested in the details of the bout than the preparation. How many "real" sumo fans are there really?

[Bilu 0]

Jonosuke-san

I have a lot of respect for your sumo knowledge and writing style. I have learned a lot about sumo from your posts. However, I beg to differ on this one.

It seems that in order to make your point, which I understand it to be "Sumo is much more than a sport", you went a bit too far.

Though the average actual bout is 8 seconds long (3%) - it weighs a lot more. It is the essence of sumo. Well, maybe "essence" is not the appropriate word. I would phrase it like so: if you take the actual combat (the bout) out of sumo

Edited September 5, 2007 by Bilu

[Jakusotsu 5,743]

The 3% might "weigh a lot more", as Bilu put it, but they're still only 3%. I think the essence of Jonosuke-san's post can only be understood by one who has ever been in the Kokugikan from 9 to 6. You need to breath the whole 100% to feel its value.

[Jonosuke 28]

Thank you all for your response. I really appreciate your thoughtful response.

Actually I started this thread not because of Asashoryu or his troubles but I thought I'd start something bit different so we can look at Ozumo for angles other than day to day combats. We all know the combat part and our focus will be solely on the bouts once a basho starts. Nothing wrong with that at all but I wanted to encourage everyone from seeing not just one part of Ozumo but in more holistic way.

Obviously if you take away the 3%, there is no Ozumo. I am not suggesting the 3% has a weight of only 3% of Ozumo. Without the 3% there is no Banzuke, arguably the single most important foundation of Ozumo. Without the banzuke, Ozumo does not exist. They cannot have a basho without a banzuke.

If you recall the Shunji-En Incident in January 1932 when Tenryu and other Dewanoumi beya sekitori demanded certain reforms from the Kyokai one day after the January basho banzuke was released. When the talk broke down and it became apparent they would not participate in the basho, the Kyokai had to scrap the whole basho. Half of the sekitori missing, the banzuke could not be reasonably referenced. Without a proper banzuke, they could not have a basho. They eventually staged another basho in February only after coming up with a new banzuke with everyone in Juryo and five Makushita rikishi promoted to Makuuchi.

When a rikishi gets Kachikoshi, his banzuke ranking should go up but not always. Often for Natsu basho banzuke, a Jonokuchi rikishi even getting Makekoshi gets promoted to Jonidan. Sometimes a Kachikoshi means one rank up and other times even two or three rank climb. Wins and losses will determine banzuke ranking moves but not really a definite ranking change for each individual rikishi as Banzuke acts almost like a living organism. No mathematical formala exists for a given win and loss record. So even for Banzuke, winning and losing is not the only thing.

I am not trying to argue the 97% weighs 97% of Ozumo or the 97% outweighs the 3%. We can still have competition without everything else but it certainly won't be Ozumo. All I am saying here is since the 97% occupies the major part, it is a significant part, it should not be easily dismissed.

When you watch amateur sumo, you have a referee dressed in white, wearing white pants, shirts and gloves. He will start a bout but he will not do any of Ozumo gyoji moves or call out each athlete or have a Gunbai. In some amateur bouts, the athletes do shiko and some sumo rituals as well as throw salt. However amateur sumo can exist without the rituals but not Ozumo.

Without those time honored rituals Ozumo really cannot exist. Shrines and temples can exist but without the monks and priests preserving the beliefs, taking care of the believers and offering and reciting prayers, they are just buildings. Shrines and temples only make sense by observing the ceremonies, performing rituals and preserving the customs and traditions. In this sense, Ozumo also can makes sense only with observing and preserving the traditions and customs.

The 3% may be the core but without the other 97% the existence of core is meaningless.

[Washuyama 634]

I totally agree with Jonosuse's posts. My introduction to sumo began at the tender age of 7. My father was in the U.S. military stationed in Japan. From my first glimpse of sumo on TV, I was hooked. While the only English media at the time (Sumo World magazine) helped enhance my knowledge, there was little written on rikishi outside Makuuchi and Juryo. Alot of the draw for that 7-year old was the ritual.

My parents took me to sumo on numerous occasions. We would arrive at the KK early in the a.m. and as soon as we found our seats, I would sneak down ringside to watch the lower divisions. It was like a hidden gem. I stayed there until probably the makushita bouts started. Then I'd make my way to the shitaku-beya (sp?) and watch the goings-on there: The Juryo getting their kesho-mawashi on, the tokoyama working on mage.

I'd then go back up and sit with my parents and watch that 3%.

To a young child, the rikishi seem larger than life. To me, the Ozeki (Asahikuni, Takanohana I, Mienoumi and Kaiketsu) and especially the Yokozuna (Kitanoumi and Wajima) were almost god-like. (I still have the poster of Kitanoumi and Wajima in their tsuna that hung on my wall 30 years ago).

While trying to explain to my fellow Americans about sumo, the keep remarking how they don't like it because of all the rituals leading up to a 5 second match. I end up explaining the meaning of the rituals along with encouraging them to notice the subltleties (sp?) like right before the tachi-ai when sumotori are trying to get an advantage or make the other wait an extra second.

While I have yet to visit a heya to watch keiko, I hope to get to in the near future. I want to enjoy the 97% of sumo as often as I can in person as the 3% will be on TV.

I know I've rambled a little, but there are few things I'm as passionate about as much as sumo.

As I'm back in Japan, now, I can't wait to smell the sweet aroma of the KK again.

[ilovesumo 12]

If you recall the Shunji-En Incident in January 1932 when Tenryu and other Dewanoumi beya sekitori demanded certain reforms from the Kyokai one day after the January basho banzuke was released. When the talk broke down and it became apparent they would not participate in the basho, the Kyokai had to scrap the whole basho. Half of the sekitori missing, the banzuke could not be reasonably referenced. Without a proper banzuke, they could not have a basho. They eventually staged another basho in February only after coming up with a new banzuke with everyone in Juryo and five Makushita rikishi promoted to Makuuchi.

あの事件についてもっとしりたいです。 :-|

[Chisaiyama 11]

あの事件についてもっとしりたいです

\

Joe has an informative article abut it here: http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_2/Rikishi_of_Old.htm

[Koneko 0]

Thank you to Jonosuke for his many great posts!

The thing is just, generally speaking, that many of us never get to see those other 97 % unless we go out and search for them. We get presented these 3% and most people don't think much more about it. It's not that they're dismissing it as such, it's more a feeling of ..."there's probably more to this, I ought to read more about it some day when I can find the time," and that time never seem to come. You can choose to ignore the 97%, sure, but to dismiss something you must first know what it is you're dismissing. It takes time to gather knowledge, and some people spend that time discussing on the forum while others, like myself, lurk and keep quiet. All I'm saying is that it's a learning process. (During this last month I must've changed my mind half a dozen times about Asashoryu, and at the same time learned a lot about sumo and Japan. The only reason I haven't annoyed the board half to death is because I rarely post.)

You know why I ended up here on Sumo Forum? I had a little crush on one of the Makuuchi rikishi and wanted to find out more about him. Yeah, silly, isn't it? No profound experience of any kind, just a mundane thing like that. But it's the truth, and if it hadn't been for that I would most probably been quite satisfied watching Eurosport whenever a basho was on. Maybe that makes me a lesser fan than the rest of you, I don't know... But I came here, looking for info and pictures of this person, and found a culture that's one of the most fascinating I've ever read about. I knew a little already (you do pick up something, even if all you have to go by is Eurosport's fifteen-minute-per-day summary), or so I thought - and found that I hadn't even started to skim the surface. Now I'm planning a trip to Japan next year, Natsu or Aki basho. Can't wait!

There are many paths leading to the same place. Have patience with the newbies and they might reach it.

Sorry for rambling...

Edit- yeah, I managed to screw up the font...

Edited September 5, 2007 by Koneko

[Asashosakari 18,669]

The thing is just, generally speaking, that many of us never get to see those other 97 % unless we go out and search for them. We get presented these 3% and most people don't think much more about it. It's not that they're dismissing it as such, it's more a feeling of ..."there's probably more to this, I ought to read more about it some day when I can find the time," and that time never seem to come. ...

You know why I ended up here on Sumo Forum? I had a little crush on one of the Makuuchi rikishi and wanted to find out more about him. Yeah, silly, isn't it? No profound experience of any kind, just a mundane thing like that. But it's the truth, and if it hadn't been for that I would most probably been quite satisfied watching Eurosport whenever a basho was on. Maybe that makes me a lesser fan than the rest of you, I don't know...

I don't think that Jonosuke is talking about ignorance, per se. To make it about something else - I'm literally a 3% soccer fan these days, namely for the five or six weeks during each 4-year cycle that comprise the World Cup and the European Championship. I do know enough about soccer to not look like a total idiot when discussing it, but I'm simply not up on the day-to-day events of the sport, and consequently I don't go on soccer forums to make grandiose statements about how X needs to be dealt with or Y should be handled. But that's exactly what plenty of newbies (and the Asashoryu kerfuffle is just the latest instance) do here. They think they understand those 3% (and they usually do, I'll even give them that), but then they opine on things that primarily deal with the other 97% and don't understand why they're rebuked, sometimes sharply. Most newbies then get the hint and either disappear or (preferably) go into learning mode for a while, but some simply revel in their ignorance until they're banned or everybody has proceeded to ignore them.

Really, even though more knowledge always trumps less knowledge, having a limited interest in sumo is perfectly fine in my opinion; different people have different priorities after all, and there's only so many minutes in a day. It's not about being "bigger" or "lesser" fans, it's about realizing the limits of one's knowledge, and acting accordingly. If you can't tell Kasuganishiki from Kitanoumi, making comments on the inner workings of the Kyokai is perhaps a step or three too far. I do applaud every newbie to the forum who's making a good-faith effort to fit in, and sometimes that just means quietly reading and paying attention. There'll be plenty to talk about those central 3% during the basho again, after all. :-|

[Jonosuke 28]

One promient heya owning oyakata was watching his deshi go through warm-up exercises when he saw a newbie reporter coming to see him. He was in a giving mood that morning and said to the new reporter, "You know, what sumo is all about?" He paused without expecting any answer and said, "It is all about balance".

A rikishi needs to do all he can to get his opponent lose balance. Tall or short, wide or narrow, by keeping the center of gravity lower than his opponent, the rikishi can prevent losing his own balance. In words, sumo is a very simple game.

A non-Japanese writer described it so well, it is "the miracle of balance".

If you ever been to an Asageiko or at least have seen it on video, you know how hard the training sessions can be. You will immediately conclude it is a brutal sport.

I rememberd reading an old Mailing List thread (still can be found in banzuke.com) about a passage read in a film, "Shiko Funjatta (Sumo do, sumo don't)". The first time I heard it, it sounded so strange. I thought it was describing some other human activity.

But more and more I read the passage, I gained more admiration for the writer. Seeing sumo for the first time, he described it with such eloquence and sensibility. Perhaps it was only possible because he had no preconception. Because he was from France.

Here's the passage from a journal " Mon Premier Voyage" by French writer and flimmaker Jean Cocteau published in 1937 (as subtitled from the film, Shiko Funjatta).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The players are pink giants.

As unique as the frescoes from a famous cathedral.

The regimen gives some of them enormous bellies

and breasts as mature as any woman.

Each of them sports a top-knot

and the face of a pretty girl.

They come together in equilibrium,

their legs intertwined,

their fingers grasping each other's sash.

And the fringe standing erect.

Their muscles flexing.

Legs rooted to the earth.

Blood coursing through their veins.

And the ring is all a pastel of pink.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And here are the original passeges courtesy of the eminent French scholar of sumo and deeply respected Lilian Fujimori:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LES LUTTEURS SONT DE JEUNES HERCULES ROSES

QUI SEMBLENT TOMBES DES VOUTES DE LA SIXTINE

(ET APPARTENIR A QUELQUE RACE DONT IL N'EXISTE QUE DE TRES RARES

SPECIMENS.)

LES UNS, ENTRAINES SELON L'ANCIENNE METHODE,

ETALENT UN VENTRE ENORME ET DES SEINS DE FEMMES MURES.

(...MAIS CES SEINS ET CE VENTRE NE SONT POINT VENTRES ET SEINS D'OBESES.

ILS RELEVENT D'UNE ESTHETIQUE DE JADIS ET TEMOIGNENT D'UNE FORCE

DISTRIBUEE AUTREMENT. ...)

(...)

LES UNS ET LES AUTRES POSSEDENT DE CHARMANTES TETES FEMININES

COURONNEES D'UN CHIGNON. (...)

...

DES QUE LES ADVERSAIRES SE DECIDENT ET S'AFFRONTENT,

UN EQUILIBRE PARFAIT DES FORCES LES PLACE AU POINT MORT.

(...)

...LES JAMBES S'ARC-BOUTENT,

ET LES DOIGTS S'INTRODUISENT ENTRE LA CHAIR ET LES CEINTURES

ET LES FILS SE HERISSENT

ET LES MUSCLES SE GONFLENT

ET LES PIEDS S'ENRACINENT DANS LA NATTE,

ET LE SANG MONTE A LA PEAU ET LA COLORE D'UN ROSE VIF.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You never realized how sexy sumo was!

Edited September 6, 2007 by Jonosuke

[Kuroyama 715]

You never realized how sexy sumo was!

It's the French. They can make dental floss sound sexy.

[Koneko 0]

It's the French. They can make dental floss sound sexy.

No, it's not. I'm immune to French, and it's still sexy... (Laughing...) (I am not worthy...)

*goes back to lurking*

[Bishonohana 0]

Jonosuke-san,

I have to agree with all that you've said in your posts. Getting prepared and the rituals are what makes sumo, Ozumo. I can't even imagine how boring it would be to just have 2 opponents face each other and only the bout. I feel Ozumo is the very essence of the ancient Japanese culture and Bushi-Do. Maybe there are a lot of fans that just want to watch the bouts, but to me, without seeing the dohyo-iri and all the piece parts that make up this sport, it would not be as enchanting....

Yes, I do concern myself about the wins/losses in the sumo games I play and the rikishi that I choose to support, but after when it's all said and done, I personally enjoy 100% of the Ozumo. Fans can pick and choose what part (sometimes without choice) they are willing to embrace and that's OK, too.

(I am not worthy...) Thank you for all the great posts and knowledge you have passed on to enlighten all of us here on the Forum!! Just my humble opinion.... (Laughing...)

[paolo 0]

........

I don't think that Jonosuke is talking about ignorance, per se. To make it about something else - I'm literally a 3% soccer fan these days, namely for the five or six weeks during each 4-year cycle that comprise the World Cup and the European Championship. I do know enough about soccer to not look like a total idiot when discussing it, but I'm simply not up on the day-to-day events of the sport, and consequently I don't go on soccer forums to make grandiose statements about how X needs to be dealt with or Y should be handled. But that's exactly what plenty of newbies (and the Asashoryu kerfuffle is just the latest instance) do here. They think they understand those 3% (and they usually do, I'll even give them that), but then they opine on things that primarily deal with the other 97% and don't understand why they're rebuked, sometimes sharply. Most newbies then get the hint and either disappear or (preferably) go into learning mode for a while, but some simply revel in their ignorance until they're banned or everybody has proceeded to ignore them.

Really, even though more knowledge always trumps less knowledge, having a limited interest in sumo is perfectly fine in my opinion; different people have different priorities after all, and there's only so many minutes in a day. It's not about being "bigger" or "lesser" fans, it's about realizing the limits of one's knowledge, and acting accordingly. If you can't tell Kasuganishiki from Kitanoumi, making comments on the inner workings of the Kyokai is perhaps a step or three too far. I do applaud every newbie to the forum who's making a good-faith effort to fit in, and sometimes that just means quietly reading and paying attention. There'll be plenty to talk about those central 3% during the basho again, after all. (Applauding...)

IMHO, I find what you say correct in general terms, that is when Sumo "internal" processing is involved, but not correct when an "external" judgement is involved. Let me explain by examples.

Example 1.It would be ludicrous for me to discuss topics as "is it correct not to advance Kaio to Yokozuna even if he has won 6 basho ?" or "why did they say that Hakuho would be promoted with a 13-2 and then they did not promote him ?" because these are of course "internal" matters, and only people who know and follow the Kyokai's proceedings can try to evaluate and have an opinion about them. In these cases I am not entitled to have an opinion. I simply watch.

Example 2. Similar, even if slightly different, would be the case of "why was there a torinaoshi between Kaio and Hakuho when the video-referee should have clearly seen what happened ?". Here opinions can vary from "they made a mistake" to "they wanted to protect their new Yokozuna". Also here only a person with a huge knowledge of how things work would be entitled to express the second opinion. But a less expert person could at least have some doubts ....

Example 3. Asashoryu's saga. I will cut it short. Here there are two main points that in my opinion are in no way "internal". The first is the way in which the "trial" was managed. The second is the way in which the "after-trial" was managed. Here it is not Sumo any more, it is what I define "Management of Situations and People". Everybody with an experience in management can express his opinions about it, provided he knows just the basics about Sumo. And you will have certainly noticed that after some time some people started to come towards my positions: some Forum members (not only Mongolians) and (funny enough) even two members of the government...

[Manekineko 200]

Example 1.It would be ludicrous for me to discuss topics [...]

Example 2. [...] Also here only a person with a huge knowledge of how things work would be entitled to express the second opinion. [...]

If you really think so, we could close this Forum, since we common mortals couldn't discuss possible promotions/demotions and outcomes of the bouts. We should only be able to express judgments on private lives of rikishi... Pardon me, but their private lives, scandals in particular, are of limited interest to me. It is precisely the debates on the first two subjects that are, for me, the most precious part of this Forum... News and history lessons could, conceivably, be found in sumo magazines. But debates on the more intricate workings of Ozumo are what Forums are for.

[Kintamayama 44,263]

I will cut it short. Here there are two main points that in my opinion are in no way "internal". The first is the way in which the "trial" was managed. The second is the way in which the "after-trial" was managed. Here it is not Sumo any more, it is what I define "Management of Situations and People". Everybody with an experience in management can express his opinions about it, provided he knows just the basics about Sumo. And you will have certainly noticed that after some time some people started to come towards my positions: some Forum members (not only Mongolians) and (funny enough) even two members of the government...

Again, you are trying to make your point based on a wrong basic assumption. This is not "Management of Situations and People". This is Sumo, which manges situations and people in a different way than you would do it.. You seem to keep ignoring that , either on purpose or whatever . Years of experience in management doesn't help you understand the Kyokai's stand one iota. Knowing how they dealt with yokozuna problems in the past , OTOH, does. As for "even two members of government...", they are both conveniently Asa's "close friends".

Which people ("some forum members, not only Mongolian"), have expressly changed their minds from what they stated at the beginning and "started to come towards your position"? I am very curious.

[Asashosakari 18,669]

Again, you are trying to make your point based on a wrong basic assumption.

And the predictable result is GIGO. One would think an engineer of all people would understand and appreciate that...

[Jonosuke 28]

More on the miracle of balance.

If we are to name the fundamental exercise of sumo, it is Shiko. Kaikitsune talked about it at length some time ago but it is worth refinforcing how crucial it is to sumo.

It is the first and last exericise you will likely do in your sumo training session. It requires no additional equipment. It can be done almost anywhere if there is a little more space than yourself. But to do it properly, it requires efforts. Basic sumo exercises look easy to do but when you try to do them yourself, you realize how hard they are.

To do a Shiko, first stand straight with your feet apart. Then start raising your foot slowly and as high as you could without losing your balance. Once up at the top, you try to pause for a second and look ahead and above beyond your toes at least five meters away. You should keep yourself absolutely still all the time. Then you bring your leg slowly down. You do the same with the other leg. Once you complete it, you should bring yourself down with your legs wide apart and low enogh to have your thighs parallel to the ground. One cycle should not take less than 30 seconds. Basically you do two per minute. You should work up to 200 Shikos per day. There is no superior exercise to build your balance and strength in your lower back and legs than Shiko in sumo.

The second fundamental exercise of sumo is Suri-ashi. This is walking by putting one foot forward and then another while never lifting your foot. Sri-ashi in Japanese is literally "scraping with feet". This sounds easy to do but you will do it by haivng your body low down with back straight. Again your thighs are almost pararelle to the ground while you move. You extend one arm and then another as if to push your opponent. The back of your thighs will start screaming after a while. If you can do this for 20 mintues, your center of gravity will stay low and you can build a physique not easily pushed out by a move like Tsukiotoshi.

Yokozuna Tochigiyama was known for his Suri-ashi exercise as he has done hours and hours of Suri-ashi every day. In the age of strong yotsu-zumo rikishi, he was singularly successful as an Oshi-zumo specialist. It's been said Tochigiyama did his Suri-ashi exercise so hard that dirt could be easily seen flying away from between his toes. Not only he became a yokozuna with strong Tsuppari but he also taught his deshi Tochinishiki the art of Suri-ashi and he too became yokozuna despite his small physique.

Basic sumo exercises are meant to build your strength from ground up, i.e. from your legs and lower body. Both Shiko and Suri-ashi will give you the balance and lower body strength needed for a sumo bout while Teppo will build arm strength.

Teppo will help your arms get thicker. When you go see an Asa-geiko at a heya, try looking at the poles in the training area. They should be all worn out as rikishi will stand in front of them and keep hammering away with thier arms. Teppo should be done deliberately, hitting the pole with the palm of you hand as hard you can in a Tsuppari like motion, planting yourself hard with your feet. Again you should be focusing yourself to maintain your balance. Try it for 20 minutes and start building your arm strength for all your Tsuppari needs..

These are the three fundamental pillars of sumo exercise. You can do each all on your own without any additional equipment (I am sure most people can find a soild tree or pole close by) or any assistance from anyone. If you do them every day for one year, you build a good enough physique to participate in a strenious sumo endeavour. Of course the exercises won't give you the sumo sense or fighting chance in a sumo competition as that can only be gained by doing actual training sessions with a partner but the beauty of the three fundamental exercises is that you can do them all alone.

There is that dreaded Mata-wari as well to build flexibility but that will require a spotter initially like a squat with having another person on your back.

For those interested in the basic twelve forms of sumo, here's a booklet prepared by the Kyokai.

It will take a bit of time to load but be patient. Everything worthwhile in life will.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Jonosuke

[Shomishuu 0]

Getting prepared and the rituals are what makes sumo, Ozumo. I can't even imagine how boring it would be to just have 2 opponents face each other and only the bout. I feel Ozumo is the very essence of the ancient Japanese culture and Bushi-Do. Maybe there are a lot of fans that just want to watch the bouts, but to me, without seeing the dohyo-iri and all the piece parts that make up this sport, it would not be as enchanting....

As most people know who have used them, analogies are like ticking grenades because they almost always unravel somewhere. But temptation wins out this time. This reminds me of something I read long ago about smoking, and being an ex-smoker, I can relate 100%. Imagine what a smoker misses out on if someone else places a lighted cigarette between his/her lips, and then removes it and holds it between puffs. All the smoker has to do is puff!

No anticipatory reaching for the pocket holding the precious matter. No caressing or sniffing the pack. No tapping or stroking the slender stick on it's way to their lips. No hand gesturing as the smoker drives home a point of conversation (doesn't each smoker have a unique way of doing it?). Smoking is very effective in keeping the hands busy. There are rituals involved and some are idiosyncratic, such as the distinct intonation and cadence that reveal the identity of a particular yobidashi (just had to throw that in). See a smoker's shadow on the wall as they dance their way through their cigarette and you know instantly who it is. A smoker's own self-image is often ingrained through these repetitions. That's one reason why it's so hard for them to quit because they're giving up much more than just the physical cravings - they're changing who they are.

Well, I got a little (Bye, bye...) there but I am guessing that the actual puffing and exhaling might comprise around 3% of the total time a smoker spends with each cigarette - well, maybe more like 10% in my case - but I hope my point hasn't been lost. Which is, for me anyway, there was a lot more to enjoying my cigarettes than just puffing away at them; and there is a lot more to enjoying sumo than just watching the guys whale away at each other.

Where this analogy unravels for me is that - while I was able to finally give up the weeds, even though I got my 100% out of them - with sumo, I'm sure that would be impossible. In fact, now that I recall the timeline, sumo was an excellent replacement for smoking.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Shomishuu

[Jonosuke 28]

With all the hoopla of who would come out and receive the yusho winner portrait for Asashoryu, something more meaningful was left out in the sumo news today.

This morning they had the Dohyo Matsuri, a cermony the tate-gyoji performs on the dohyo accompnied by his assistants and with the Rijicho and all Dohyo judges circling around the dohyo.

They set up a temporary altar in the middle of the dohyo with seven Shinto white strips of papers surrounding it. In the center of it there is a 15 cm rectangular hole dug up. It is a cermony evoking the dawning of Sumo as it was staged in front of the emperors from the eras of Nara and Heian (700 AD~1200AD). The dohyo is literally a place where the Shinto deity would come down from heaven, more than a battleground of the two competitors.

First the Tate-gyoji will recite:

With the opening of Heaven and Earth

Yang and Yin was divided

Pure and Lightening matters rise up as Yang

And they will be called Win

Murky and Heavy matters will descend as Yin

And they will be called Loss

Winning and losing is reasoned

According to the order of Heaven and Earth

To be executed by Man

In this place of Purity and Grace

We build the cleansed soil and form with the Tawara

Here is our prayer and ceremony

For bountiful and plentiful produces

And good heatlh and saftey for All...

There are two plates placed on the center of the dohyo. On one plate, the gyoji will put chestnuts, sprout seeds and washed rice. On the other plate he will place dried kelp and dried squid. He will then offer a prayer and then put all on one plate. He then covers the plate with the other. He will wrap the whole thing in a paper and then sprinkle water over it. After throwing salt on it, he will place it in the hole.

The gyoji will then pour ceremonial Sake over the hole. The sake will then be poured over the Tawara, first on the Mukou-Shoumen (the side where the gyoji sits), the West, the Shoumen (where the chief dohyo judge sits) and then to the East. Then a cup of the Sake is given to each Judge and Rijicho for the ceremonial drink.

In the current form, the Dohyo Matsuri ceremony has been performed for over 200 years.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Jonosuke

[ilovesumo 12]

see some pictures of it.....Today I sat like on a chair of nails......back in Germany...

last year's Akibasho Dohyomatsuri was the first time ever for me, to sit in the Kokugikan

together with Nishi and Eduardo...my god...I was so.....paralyzed? :-O :-) (Applauding...)

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?...st&p=101786

Edit: and here see shikiri http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WA4jtQR6ww anime ^^

Edited September 8, 2007 by ilovesumo