Asashoryu vs other sanyaku

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

I will complete a thoroughal analysis on Asashoryu vs other sanyaku rikishi

before Haru basho starts. This is the first part featuring some analysis

on Asashoryu against Maru and Kaio. Any comments are welcomed and if you

have opposing views PLEASE share them! :-)

Asashoryu-Musashimaru 4-5

01 Haru 11 Lost Okuritaoshi

Strange strange hold by Maru after an ineffective tsuki-attack by Shoryu.

01 Natsu 1 Won Shitatenage

Shoryu worked his way to morozashi by performing his usual move;

grapping foe's wrist with his right hand and turning it aside using the

opened space to get superb grip. Once Maru bulldozed forward with a

very shallow semi-kime hold Shoryu planted his supporting leg firmly on

the dohyo and used Maru's momentum to topple him with great shitatenage.

01 Nagoya 1 Lost Yorikiri

Largely similar move by Shoryu grapping Maru's wrist/arm and turning it

aside brough Shoryu a good grip but this time Maru had more leverage with

his right arm and used his power to pivot Shoryu around and continued the

pressure until Shoryu fell off the dohyo.

01 Aki 6 Won Ashitori

Maru was in poor shape this basho giving 5 or more kinboshi. Asashoryu

dived low and under, grapped Maru's thigh and stormed forward making Maru

look horrible.

01 Kyushu 12 Lost Kotenage

Again the same move by Shoryu. After one major face thrust Shoryu got left

hand inside and then tried the usual grapping of Maru's wrist and swinging

it aside. It worked pretty well once again but MAru's counter attack to

this is to pivot Asa around and dispatch him with kotenage of authority

and attitude.

02 Haru 11 Won Katasukashi

This was Shoryu at his best. Huge harite without an effect. Maru shoved

Shoryu back but the man is quick! Great footwork and avoiding Maru's

deadly pushes and finally jumping aside, taking a katasukashi grip and

pulling Maru down. Speed!

02 Natsu 12 Lost Yorikiri

SHoryu tried a rerun of his ashitori trick in Aki basho. Maru was alert

this time and caught Shoryu in the act and powered him out easily.

02 Nagoya 14 Won Oshidashi

Once again the opening harite + left hand inside and trying that wrist

grap. Maru was in bad shape at this phase due to painful neck and was

clumsy enough to let Shoryu back up and move aside after which he easily ousted Maru.

02 Aki 12 Lost Kotenage

Shoryu got morozashi AGAIN against Maru after very familiar opening

tussles of the bout. Maru had his kime and once again pivoted around and

sent Shoryu crashing down.

Analysis:

It is very common that Shoryu gets left hand inside against Maru. Then he

tries to work his right hand inside too. If this works Maru gets kime-hold

or if the move works partly Maru gets kote-hold. From this position Maru

is usually too strong for Shoryu if he has a tight hold but he does get

himself in rather awkward position. If the bout is open, Shoryu's speed is

up against Maru's strength. Shoryu can't push Maru back so the key

elements are whether he can outmaneuver Maru and get behind or slap/pull

Maru down. Interesting is that Maru never establishes a good mawashi-grip

against Shoryu! Never has happened so far and Shoryu's tactics seem to

concentrate on not letting that evert happen either. Maru finds it easy to

stay awake against Shoryu so assuming Maru's wrist won't cripple his sumo

he should humble the new yokozuna many many times.

Asashoryu-Kaio 4-4

01 Natsu 4 Won Shitatenage

Kaio's 1st back problem basho. Shoryu opened up with vast amount of face

thrusts while Kaio walked forward. He got inside and kept his low centre

of gravity down while forcing Kaio into a desperate kotenage attempt. It

took some time to fell Kaio but finally he managed to do that. Kaio

withdrew few days later.

01 Nagoya 6 Lost Yorikiri

Kaio absorbed some harite and tsuki while grapping Shoryu's elbow. Powered

Shoryu into a package and walked him out. Didn't give room to Shoryu to

move much.

01 Aki 2 Won Yorikiri

Kaio's second back problem basho (0-4-11). Immediate deep morozashi by

Shoryu followed by yorikiri against upright Kaio.

01 Kyushu 7 Lost Kotenage

Strong tachi-ai by Kaio drove Shoryu backwards. Shoryu tried the same arm

grapping as he does against Maru but without success. Kaio threw him with

kotenage as Shoryu tried a defensive throw.

02 Hatsu 12 Won Sukuinage

Harite-tsuppari start by Asashoryu but Kaio once again just walked forward

ignoring. Close to tawara Shoryu was able to avoid Kaio's push and got his

left hand to Kaio's back and shifted aside letting Kaio fall.

02 Haru 4 Lost Oshidashi

Same story. Shoryu came up with tsuppari and harite but Kaio bulldozed

forward this time moving sharply not letting Shoryu any chance of mobility tricks. Easy

win for Kaio.

02 Natsu 6 Won Shitatenage

This time Shoryu went for belt. Kaio went forward and Shoryu squirmed

away. Another try during which Shoryu performed a classic grip change

getting inside, dropping his hips and leaving Kaio at high desperate

kotenage-position. Very good bout by Asashoryu.

02 Aki 9 Lost Okuridashi

Asashoryu opened up with major tsuki but Kaio's Toki/Taikai destroying arm

swinging move was too much for Shoryu too turning him around and to

okuridashi loss.

Analysis:

When Kaio wins Shoryu, he wins with authority not leaving much chance to

him. The standard flow of the bout is that Kaio goes forward (Aki 2001 is

not counted since Kaio would have lost every bout not being able to fight)

and Shoryu tries to find a way to alter the tangent of the move or to get

a superior grip. Harite-tsuppari approach has been largely ineffective and

the best chance for Shoryu to beat Kaio is to get inside deep and not

letting Kaio grap the mawashi. When successful Kaio drifts to desperate

high kotenage position which is not a position to fight Shoryu who goes

for low shitatenage or leg graps.

To be continued with:

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai

Asashoryu-Tochiazuma

Asashoryu-Musoyama

Asashoryu-Kotomitsuki

Asashoryu-Wakanosato

Asashoryu-Tochinonada

[Yubiquitoyama 4]

Ah. History schmistory. Shoryu'll dominate Maru and Kaio EASILY if they EVER come back  :-)

[Zentoryu 154]

This is great stuff. I always enjoy such detailed analysis. Keep up the good work Kaikitsune-zeki! I look forward to the future reports. :-)

[QttP 0]

Ah. History schmistory. Shoryu'll dominate Maru and Kaio EASILY if they EVER come back

[Fujisan 533]

Hmmm,that is interesting,I dont know why but I didnt realise Asa had beaten Maru that many times,should be some interesting battles between them in the future hopefully.

[Tokimori 0]

Great analysis!  More of this! :-9

[Oshirokita 198]

Excellent info! I really like your commentary and kimarite analyses too.

I think it is apparent that Asashoryu will be a dominant yokozuna. Musashimaru is potentially his toughest opponent (when he keeps his balance) IMO.

One of my favourite statistics is comparing a rikishi's win-loss record against each opponent's rank. For Asashoryu, his record is as follows:

v. OPPONENT W-L(Career)

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Ozeki            21-16   [11- 4]

Stripping this down for last 6 bashos, following stats emerge:

11-4 consists of:

1-2 Kaio

2-1 Tochiazuma

3-1 Chiyotaikai

5-0(!!) Musoyama

More detailed analysis of the nature of the bouts and Shoryu's success against Musoyama will come soon.

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

Maru finds it easy to

stay awake against Shoryu so assuming Maru's wrist won't cripple his sumo

he should humble the new yokozuna many many times.

Very interesting analysis, but I don't agree with the conclusion ;)  I think a couple of things have happened over time in their meetings:

- Asa gaining strength

- Asa gaining confidence

- Musa not looking likely to be 100% healthy again

Musa has pride and is the senior yokozuna. I think from now on it'll be 67-33 in Asa favor, winning 2 out of 3 times ;)

[Yubiquitoyama 4]

Maru finds it easy to

stay awake against Shoryu so assuming Maru's wrist won't cripple his sumo

he should humble the new yokozuna many many times.

Very interesting analysis, but I don't agree with the conclusion ;)

[Hashira 0]

are these kind of statistcs available anywhere on the net for other rikishi, so we can compare asasho to the other recent yokozuna, aka takanohana?

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai 5-3

01 Natsu 5 Won Yoritaoshi

Chiyotaikai came out pretty well but missed Shoryu's face which enabled

Shoryu to get a morozashi. Taikai's sumo was killed and yoritaoshi by

Asashoryu after some wriggling from Taikai was decisive. What Shoryu did

was to take Taikai's charge while pressing his hands against his chest,

then a rapid low grasp with both arms which interfered perfectly Taikai's

push.

01 Nagoya 3 Lost Oshidashi

Same thrill. Taikai comes out and Shoryu is waiting for him with both

hands half streched and a little Shoryu's characteristical knees bent posture . This time Taikai

fights through and dominates Shoryu in tsuki-battle.

01 Aki 3 Won Hikiotoshi

Shoryu welcomes Taikai with two hands on the throat followed by a fast

yank down.

02 Hatsu 2 Lost Oshidashi

Well it is easy to describe these bouts heh. Taikai came out while Shoryu

was in familiar reception posture. Shoryu tried a little slap down again

but wasn't effective and Taikai bulldozed him out with speed.

02 Haru 8 Won Ketaguri

Shoryu performed a perfect ketaguri at the tachi-ai. Taikai's right foot

was just about to take a step forward when Shoryu kicked it hard with

success as a fruit of brilliant timing. Taikai had a "Wait until next

time"-look on his face when he bowed out.

02 Natsu 15 Won Oshidashi

Taikai's tachi-ai was as unsyncronized as one can imagine. Shoryu's usual

reception was enough to divert shaky Taikai into plummeting mode.

Horrible bout from Taikai.

02 Nagoya 13 Lost Oshitaoshi

Even tachi-ai this time neither giving any centimetres away. Taikai then

did a little pull down which got SHoryu slightly off balance. Taikai

followed with a tsuki-attack making Shoryu collapse while he himself

jumped down off the dohyo and looked like a big mean cannonball in the

process.

02 Aki 10 Won Oshidashi

Taikai's tachi-ai had all the tools of being one of the most devastating

ones in the history of sumo but to his missfortune Shoryu was skillful and

shifted just a little bit causing Taikai miss the target fully and lose

all momentum and position. Shoryu finished confused Taikai with ease.

Analysis:

Basically Asashoryu's strength against Taikai is definitely his skill in

reading Taikai's tachi-ai. Three of his 5 wins over Taikai were direct

consequence of brilliant tachi-ai. The other side is that when Taikai

survives the tachi-ai, and by surviving I mean not failing to hit Shoryu

or fall for tricks, the bout favours Taikai a lot. Bouts have been very

short or short always Aki 2002 excluded which had a bit more wrestling.

Asashoryu can't go for tsuki battle against Taikai as he loses that. Then

again Taikai can't afford to miss the target at the tachi-ai as Shoryu is

capable of closing the distance immediately (imagine pushing someone's

face/upper chest and missing it, not that difficult for the opponent to

close up, in this Shoryu is VERY skillful) and hence not giving Taikai

room for withdrawing his arms to start another attack with enough leverage

for his upper body muscles to work on. When Taikai has the stance good

after tachi-ai he won't let anybody to his belt and then Shoryu is in big

trouble. All 3 Taikai wins were one-sided. Their bouts should be very fast

to one way or the other in the future too. My personal prediction would be

50-50 but I consulted a Shoryu-fan to get some objectiveness and his

prediction was 60-40 to Shoryu in the future....

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai

I love these battles.  I haven't done an in depth analysis like you, but from the gut I would give Chiyotaikai a 50% chance of beating Asa on average.  That's probably as high as anyone, including Musashimaru and Kaio.

Even tachi-ai this time neither giving any centimetres away. Taikai then

did a little pull down which got SHoryu slightly off balance. Taikai

followed with a tsuki-attack making Shoryu collapse while he himself

jumped down off the dohyo and looked like a big mean cannonball in the

process.

Great fight.  I remember this one.  Impressive.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Asashoryu-Tochiazuma 4-4

01 Natsu 6 Lost Yoritaoshi

Long even bout where Shoryu attacked with tsuki, Azuma forced the bout

onto belt and after short yotsu-battle, Shoryu tried sotogake which Azuma

blocked and once the bout drifted near the edge Azuma was stronger in

turning Shoryu onto tawara and out. Good exciting bout. 16 seconds

01 Nagoya 4 Won Tsukidashi

Shoryu came out with massive tsuki attack never letting Azuma to get in

offensive. Azuma absorbed the streched thrusts but then got a big one

straight onto his mouth which knocked couple of his teeth and made him

blunder backwards near the edge. Shoryu unmeekly rushed to him and

delivered some more vicious blows making Azuma fall. Azuma took a bit time

to get up and call the dentist. Furious bout! 10 seconds.

01 Aki 7 Won Tsukiotoshi

Yotsu-bout immediately, then both lean strongly forward without any belt

grip. Shoryu tries a swift move to side which Azuma easily sees and stays

in front of Shoryu gaining ground little by little forcing Shoryu into

defensive mode now in tsuki-battle. Close to the tawara Azuma misses one

push, then misses another one and tawara circling Shoryu gets the close

win! 16 seconds.

01 Kyushu 4 Lost Oshidashi

This bout had more than 100 separate defensive and offensive moves! In a

nutshell it was an arm fencing tsuki bout spiced up with some slap down

attempts, hikkake attempt, leg trip attempt but all the time Azuma was

adamantly stable not giving up room and finally Shoryu found himself at

the edge and out. 15 seconds.

02 Hatsu 4 Lost Uwatedashinage

The famous bloody bout where Shoryu slapped Azuma multiple times in a

MAJOR arm fencing bout. Tremendous tsuki by Shoryu, Azuma wasn't able to

do much else than absorb and maintain his balance. Finally he interrupted

the onslaught destabilizing Shoryu after which the bout calmed down and

went into leaning mode before gyoji stopped the bout because Azuma was

bleeding a lot from his nose. After a longish nose wiping, cotton into

nose putting and bout ending posture redetermining by gyoji and shimpan,

the bout was restarted. Bout goes to belt with Azuma with left uwate while

Shoryu has right hand inside. Shoryu goes for his skillful grip changes

but Azuma is alert and utilizes the moment bulldozing forward. Shoryu

tries one last thing at the tawara but Azuma's neat dashinage sends him

out. VERY furious bout which lasted about 1 minute active wrestling.

02 Haru 5 Won Yoritaoshi

After a short tsuki and pursuing advantageous position Shoryu gets

morozashi leaving Azuma with upright stance and no grip. Azuma tries

kotenage at the end but fells out before Shoryu touches down. 6 seconds.

02 Natsu 7 Lost Yorikiri

Haru in reverse. After opening tussle, Azuma gets morozashi and forces

wriggling Shoryu out. 8 seconds.

02 Kyushu 14 Won Uwatedashinage

Even bout where both use tsuki until Azuma's right foot slips and slides

back and Shoryu gets a grip and leans on Azuma who is on his way down to

the clay already. 6 seconds.

Analysis:

Arm fencing is often present at some part of the bout meaning they engage

into pushing and rapid little arm movements without establishing a grip.

Bouts between these two are very even. It is furthermore evident that both

find their best fighting spirit against each other. Key elements are hard

to find as so much usually happens in their bouts. There has been two

bouts where the winner (both once)

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

The famous bloody bout where Shoryu slapped Azuma multiple times in a

MAJOR arm fencing bout

I went and saw this one on banzuke.com after reading your analysis.  Wow!

Thanks for the good analysis  :-D

I agree with the conclusion: Asa and Azuma have been very even when they're both healthy.  We'll see how the rivalry continues once Azuma gets back to 100% health.

As for Musoyama: different league.  Even though he's an ozeki, Asa is much better.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Asashoryu vs. Wakanosato 5-4

01 Natsu 12 Lost Hikiotoshi

Wakanosato got right uwate and with enourmous power launched a tremendous

throw which made Shoryu fall on his head.

01 Nagoya 10 Won Yorikiri

Some tsuppari followed by a loud slap on Waka's face disorienting him

enough for Asa to get a grip deep behind Waka's belt. Waka tried to pull

Asa down while backing up but ended out out before Asa bit the clay. 7

seconds.

01 Aki 9 Won Hatakikomi

Very uncontrolled bout. Asa attacked with less eloquant arm fencing and

general slapping. Waka wasn't very coherent in his moves either. Once

again a mean slap got Waka a bit off track and Asa pulled him down with an

attitude slap on his back. 9 seconds.

01 Kyushu 5 Lost Hikiotoshi

Shoryu attackes with tsuki again and Waka tries to interfere. This time it

is Asa who gets tangled up in his own energy boost and Waka shifts aside

and lets Asa fall down wrecklessly. Sloppy bout. 10 seconds.

02 Hatsu 9 Won Sotogake

Wakanosato chases Asa around and gets a solid right hand outside grip but

Asa is quickly up-to-date of the situation and does a rapid sotogake

before Waka can use his power to oust him. Brilliant sotogake by Asa who

looked very satisfied with the bout. 8 seconds.

02 Haru 3 Lost Yorikiri

Waka gets right hand outside and Asa's uchigake attempt is powerless. Waka

pushes him strongly out. 6 seconds.

02 Natsu 8 Won Yorikiri

Short tsuppari attack leads to yotsu where Asa has better grip-position.

Waka gets his left hand outside but Asa suddenly goes for sotogake and

Waka's balance is disturbed and he ends up bouncing backwards and Asa

follows him with yorikiri victory. Second bout where sotogake was

decisive between these two.

02 Nagoya 15 Lost Tsukiotoshi

Both rikishi get equal grips. Complete hidari-yotsu battle. Waka tries

couple of throws which Asa blocks and gets a bit offensive at the end when

Waka loses his left hand grip. However as Asa tries to get rid of Waka, he

becomes a victim of Waka's massive power and with his left hand Waka slams

Asa down with force. 19 seconds.

02 Aki 13 Lost Yorikiri

Waka gets right hand outside and after a while simply outmuscles Asa out

with yorikiri. 10+ seconds.

02 Kyushu 13 Won Sotogake

Familiar grip combination again. Waka doesn't have his right hand on the

belth though which gives Asa more leverage to work. After a bout full of

little attempts by both, Asa launches sotogake which is again fatal to

Waka. 1 st yusho for Asa and 3rd sotogake-related win over Wakanosato.

26 seconds.

03 Hatsu 13 Won Okuritaoshi

Wakanosato starts well but Asa wins this one with a very speedy move which

leaves Waka facing the exit. Shoryu gives a little push with his hip and

wins with okuritaoshi. 7 seconds.

Analysis:

Same development has appeared as in many Asashoryu's match-ups; he doesn't

go for tsuppari very much anymore. Instead bouts between Waka and Asa

follow a quite predictable lead in grip pursuing and certain intimate

yotsu. Wakanosato has advantage in power and dominates if he gets better

grip that Asa. When Asa gets equal grip he has one good weapon in

sotogake. It is not easy for him to throw or outmuscle Waka so he tends to

try leg trips or simply outmaneuvre Waka. Waka has to avoid the sotogake

pit in order to beat Asa. Often right hand outside grip by Waka is dooming

for Asa but on the other hand Asa can't outskill Waka on the belt easily

as he does against Musoyama for example. The bouts have been often even

and in the future their rivalry may well be 50-50. So far only

Wakanosato's right hand outside grip and Asashoryu's sotogake have been

major deciders in their bouts. Often the bout is also longer than 10

seconds and Asashoryu can't seem to outspeed Waka too much.

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

I enjoy reading these analyses -- thank you Kaikitsune Makoto  :-D

02 Nagoya 15 Lost Tsukiotoshi

Both rikishi get equal grips. Complete hidari-yotsu battle. Waka tries

couple of throws which Asa blocks and gets a bit offensive at the end when

Waka loses his left hand grip. However as Asa tries to get rid of Waka, he

becomes a victim of Waka's massive power and with his left hand Waka slams

Asa down with force. 19 seconds.

This was one time where I thought someone really got the better of Asa, with no tricks or quick slants.  Waka took everything Asa threw at him, then said "watch this" and just threw him down.  Wow.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Don't know how much interest this thread possesses as warmed leftovers but some updates on the Asashoryu vs other sanyaku stats after Haru basho.

He didn't face Musashimaru, Tochiazuma or Musoyama.

Asashoryu-Wakanosato 6-4 (5-4 before Haru)

Haru day 12 Win oshidashi

Asashoryu's best bout of the Haru basho. He attacked Wakanosato's throat after a PERFECT tachi-ai which was very explosive and accurate. Wakanosato was caught off-guard and as Shoryu used the well-fought tachi-ai kinetic energy and balance, he simply prevented any chance for Waka to get into yotsu-sumo. At first seeing this via Dale's videos I thought Wakanosato was weak but now after seeing it on Eurosport with slow motions and all, I revise my view and claim this bout was Asashoryu's dream bout where everything went his way from the start. Brilliant sumo by the Mongolian curser!

Asashoryu-Kotomitsuki 6-6 (5-6)

Haru day 13 Win tsuridashi

Well Kotomitsuki is suffering from severe elbow problems and he wasn't much of an opposition to anyone in Haru (despite his 6-9 record). Shoryu took the win after getting a deep morozashi.

Asashoryu-Kaio 4-5 (4-4)

Haru day 14 Loss tsukiotoshi

Kaio's right uwate pursuing after a solid tachi-ai evoked a "pull hips back now!"-order from Asashoryu's spinal cord or brain and as he did that he did prevent the right uwate by Kaio but at the same time became very vulnerable balance-wise. Seasoned fox then sensed the situation, swang Shoryu's right arm forward sending him to staggering loss. Maybe wearing Tomozuna-beya coloured U-glasses but this bout was more about Kaio's menace (the withdrawal of hip by Shoryu was quite throughal) and sumo sense than Shoryu's weakness or poor balance.

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai 5-4 (5-3)

All has been said about this bout earlier but once again Chiyotaikai's sumo 100% brought him the 4th win against Shoryu. Taikai's state before tachi-ai and right after are illustrated with a smiley better than any words:

(Laughing...)

[QttP 0]

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai 5-4 (5-3)

All has been said about this bout earlier but once again Chiyotaikai's sumo 100% brought him the 4th win against Shoryu. Taikai's state before tachi-ai and right after are illustrated with a smiley better than any words:

(Laughing...)

That smiley should be called: "Chiyotaikai at tachi-ai". (Laughing...)

Makes one wonder whether Asashoryu would do the henka in that bout, if he didn't have the "Yokozuna responsibility to fight with strength"...

[Zentoryu 154]

Makes one wonder whether Asashoryu would do the henka in that bout, if he didn't have the "Yokozuna responsibility to fight with strength"...

Well, he's beaten Takai 5 times before, and I don't think he used henka in any of those bouts. That said, it did surprise me that Asa just stood there and absorbed Chiyo's tsuppari while trying to get to his belt, an almost impossible task when Chiyo has you in his sights. One would think he would at least have tried to step away to the side and present Chiyo with a moving target and maybe hope Chiyo would loose his balance in the process. I don't know... maybe it's easier said than done, especially when Chiyo has that nodo-wa going at your throat. (Laughing...)

Edited April 21, 2003 by Zentoryu

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

Nope, I quoted the wrong thing and have removed my message. The dangers of reading multiple threads at once... (Laughing...)

[QttP 0]

Nope, I quoted the wrong thing and have removed my message. The dangers of reading multiple threads at once... (Laughing...)

OK... Now I removed my message quoting you quoting the wrong thing. If you remove your message above this which I quoted in this message of mine without adding any new messages, I will removes this message and we will pretend none of it ever happened. (Laughing...) (Laughing...) (I was stupid...)

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

If you remove your message above this which I quoted in this message of mine without adding any new messages, I will removes this message and we will pretend none of it ever happened

But this is too much fun (Laughing...) (Laughing...)

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

And more updates to match the current records after Natsu basho:

Asashoryu didn't meet Musashimaru.

Asashoryu-Wakanosato 7-4 (6-4 before Natsu)

Natsu day 11 Win yoritaoshi

Beautiful sumo! Wakanosato knows how to fight Asashoryu and muscled him back in yotsu-sumo. Shoryu wriggles free and fights back from the brink and gets morozashi and one all-out hip push gets his offense going. Waka tries one last ditch throw but Shoryu falls on top of him. Excellent sumo by Shoryu but Wakanosato will remain a tough foe for him. Morozashi lightning worked well again.

Asashoryu-Kotomitsuki 7-6 (6-6)

Natsu day 2 Win yorikiri

No comment. Kotomitsuki was handicapped and gave up feebly. Morozashi win for Shoryu and no sweat.

Asashoryu-Musoyama 8-3 (7-3)

Natsu day 13 Win sotogake

Asashoryu continued his domination over Musoyama. Musoyama did his sumo right by avoiding yotsu. He got his other hand in ottsuke but would have needed the other one too. Asashoryu absorbs and then does a neat twisting sotogake. Musoyama can't beat Shoryu. 6-0 for Shoryu last 6 bouts now.

Asashoryu-Chiyotaikai 6-4 (5-4)

Natsu day 15 Win yorikiri

Chiyotaikai missed the target and got his arms off the game. Shoryu took morozashi and easily ousted Taikai. Asashoryu is skillful in destroying Taikai's opening charge. He does little lateral moves and arm interfering which is often poison to Taikai's sumo. Perfect sumo against Taikai.

Asashoryu-KaioU 4-6 (4-5)

Natsu day 14 Loss uwatenage

KaioU's tachi-ai was smart as he prevented Shoryu's morozashi attempts with a elbow angle perfection, got his left hand inside and bulldozed Shoryu back. When Shoryu tried a throw, KaioU got right hand outside and it was all over. 3rd straight loss for Shoryu against KaioU. Can't tsuki KaioU out, can't push him out, can't beat him on belt if he doesn't get morozashi so speedy move followed by morozashi is his weapon against KaioU. This time no chance for morozashi and no chance for speed since he got caught.

Asashoryu-Tochiazuma 5-4 (4-4)

Natsu day 12 Win tsukidashi

Oshi bout with some basic pushing sumo. Weakened Tochiazuma lost after showing some good balance and rhytm but unability to pose a serious forward moving threat to Shoryu. In Nagoya basho Tochiazuma should be stronger so similar oshi bout could turn out to be long and furious again. Same goes for yotsu-scenario. We shall see.

(Lifting weight...)

[Chinonofuji 35]

Hello all,

I am new to sumo in the past year, but I really appreciate this site and all of your great comments. (This thread and the photos are my favorites!)

Anyway, a couple of questions:

1) For the life of me, I still can't tell if Asashoryu is consistently lucky and in the right place at the right time, or if he incredibly skilled and has the heart (and speed) of a lion. On the one hand, he wins two basho when almost all of the Ozeki and Yokozuna are injured, and his wins since against Kaio and Chiyo and Koto often have a disclaimer attached to them (mostly injuries). He seems so lucky! I find myself thinking "if Akebono, Takanohana, and Musashimaru were all in their prime, that 14-1 would have been 10-5, and he'd be lucky to be an Ozeki." And I still wonder if this "luck" will evaporate and he'll end up with a 9-6 or even 8-7 record one of these basho.

On the other hand, Asa has a way of making other rikishi look bad or clumsy, and it comes off as his being lucky. Maru and Musoyama look slow and out of sorts against Asa, so maybe he could have done well against Akebono too? He seems to be bulking up, so he's increasingly less vulnerable to Kaio's thrusts, and Chiyo can't seem to stay fired up for a sustained stretch. And he is a master of technique, including his last-ditch sotogakes. His tachi-ai also seem to be improving. He seems to take his responsibility as a Yokozuna seriously in this regard, at least, driving forward and winning with yori-kiri more, etc.

So, my heart is always in my mouth when he wrestles, but maybe that's part of his charm. A couple of basho from now, I could see a healthy Kotomitsuki, Dejima, Musashimaru, Kaio, Chiyo, and Wakanasato all beating Asa easily! But I could also see Asa bulking up without losing speed and continuing to make those split-second adjustments that seal the fate of the other rikishi.

Any predictions for the next basho?

2) Quick question: are only yokozuna allowed to become oyakatas, or only yokozuna and ozeki? Or can any rikishi with enough money take over a stable?

Thanks! (Laughing...)