Shinmaku Yamamotoyama to be the heaviest Japanese rikishi

[Harry 67]

At 252kg, Yamamotoyama will be the heaviest Japanest rikishi in makuuchi in hatsubasho in January.

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=sumo&a=...000004-maip-spo

[Kintamayama 45,442]

In English:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/200811...0na013000c.html

http://travel.blogdig.net/archives/article...in_history.html

[mokele 3]

I took the little poll about what type of a career Yamamotoyama will have, and I had to answer "big disappointment", not because it's what I want but because he's simply way too heavy to survive the pounding that he will take in Makunouchi without falling and hurting himself sometime in the near future.

When Musashimaru 1st entered Makunouchi, I remember him well at around 390 lbs., a weight that he maintained for a few years. He was overweight even then, but not obese, and his weight went up gradually during his career. He was close to 600 lbs. when he retired, and his failure to maintain a proper fighting weight was partially the cause.

Akebono also ended his career with a weight of well over 500 lbs. but once again his weight during the early part of his Makunouchi career was in the high 300s.

Konishiki had a remarkably successful career for a rikishi who became obese fairly early in his career, well before he became an ozeki, but his failure to keep his weight down eventually hurt him, especially when he went over 600 lbs.

So anyway, Yamamotoyama certainly has it in his power to lose 60 or 70 lbs., and if so, he could be very effective and reduce the risk of injury. I just do not believe that any rikishi is better at over 500 lbs. than they would be at 450 lbs. or so. There's a giant Korean (Hong Man Choi) who I've seen participate in K1 fighting who is something like 7'4" tall, but he is a genuine giant who got that way (I imagine) because of a pituitary gland problem. Only for someone like that, like Andre the Giant for example (suffered from acromegaly), would a weight of 500 lbs. be regarded as a fit fighting weight for sumo.

[Peterao 3]

So anyway, Yamamotoyama certainly has it in his power to lose 60 or 70 lbs., and if so, he could be very effective and reduce the risk of injury. I just do not believe that any rikishi is better at over 500 lbs. than they would be at 450 lbs. or so. There's a giant Korean (Hong Man Choi) who I've seen participate in K1 fighting who is something like 7'4" tall, but he is a genuine giant who got that way (I imagine) because of a pituitary gland problem. Only for someone like that, like Andre the Giant for example (suffered from acromegaly), would a weight of 500 lbs. be regarded as a fit fighting weight for sumo.

Andre the Giant was only about 210cm (not the 226 he was billed at), which is less than 10 cm more than Kotooshu. So even given a larger body frame, I can't see anything over 400 lbs being "fit" for him.

Personally, I don't think that Yamamotoyama will ever become a sanyaku regular, but if he can keep out of Juryo his size might make him another niche character to draw in fans, like Takamisakari.

[Harry 67]

Yamamotoyama believes he must be heavy to be competitive but as you say, I hope we don't see a nasty knee injury causing him to fall to lower ranks or even to intai. His defeat of an admittedly still recovering Homasho showed he could mean business in lower makuuchi at least.

It's my topic so I can take it even more off topic if I want to? K-1 did have a sumo connection of course being a way station in the post-sumo career of Akebono on his way to Monster Bono in Hustle Puroresu...

'Ssirium style' K-1 fighter Hong Man Choi stands at an honest 2.18m. A benign tumor on his pituitary was finally removed this June; it was likely the reason for his huge size as he was still growing well past the normal age when one stops gaining stature. It caused him to get a medical discharge from mandatory military service but also caused him to be unable to pass fight medicals in the US which is why he didn't fight Brock Lesnar, the current UFC Heavyweight champion. Hong Man Choi is down to 149kg weight but has still lost his last three fights, though on the last one he threw in the towel while winning on the judge's score cards.

K-1 has another giant in their current champion Semy Schilt at 2.12m though he will not be in the 2008 final as Aerts defeated him at the final qualifier. Aerts and Le Banner at around 1.9m look kind of short next to those guys but height and weight are not always the determining factors.

[Takamizakura 1]

So anyway, Yamamotoyama certainly has it in his power to lose 60 or 70 lbs., and if so, he could be very effective and reduce the risk of injury.

IIRC he was interviewed by NHK in Kyushu and said when we went home and had his mother's cooking he lost weight.

Or if orthopedic surgeons can figure out a way to replace his knees & supporting ligaments with carbon fiber...

[Treblemaker 254]

Ok, and while we're on this topic, am I the only person who thinks someone should recommend YMY to a good dermatologist?

[Harry 67]

Do Yamamotoyama and Ama possibly have "wrestler's staph"? Or do you think it is just acne?

[Treblemaker 254]

Whatever it is, YMY needs something. It may be hormonal, food, weight, whatever, and as I realize that it's exceedingly impolite to point out stuff like that on people, he should have it looked at.

This is a good kid with really good athletic skills for someone his size, and I wish him success and good health.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Do Yamamotoyama and Ama possibly have "wrestler's staph"? Or do you think it is just acne?

Dunno about YMY. In The-rikishi-formerly-know-as-Ama's case, I think it's likey a combination of genetic predisposition, and consumming a lot of milk to try and gain weight. Milk has been implicated as a culprit in some cases of acne...

http://www.cure-guide.com/Natural_Health_N...k_and_acne.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/he...cne-447979.html

http://www.acnemilk.com/

[sekihiryu 51]

arghh pounds!!!! this is Japan and sumo uses Kilo's like the rest of the real world, get with the program! (Showing respect...) ;-)

[Jakusotsu 6,017]

arghh pounds!!!!

You must admit, YMY's pounds do bounce!

[Gusoyama 103]

Just divide/multiply by 2, it gets it close enough.

[Harry 67]

I think it is better to write or say, "He should lose 30kg (15lbs) to improve his conditioning," rather than those horrible articles which write, "He should lose 30kg (13.63lbs) to improve his conditioning," as if the switch to non-metric units suddenly adds a large degree of precision to the value.

[Asashosakari 19,543]

I think it is better to write or say, "He should lose 30kg (15lbs) to improve his conditioning," rather than those horrible articles which write, "He should lose 30kg (13.63lbs) to improve his conditioning," as if the switch to non-metric units suddenly adds a large degree of precision to the value.

Or even better to write, "He should lose 30lbs (15kg) to improve his conditioning." (Showing respect...) Seriously though, that's also one of my pet peeves and even more often it's seen with currencies (e.g. some athlete or whomever signing a contract for "3,167,000 Euros" instead of "4 million dollars").

[Harry 67]

I think it is better to write or say, "He should lose 30kg (15lbs) to improve his conditioning," rather than those horrible articles which write, "He should lose 30kg (13.63lbs) to improve his conditioning," as if the switch to non-metric units suddenly adds a large degree of precision to the value.

Or even better to write, "He should lose 30lbs (15kg) to improve his conditioning." (Showing respect...)

As you can see I would have been right at home writing the specifications for the software for the two contractors working on the Mars Polar Lander, one who used metric...

[Fujisan 533]

Musashimaru remained injury free? :-D

That doesn't ring true to me.....

[aderechelsea 125]

Musashimaru remained injury free? :-D

That doesn't ring true to me.....

it was mainly the wrists though

not much pressure due to weight there ... as opposed to the knees.

[Kintamayama 45,442]

YMY lost 4 kilos and is now 248 kilos. "In my case, 4 kilos doesn't mean much.. I don't feel I lost any weight", he explained.

[Treblemaker 254]

YMY lost 4 kilos? About 9 pounds? A mawashi weighs more than that.

At 546 lbs, he's too heavy. Most of the older Big Guys got there by the ends of their careers (see posts above). To START there is not to see a long Makuuchi career. Right now he has agility and mobility rarely seen in such a big man, and he's only mid-20's? If he keeps gaining weight ("I like to eat", he says proudly), in 5 years he'll be mostly bulldozer with the steering capacity of a cow.

At M15, he'll probably do ok with the bottom-dwellers of the banzuke, but if he's successful, and moves up to, say, M5? Let's just say I hope he's prepared, strategically and technically.

And again I say (as kindly, gently, appreciatively, non-rudely and non-politically as I can), get this guy to a good dermatologist.

[Barang 0]

I suppose that opponent has never won Yamatoyama by Tsuridashi. Did anybody won those Hawaian heavy weights by that technique?