Hatsu 2014 Discussion - *contains spoilers

[ALAKTORN 346]

All the rikishi I wanted to win won today. :) …Except for Kisenosato.

I’ll say it again: Kakuryū new yokozuna hope.

[wanderer 159]

Kisenosato should stop burning for Yokozuna. He hasn't even win single yusho. In that respect Kotooshu, Baruto, Kaio, Chiyotaikai, Dejima, Miyabiyama, Tochiazuma were better Ozeki.

Kakiryu gets the job done but he was almost always overwhelmed by his opponents, resorting to last ditch tawara magics. Kakiryu and Kisenosato need to win a yusho first before talking about Tsunatori.

[ALAKTORN 346]

I’m not serious about Kakuryū… :P

[Ajisen 15]

If Kisenosato has indeed lost his shot at becoming Yokozuna, I hope the pressure of carrying the mental burden heaped on him by the YDC eases off and allows him to be the good Ozeki he has the potential to be.

And that they learn how to handle Endo's inevitable rise without placing the same kind of pressure on him. Endo has wonderful stability and seems so much more calm than Goeido at the same stage of his journey.

Have mixed feelings for any bout between Endo and Hakuho mainly because of Harumafuji's lift and dump of Goeido, he never was the same after that. Endo has too much potential to be broken too soon. I know I sound like a softy for that statement and sumo is a harsh world but Endo appears to be a legitimate major player of the future.

[Asashosakari 20,279]

Watching the digest just now - that second stoppage in the Shotenro-Tokitenku has to be the most chaotic mawashi-fixing break I've ever seen, even worse than the one a few days ago with the Yoshikaze cameo.

[Asojima 2,874]

In the OLD days, they would stop them, mark the foot positions in the sand, note the hand positions, and then start the work. I haven't seen that done for a long time.

[Andreas21 221]

Transposed to the world of chess, Kisenosato is the guy who tries to win against everyone by opening the game with a2-a4.

More like e2-e3, I would say.

[kuroimori 1,634]

The new trend seems to be matta-ing Hakuho, today was Takekaze's turn to piss Hakuho off.

Speaking of Takekaze, he again just stopped shuffling his feet when being pushed backwards and fell over backwards...

[kuroimori 1,634]

Kyokutenho is simple a classy veteran!

Nice move today hurling down Takarafuji using his opponents forward motion against him.

Kyokutenho fought in his 1729th bout of his long career and is now just 2 matches before he catches up with Kaio for 3rd rank of most career bouts on Wednesday.

[Asashosakari 20,279]

3rd rank of most career bouts on Wednesday.

Now there's an obscure stat...

[Jakusotsu 6,401]

If Kisenosato has indeed lost his shot at becoming Yokozuna, I hope the pressure of carrying the mental burden heaped on him by the YDC eases off and allows him to be the good Ozeki he has the potential to be.

And that they learn how to handle Endo's inevitable rise without placing the same kind of pressure on him.

If one can't handle that pressure, yokozuna is definitely the wrong job.

[krindel 688]

Watching the digest just now - that second stoppage in the Shotenro-Tokitenku has to be the most chaotic mawashi-fixing break I've ever seen, even worse than the one a few days ago with the Yoshikaze cameo.

Seems like Tokitenku has developed a new winning technique where he first unravels the opponent's mawashi, then he befuddles the gyoji into forgetting how to tie it back, and then wins the bout after his opponent falls asleep waiting

[Benevolance 2,534]

It's working better than most of his foot sweeps.

[krindel 688]

If Kisenosato has indeed lost his shot at becoming Yokozuna, I hope the pressure of carrying the mental burden heaped on him by the YDC eases off and allows him to be the good Ozeki he has the potential to be.

And that they learn how to handle Endo's inevitable rise without placing the same kind of pressure on him.

If one can't handle that pressure, yokozuna is definitely the wrong job.

Definitely so... However, I don't know if he's injured, but its very hard for me to believe that he lost from Toyohibiki of all people just because of mental pressure; after all in the past his pattern was to really go well after dropping out of the yusho race.

I guess how he appears in the matches against Hakuho and the other Ozeki will really tell, usually he's psyched when fighting them.

In any case, his Yokozuna hopes are over now at least until the summer, maybe he'll take that time to mentally prepare for what is probably his last chance to make a successful Yokozuna run.

[yorikiried by fate 2,038]

If Kisenosato has indeed lost his shot at becoming Yokozuna, I hope the pressure of carrying the mental burden heaped on him by the YDC eases off and allows him to be the good Ozeki he has the potential to be.

And that they learn how to handle Endo's inevitable rise without placing the same kind of pressure on him. Endo has wonderful stability and seems so much more calm than Goeido at the same stage of his journey.

Have mixed feelings for any bout between Endo and Hakuho mainly because of Harumafuji's lift and dump of Goeido, he never was the same after that. Endo has too much potential to be broken too soon. I know I sound like a softy for that statement and sumo is a harsh world but Endo appears to be a legitimate major player of the future.

Two things, I'd like to throw in:

Firstly, saying that Goeido "was never the same" after being beaten by Ama via okuritsuriotoshi is just plain non-sense. That was in Goeido's Makuuchi debut basho FFS! (And Goeido learned fine from this experience, BTW, and gave Ama back some love for a couple of bouts after that.)

Endo, that's the second point, doesn't look determined enough in my book. I know it is not very popular to generalize things in such a way, but for me I dare to say: I can see it in his face expression. He projects puzzlement, not fire (quite alike Goeido and Tochiozan, to name two other former Next Big Hopes).

Edited January 20, 2014 by yorikiried by fate

[kuroimori 1,634]

3rd rank of most career bouts on Wednesday.

Now there's an obscure stat...

alright, alright better in NHK graph style?

Most career bouts (all divisions)

1 Oshio 1891

2 Terao 1795

3 Kaio 1731

4 Kyokutenho* 1729

5 Takamiyama 1654

* still active

[Asojima 2,874]

But how many of those bouts were on a Wednesday?

[Mintofuji 18]

Hakuho's win against Takakaze moves him past Mitoizumi into outright 11th for most career wins, with 808.

Kisenosato should stop burning for Yokozuna. He hasn't even win single yusho. In that respect Kotooshu, Baruto, Kaio, Chiyotaikai, Dejima, Miyabiyama, Tochiazuma were better Ozeki.

Dejima and Miyabiyama never won a yusho while Ozeki (Miyabiyama never even won a yusho in Makuuchi).

[Benevolance 2,534]

But how many of those bouts were on a Wednesday?

943.

Endo, that's the second point, doesn't look determined enough in my book.

You see puzzlement, I see equanimity. I'll admit, I like seeing more emotion on the dohyo; but how much emotion does Hak usually display? I mean, when he's not being matta'd every match, that is.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Benevolance

[kuroimori 1,634]

But how many of those bouts were on a Wednesday?

It's not fair... I'm injured... ;-)

[kuroimori 1,634]

During the Satoyama - Yoshikaze match, the commentator at NHK used the verb "mogureru" when Satoyama tried to dig under his oppenents arm.

"mogura" means mole in Japanese, but I never heard the verb "to mole". Any takes from native speaker, 1-Kyu or Japanese language black belt holders on this phrase?

[specialweek 2 138]

Mogureru is to dive.

[torquato 1,075]

もぐれる (mogureru) is the potential form of 潜る (moguru) 'to get into, get under': 'To be able to get under...' An ordinary Japanese verb, which I can't think of has anything to do with 'mogura', mole.

Not Japanese, nor 1-kyuu, though... :-(

[I am the Yokozuna 222]

I think Kise is injured, but I do not have any evidence to support this claim. All reports, kindly collected and translated on this pages, suggest that he did not have any good training and preparation. My explanation for that is an injury, more painful than normal ailments. There was a clip with his training with Hakuho, where Hakuho shouted to him - put in more effort. I do not believe Kise did not put any strength in those bouts on purpose.

There was an interview on the shonichi on NHK where he spoke and attributed his first failure to get the tsuna to an injury. However, mental aspect of this could not be overunderestimated. And as someone said on this pages many moons ago, if he does not get promoted, quite possibly he was not good enough in first place. I still consider him the best oozeki from the available ones.

[kuroimori 1,634]

Mogureru is to dive.

もぐれる (mogureru) is the potential form of 潜る (moguru) 'to get into, get under': 'To be able to get under...' An ordinary Japanese verb, which I can't think of has anything to do with 'mogura', mole.

Not Japanese, nor 1-kyuu, though... :-(

thanks for smoking this mole out of his hole! :-)

Edited January 21, 2014 by kuroimori