Training with a Sumo Dojo in Japan

[mikawa 1,794]

Last night, the coaches of Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo kindly invited me to join in with their training session, which is usually 3 hours long.

Before keiko began, Sagawa-sensei showed me how to get the mawashi belt ready from its factory state, and helped me put it on. The mawashi is made up of a kind of hard cotton fabric, about 2-3kg in weight, and is surprisingly comfortable to be in. Standing bare foot on the sand though can get a bit of getting used to. Also, the tawara was a lot softer than I expected.

Once enough club members have arrived, the keiko began. We started off with some hand, leg and head movements, followed by the usual 100 shiko. When done properly, the legs should be wide apart and facing outwards, and a low center of gravity should be maintained when you transfer your weight to each leg in preparation for raising the other. I had prepared for this over the past year, but when done properly, the 100 shiko was harder on the leg muscles as I had anticipated.

Then onto suriashi, which we did whilst holding a weight in our hands. Doing this exercise required both feet to be touching the ground at all times (you're sliding across the dohyo), and a low center of gravity should be maintained throughout. There wasn't much of a break between each go, about 10-15 seconds or so.

There were different phases to the suriashi, first going straight ahead, then sliding towards your right at the end, then sliding towards your left at the end, then sliding in a zigzag line towards the other side, and finally going straight again.

After some more exercises, the coaches set up bouts between 2 members at a time, each pair facing each other about 8-10 times consecutively. I got paired up with Sasaki Chikara's younger brother, Sasaki Ifu. The bouts went as I had imagined, mostly going to a belt battle, with most of them being decided by a yorikiri, though a shitatenage did come up.

Some more suriashi exercises followed, and then it was moshiai, where the winner stays on. This was when I got to face Hirano Shurato, someone I've cheered on at the past 3 Wanpaku Tournaments. His sumo was indeed very intelligent, knowing exactly when to use what, but he was also incredibly quick. Before I had realised what was going on, Shurato executed 3 moves in quick succession to win by uwatedashinage. "He is strong when he grabs his opponent's mawashi, but at high level at Wanpaku, it's not so easy". Indeed.

More exercises followed, including butsukari-geiko and more shiko. There were also weights around, and you could also do some push-ups or exercises involving the teppo. I had imagined that the training would be very very tough, as this is sumo we're talking about, but in reality, it was so much tougher than that. It certainly makes you appreciate a lot more the amount of hardwork that these sumo students go through week in and week out. And yet, only a very small percentage of their names will ever get mentioned here in the Amasumo section.

"Sumou wa taihen desu ka?" "Taihen desu."

Edited August 1, 2018 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

There’s something I forgot to mention yesterday.

When you step into the ring and squat down, staring down your opponent, your mind blocks out everything else from that point on.

All of your focus is concentrated on the bout, all you can see is your opponent. You’re basically “in the zone”, as some would say.

Edited August 5, 2018 by mikawa