Hokuseiho - Shot at a record?

[Kaminariyuki 497]

Man, I'd really like to see the Tochimaru match. The big kid is now 2-0 on Day 3.

[Kaminariyuki 497]

Wow, that was super easy to find. ...for a change. Check this out. Hokuseiho just absorbs the attack until he wears Tochimaru down and then finishes him off. 

I still have a difficult time believing that he's the tallest guy in sumo but apparently, it's true.

 

[Tsuchinoninjin 1,244]

6 minutes ago, Kaminariyuki said:

Wow, that was super easy to find. ...for a change. Check this out. Hokuseiho just absorbs the attack until he wears Tochimaru down and then finishes him off. 

I still have a difficult time believing that he's the tallest guy in sumo but apparently, it's true.

 

Man his sumo is SO bad but he is so big and mobile.

[Kaminariyuki 497]

3 minutes ago, Tsuchinoninjin said:

Man his sumo is SO bad but he is so big and mobile.

Lumbering lightening?

[Seiyashi 4,068]

42 minutes ago, Kaminariyuki said:

46 minutes ago, Tsuchinoninjin said:

Man his sumo is SO bad but he is so big and mobile.

Lumbering lightening?

He sort of reminds me build-wise of Akebono - it was often said that if you're too tall your centre of gravity is a bit too high, but his bulk and his opponents' lack of technique make that not too bad a weakness. He really needs to buck up on his sumo though. He virtually stands up straight at the tachiai and then spends the whole match upright!

If Enho and Ishiura (and maybe Raiho will in future) cruised to makuuchi on the back of technique despite size, Hokuseiho's going to be the exact opposite - getting to sekitori based on bulk alone. I'm actually surprised being in the same heya as Enho and Ishiura hasn't at least gotten his hips lower via butsugari with them.

That being said, being that high up may give him a significant advantage in future: he has so much reach and leverage that he'd be a natural fit for a lot of rare hineri techniques. His belt grip is already a harimanage-type grip, and you can see a lot of his oshi thrusts wound up around Tochimaru's neck; that's a precursor to a lot of the nages that we hardly see in top flight sumo. He might well become the next Tochinoshin-type wrestler in terms of pure brute strength, but with a different schtick.

Edited July 7, 2021 by Seiyashi

[Kaminariyuki 497]

2 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

He sort of reminds me build-wise of Akebono - it was often said that if you're too tall your centre of gravity is a bit too high, but his bulk and his opponents' lack of technique make that not too bad a weakness. He really needs to buck up on his sumo though. He virtually stands up straight at the tachiai and then spends the whole match upright!

If Enho and Ishiura (and maybe Raiho will in future) cruised to makuuchi on the back of technique despite size, Hokuseiho's going to be the exact opposite - getting to sekitori based on bulk alone. I'm actually surprised being in the same heya as Enho and Ishiura hasn't at least gotten his hips lower via butsugari with them.

That being said, being that high up may give him a significant advantage in future: he has so much reach and leverage that he'd be a natural fit for a lot of rare hineri techniques. His belt grip is already a harimanage-type grip, and you can see a lot of his oshi thrusts wound up around Tochimaru's neck; that's a precursor to a lot of the nages that we hardly see in top flight sumo. He might well become the next Tochinoshin-type wrestler in terms of pure brute strength, but with a different schtick.

Because of his limited technique, I really thought he'd hit the wall in makushita but it's certainly not looking that way. If he keeps this up, he's going to actually make juryo on his 7th active basho, having sat out with all of Miyagino in January. I'm amazed.

[Katooshu 3,078]

Obviously he has some rough edges, but being 2 meters tall his sumo is going to look different regardless, and nothing like Enho's or Ishiura's. When someone is so much taller than their opponents, they can often get leverage and a strong grip from positions that most normal sized rikishi couldn't - so I'm not so sure he's as technically flawed as one may think if they are just applying the standards of an average-sized competitor. 

As for his bulk, he's not THAT heavy.....the way he moves opponents out so easily once he gets hold is still quite impressive even considering his 164kg.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Katooshu

[Seiyashi 4,068]

Oh yes, definitely no question about his sumo looking different from a much smaller rikishi's. It's just that even so his sumo technique is still horrible and his success is probably attributed in part to opponents just not being able to deal with his bulk. Now that he's getting near sekitori, I can't imagine the technicians of makuuchi having that much difficulty with him.

In any case, 3-0 start to Nagoya. Sekitori beckons.

[Yamanashi 3,669]

5 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Oh yes, definitely no question about his sumo looking different from a much smaller rikishi's. It's just that even so his sumo technique is still horrible and his success is probably attributed in part to opponents just not being able to deal with his bulk. Now that he's getting near sekitori, I can't imagine the technicians of makuuchi having that much difficulty with him.

In any case, 3-0 start to Nagoya. Sekitori beckons.

He stays high, and unlike Akebono he doesn't rain blows on his opponent to keep them off.  In the last match I saw, the opponent didn't have enough oomph to push him out.  An oshidashi specialist with strength should be able to dispatch him easily from that position.  Lots of those coming up in Sekitoriville

[Katooshu 3,078]

Gives me flashbacks to all the sekitori who would have no problem slapping Ura down!

I think he'll do well as a sekitori - it's not as simple as 'he's upright, he'll be pushed out', and a guy that tall can get far more strength from an upright position than a rikishi can vs a similar height foe.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Katooshu

[bettega 422]

Only 19y? We'll hear a lot about him yet

[Kaikitsune Makoto 203]

On 07/07/2021 at 23:36, Seiyashi said:

He sort of reminds me build-wise of Akebono - it was often said that if you're too tall your centre of gravity is a bit too high, but his bulk and his opponents' lack of technique make that not too bad a weakness. He really needs to buck up on his sumo though. He virtually stands up straight at the tachiai and then spends the whole match upright!

If Enho and Ishiura (and maybe Raiho will in future) cruised to makuuchi on the back of technique despite size, Hokuseiho's going to be the exact opposite - getting to sekitori based on bulk alone. I'm actually surprised being in the same heya as Enho and Ishiura hasn't at least gotten his hips lower via butsugari with them.

That being said, being that high up may give him a significant advantage in future: he has so much reach and leverage that he'd be a natural fit for a lot of rare hineri techniques. His belt grip is already a harimanage-type grip, and you can see a lot of his oshi thrusts wound up around Tochimaru's neck; that's a precursor to a lot of the nages that we hardly see in top flight sumo. He might well become the next Tochinoshin-type wrestler in terms of pure brute strength, but with a different schtick.

Indeed. His sumo is still quite "bad" in many ways. He is not nearly strong enough to succeed in upper juryo level sumo if he stays that upright. It is not just the staying upright but also the way he absorbs opponent's attack. It seems to be enough at his current level of opposition but strong oshi rikishi will beat him and stronger yotsu will be able to keep him upright and then he really needs power to win. He is also a bit clumsy with his long limbs. Of course he always will have higher centre of gravity but surely needs to learn to press down more in order to succeed as sekitori well. Much depends on how well he can increase his horse power in the upcoming years. He isn¨'t as strong as Kotooshu was at that point and Kotooshu was much more techically devoloped. One of the most interesting rikishi for sure.

[orandashoho 720]

I think that being in Miyagino-beya will help him avoid developing bad habits and give him a lot of chances to find his own sumo. He has great potential but it's very much untested raw material... the focus will surely be on fundamentals and avoiding injury. He has time, he is only 19. It will be interesting to see how he develops. 

[Seiyashi 4,068]

2 minutes ago, orandashoho said:

I think that being in Miyagino-beya will help him avoid developing bad habits

Did you see a certain kachiage from a junior wrestler a few basho back?

[Tsuchinoninjin 1,244]

2 hours ago, Kaikitsune Makoto said:

Indeed. His sumo is still quite "bad" in many ways. He is not nearly strong enough to succeed in upper juryo level sumo if he stays that upright. It is not just the staying upright but also the way he absorbs opponent's attack. It seems to be enough at his current level of opposition but strong oshi rikishi will beat him and stronger yotsu will be able to keep him upright and then he really needs power to win. He is also a bit clumsy with his long limbs. Of course he always will have higher centre of gravity but surely needs to learn to press down more in order to succeed as sekitori well. Much depends on how well he can increase his horse power in the upcoming years. He isn¨'t as strong as Kotooshu was at that point and Kotooshu was much more techically devoloped. One of the most interesting rikishi for sure.

I would say the one thing he has going for him is that his legs look extremely powerful and muscular, more than a lot of Juryo guys, and legs are the basis of all sumo as we know.

He looks to me like a bigger Tochinoshin with less upper body development, but that's OK for how young he is.

[Jakusotsu 5,720]

23 minutes ago, Tsuchinoninjin said:

I would say the one thing he has going for him is that his legs look extremely powerful and muscular, more than a lot of Juryo guys, and legs are the basis of all sumo as we know.

Not more muscular than Takakento's, I daresay.

[Koorifuu 858]

3 hours ago, orandashoho said:

the focus will surely be on fundamentals and avoiding injury.

Kagayaki 2.0 confirmed.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

Tomorrow (or later today, depending on when you're reading) is crunch time: his opponent will be fellow 3-0 Tokisakae. If he goes KK here, he's almost guaranteed to be promoted to juryo. 

[Katooshu 3,078]

Possible sekitori promotion on the line vs the guy who handed him his first defeat, the mega makushita match of the day

[ViscountessNivlac 24]

Well the big man got the 4-0.

[Jyuunomori 226]

Man, he really did it. A Sekitori in one year, even with the sit-out due to Corona regulations.

Let's see if he will manage his other goal: Win a Yusho in each division.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

Congratulations to Hokuseiho. First man in makushita to get KK. With at least two slots in juryo opening thanks to Akiseyama and Ryuden's demotions (not to mention a few other 2-5 howlers in lower juryo), and neither Ms1 doing particularly well with 1-3 records, he's a shoo-in for promotion this time.

[Hakuryuho 334]

Gonna be great to see him fight the full 15 days next honbasho.

I‘m actually very optimistic about his sekitori fortunes, even though his Sumo is not very pretty to look at and has a lot of room for improvement, Hokuseiho‘s legs are incredibly strong and when he gets a grip on his opponent‘s belt he usually is able to maneuver him out because of his strong legs that he plants in a very wide stance, oftentimes disallowing any last-ditch moves at the bales by his opponents. 

 

[Katooshu 3,078]

If he wins his 3 remaining matches, he will have scored wins over all but 1 of his career opponents (Tsukahara) prior to his juryo debut. Has anyone matched or topped that?

Edited July 10, 2021 by Katooshu

[Katooshu 3,078]

Now at 5-0, the question is can he complete the toriteki yusho sweep?

Edited July 12, 2021 by Katooshu