Amamaniac 2,078 Posted July 10, 2021 Most of the Sumo Forum's attention seems to have fallen on Hakuho (and his partner in crime, Tobizaru) today. I am struggling to see a single mention of Terunofuji, and his bout against Kotoeko. Talk about a veteran champion coming back from surgery and prolonged kyujo status only to insert himself both physically and psychologically into the championship conversation. It''s all about Hakuho, for today at least. In case anyone blinked, Terunofuji got an outside left-hand grip on Kotoeko's mawashi straight out of the tachiai, and that all she wrote. Perhaps Terunofuji is happy that he is out of the media limelight (many wrestlers actually prefer that, since it allows them to maintain concentration and focus). But something tells me that Hakuho thrives on being the main story, and this is just one more weapon in his amazing oozumo arsenal... Boy, I can't wait to see how Hakuho will deal with Terunofuji in the big "Senshuraku Showdown"! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jakusotsu 5,817 Posted July 10, 2021 2 minutes ago, Amamaniac said: Most of the Sumo Forum's attention seems to have fallen on Hakuho (and his partner in crime, Tobizaru) today. I am struggling to see a single mention of Terunofuji, and his bout against Kotoeko. If Hakuho was a cat playing with a mouse, Terunofuji was a shark preying on a herring. 3 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seiyashi 4,071 Posted July 10, 2021 17 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said: 20 minutes ago, Amamaniac said: Most of the Sumo Forum's attention seems to have fallen on Hakuho (and his partner in crime, Tobizaru) today. I am struggling to see a single mention of Terunofuji, and his bout against Kotoeko. If Hakuho was a cat playing with a mouse, Terunofuji was a shark preying on a herring. To drive it in further: a cat consciously plays with a mouse. To the shark, it cares not what it eats. With all significant competition out of the tournament and his duck broken against Takayasu, Terunofuji will be mentally concentrating on bringing his A-game against Hakuho and everything else is fodder till then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hakutorizakura 590 Posted July 10, 2021 I'm very sure that Tobizaru is among us in this forum and got inspired by this post On 07/07/2021 at 00:31, hakutorizakura said: Day 13. An 11-1 Ura is matched against an unbeaten Terunofuji. Tachiai. Ura retreats and tries to keep Teru's hand off his mawashi at all cost, running here and there, matrix moves and all. Teru, not wanting to risk his knees with too much movement, plays the patience card. The bout proceeds, with minimal physical contact between the two, until it's time for mizu-iri. This marks the first time in sumo history of a mizu-iri with both rikishi basically standing away from each other on the dohyo. The bout restarts. Ura suddenly charges forward with a lightning-quick leap onto a surprised Teru, and... ASHITORI!! But Terunofuji is not going down so easily, he's grabbed the backside of Ura's mawashi, and while struggling with one leg and moving backwards toward impending defeat, manages to hurl Ura outside the dohyo! The crowd gasps. Terus is standing on one leg, wires dangling from the other leg from the knee. So he's been wearing bionic knees under those braces. Ura, flabbergasted, climbs up the dohyo and awkwardly returns Teru's detached lower leg in return for his pink sagari. But wait! Monoii!! After a lengthy discussion (so... which restaurant for dinner tonight?), the head shinpan announces that...... Ura wins! The reason being Teru's (detached) foot went out and down first as he dropped it while flying out the dohyo. Ashiotoshi Hakuho, who eventually wins the yusho through playoff against the two, is reprimanded by the YDC nevertheless for "rolling on the floor laughing" after that bout. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WAKATAKE 2,637 Posted July 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Amamaniac said: Most of the Sumo Forum's attention seems to have fallen on Hakuho (and his partner in crime, Tobizaru) today. I am struggling to see a single mention of Terunofuji, and his bout against Kotoeko. Talk about a veteran champion coming back from surgery and prolonged kyujo status only to insert himself both physically and psychologically into the championship conversation. It''s all about Hakuho, for today at least. In case anyone blinked, Terunofuji got an outside left-hand grip on Kotoeko's mawashi straight out of the tachiai, and that all she wrote. Perhaps Terunofuji is happy that he is out of the media limelight (many wrestlers actually prefer that, since it allows them to maintain concentration and focus). But something tells me that Hakuho thrives on being the main story, and this is just one more weapon in his amazing oozumo arsenal... Boy, I can't wait to see how Hakuho will deal with Terunofuji in the big "Senshuraku Showdown"! Well since you insist then I guess I will oblige you In my opinion Teru played it cool and once he was on the mawashi, there wasn't much that Kotoeko could do. Teru is calm and focused, and he's making sure to take every day as is before that final day showdown with the GOAT. The challenges before that though are still there, with the lower sanyaku and the struggling Shodai always guaranteed to play possible spoilers to both leaders Now to my take on the GOAT vs the Flying Monkey, Tobizaru obviously had thought out how he would take on Hakuho in the beginning, but didn't really have a plan on how he would try to end it. I give him props to trying an unorthodox tactic against the yokozuna. At the same time, I have to give props to Hakuho for willing to play the game, because it didn't put any strain on him, and giving us an entertaining bout But now we've got some wrestlers in the top division who are performing pretty well, but out of the limelight because of Hakuho and Terunofuji. Hoshoryu is being Hoshoryu, sneaking in some leg trips as he builds up the wins. Mitakeumi does stand at a respectable 5-2, although he has yet to face the top rankers because of the depletion at the top. Kotonowaka is the only 6-1 wrestler and has had a good belt game so far. Chiyonokuni somewhat returning to form post injury, while Ichiyamamoto is halfway to a kanto-sho. Ura at 4-3, not figuring in the race at all, but reasonably good pace for KK in his top division return Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seiyashi 4,071 Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) 40 minutes ago, WAKATAKE said: Mitakeumi does stand at a respectable 5-2, although he has yet to face the top rankers because of the depletion at the top. At sekiwake he wouldn't face any top rankers until week 2 anyway. It's the komusubi who get the rundown of the sanyaku from yokozuna downwards, and both shin-komusubi have somewhat survived a bruising. Edited July 10, 2021 by Seiyashi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gurowake 3,934 Posted July 10, 2021 10 minutes ago, Seiyashi said: At sekiwake he wouldn't face any top rankers until week 2 anyway. While it's true that with only 9 sanyaku, he wouldn't still have faced any, once you go up to 10 sanyaku you need 3 intrasanyaku matches every day (minus however many early days you only need 2 because of same heya exclusions). It's even worse when you get up to 11 sanyaku, and always need 3 matches from Day 1, and then start getting 4 in the middle of the tournament. It's been a long time since there were that many, but it was relatively common like 5 years ago. We're at a relative low for sanyaku even without accounting for the ones that aren't competing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reonito 1,341 Posted July 10, 2021 10 hours ago, Amamaniac said: That Enho victory over Hakuho in an exhibition bout may well have been Tobizaru's inspiration as to how to beat Hakuho. However, the flaw in that plan is that Hakuho fights against the likes of Enho and Ishiura all the time in keiko practice. Hakuho is used to those tactics and knows exactly how to deal with them. It just means biding his time until he can get a lethal mawashi grip! Let your opponent come to you. Don't try and charge against feisty opponents. They'll use your forward momentum against you. The other flaw in that plan is that this wasn't an exhibition bout. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reonito 1,341 Posted July 10, 2021 54 minutes ago, Gurowake said: It's even worse when you get up to 11 sanyaku I'd say "better"; this was pretty awesome, with lots of high-stakes bouts every day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thorbjarn 214 Posted July 10, 2021 Tobizaru v Hakuho was surreal to watch, but fun. Everybody seems to be playing checkers, but Hakuho and Terunofuji are playing chess right now. I really hope Takakeisho's herniated disc isn't to bad, but I can see a Nozeki November coming up... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seregost 130 Posted July 10, 2021 I don't know if makes sense to "love" one stable, but I'm always happy to see the Kokonoe guys win, no matter who. I always liked Chiyotaikai when he was wrestling, and to me, at least, any success from his pupils is a success for him. Talking about two of his sekitori, looks like Chiyotairyu and Chiyosoma are going opposite directions: the first has completely forgotten to follow with nice tsuppari after his trademark cannonball tachiai, something he did quite well not so long time ago. He's just charging, then pulling, again and again. OTOH, I feel truly delighted with Chiyosoma's "new" style. After coming back to Makuuchi, he's just doing straightforward sumo, using of course his typical bag of tricks, but doing nice sumo on the belt. And his henkas have diminished greatly. I hope he can keep it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WAKATAKE 2,637 Posted July 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Thorbjarn said: Tobizaru v Hakuho was surreal to watch, but fun. Everybody seems to be playing checkers, but Hakuho and Terunofuji are playing chess right now. I really hope Takakeisho's herniated disc isn't to bad, but I can see a Nozeki November coming up... The way things are going, you may be right. And there's no one to possibly replace them too. The ones with potential are still a year or two out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 3,736 Posted July 10, 2021 An Instagram from Naruto Oyakata on the day he does color commentary; first photo has a view of the interior of the Aichi Prefectural Gym. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yaochozuna 137 Posted July 10, 2021 Hmm, is it really Chiyoshoma? Limited henkas, proper bowing, polite demeanour … hasn't Arawashi sneaked back in? 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dada78641 884 Posted July 10, 2021 5 hours ago, Amamaniac said: Most of the Sumo Forum's attention seems to have fallen on Hakuho (and his partner in crime, Tobizaru) today. I am struggling to see a single mention of Terunofuji, and his bout against Kotoeko. He really looks like a yokozuna. What I like about his sumo is that it pretty much looks like if he stabilizes at all, he wins. If you're going to beat Terunofuji, it has to be from a strong tachiai into an attack. He has that in common with Hakuho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ViscountessNivlac 24 Posted July 10, 2021 I'm still thinking the Terunofuji-Hakuho showdown will either not happen or very handily go to Terunofuji because Hakuho gets broken in the next week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaninoyama 1,694 Posted July 10, 2021 11 hours ago, Amamaniac said: So I am now completely confused why commentators wear masks during broadcasts. The photo shows Abema TV commentator Takahashi Daisuke with guest commentator Gagamaru, both massless, standing well within the recommended social distancing guidelines ... with no plexiglass barrier. What's even more mystifying is making the opposite side NHK broadcaster, who is alone in a sealed box, wear one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tigerboy1966 1,385 Posted July 11, 2021 (edited) When a great chess master plays a simultaneous exhibition against multiple amateur opponents it's not unknown for the participants to try to throw the master off his game by playing an unorthodox opening like h3. It doesn't work. Tobizaru please take note. Edited July 11, 2021 by Tigerboy1966 copy edit 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ichimawashi 573 Posted July 11, 2021 Down goes Abi! Down goes Abi! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 44,400 Posted July 11, 2021 29 minutes ago, Ichimawashi said: Down goes Abi! Down goes Abi! He went for a henka and was favoring his bandaged leg. He looked injured to me. He even hopped for a second after losing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 44,400 Posted July 11, 2021 (edited) Jonokuchi- we're heading for a showdown between ex-Tokitsukaze's sons, both 4-0. Juryo- Takakeishou is doing well as Bushouzan. Oohou needs to have that mole looked at. How many more years will it take Mitoryuu to finally make it to Makuuchi? Kotoshouhou has totally lost his confidence. He doesn't look injured physically, ankle taped, but 2-6? Unless of course his ankle is hurting, in which case I'm going for a walk. Will Enhou ever return to Makuuchi? Not in the near future, the way he is fighting lately. He tried to mount the dohyo after his loss, saw it was too high after not being able to scale it, and went around to the steps. It was kind of sad. Yutakayama cruising back to Makuuchi after being totally shafted by the Banzuke makers this basho. Shouhouzan maybe should start searching for scissors. Well, he just won, so maybe just some nail clippers for now. Edited July 11, 2021 by Kintamayama 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaninoyama 1,694 Posted July 11, 2021 (edited) Not a single comment on today's makuuchi sumo happenings. The absence of The Woman on Nakabi has sucked all the life out of the basho that her presence brought yesterday. Edited July 11, 2021 by Kaninoyama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaikitsune Makoto 203 Posted July 11, 2021 Day 8 comments: KIribayama's left shoulder had salt residual before tachi-ai and it was dropping in small chunks like ice bergs sometimes behave and people watch in awe and post those on youtube. It was a beautiful and artistic moment. Probably sprinkled some salt there as injury had been there and this custom is common in sumo. His shoulder seemed fine after the bout against Takarafuji which he lost because Takarafuji was young and strong and Kisenosato Arashio oyakata (who is enthusiastic and envigorating human as commentator) was impressed and exhaled fumes of joy joy and respect. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaikitsune Makoto 203 Posted July 11, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kintamayama said: Jonokuchi- we're heading for a showdown between ex-Tokitsukaze's sons, both 4-0. Juryo- Takakeishou is doing well as Bushouzan. Oohou needs to have that mole looked at. How many more years will it take Mitoryuu to finally make it to Makuuchi? Kotoshouhou has totally lost his confidence. He doesn't look injured physically, ankle taped, but 2-6? Unless of course his ankle is hurting, in which case I'm going for a walk. Will Enhou ever return to Makuuchi? Not in the near future, the way he is fighting lately. He tried to mount the dohyo after his loss, saw it was too high after not being able to scale it, and went around to the steps. It was kind of sad. Yutakayama cruising back to Makuuchi after being totally shafted by the Banzuke makers this basho. Shouhouzan maybe should start searching for scissors. Well, he just won, so maybe just some nail clippers for now. Takakeishou is doing mostly pain killer swallowing I think. MItoryu will be in makuuchi in 2021. Oho's mole has been looked at already by thousands of people including you so I doubt more people needed to stare at his mole. Leave him and his mole alone. Kotoshohohouhou is complete mystery. Yutakayama looked very good today and has gained his strength back but it is not enough in makuuchi. Shouhouzan's support group, fan group, dad, mom and crazy always drunk friend will find those scissors, I am sure he does not have to find those himself. Edited July 11, 2021 by Kaikitsune Makoto addition 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ichimawashi 573 Posted July 11, 2021 Odd; with the banishment of Asanoyama we have the top three fighting contenders all on the East side, and since they will likely not meet until Day 13, each day ends in one of only two variants: Shodai stuggles, Terunofuji dominates, Hakuho finds a win somehow; or, Terunofuji dominates, Shodai stuggles, Hakuho finds a win somehow. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites