Asa beats up on Sakari

[Kotoku 0]

I think there are some misconceptions about sumo in this thread. First, keiko is never pretty. Any time you go to asa geiko in Tokyo, you will see far worse than what the yokozuna did. In the not-too-recent-past, young deshi would die form heart attacks on the keikoba. There hasn't been one in the past 10 years or so, but there was one in the judo world a few weeks past.

Takamisakari... he has a great outside grip, but he has gotten too far into the clown routine. What was natural and appealing in the beginning is now just foolish. There are very few Japanese rikishi worth squat these days, so I think that the yokozuna was doing the koenkai a HUGE favour in reiminding everyone that sumo should be deadly serious.

This kawai -- "cute" -- crap that permeates Japanese culture from top to bottom these days masks incompotence of appalling proportions. Last week, the friggin' Haneda airport control tower went out of biz for hours, because someone frogot it was running on backup batteries. The government is still spending yen like drunken sailors, and it seems a pol resigns every week or worse, kills himself, because of some discovered venality or stupidity.

Sumo is or should be pure... a winner and a loser after a confrontation. That is sumo, pure and simple. Unfortunately, between the Waka-Taka circus, a bunch of "spiritless" sumo by the worst ozeki crew in recent memory and a dreary collection of foreigners -- the Mongols excepted -- who need to shave more and get some manners, and you have a particularly ugly situation at hon basho...

I wrote this somewhere else:

My romanji is awful, so beware of the speling...-L- If you go to asa geiko long enough, you will see some guys getting the snot kicked out of them, literally. I never really enjoyed that part, it was even worse than having to sit there under Kawauchi's baleful gaze...

But I have to tell you, I was really disappointed in the level of sumo the past two-and-a-half years I was in Tokyo. Now that I am back in my California home, I don't think I'l miss the basho like I used to.

The rikishi of these days -- the Japanese ones anyway -- are just awful. Their technique stinks, they have no fighting spirit and they are too fat. What is the fun of sitting through four minutes of shikari, only to see some idiot side-step and let their equally lazy opponent fall on his face.

I know, we have all discussed the relative value of henka before, but that's not what fans want to see. They want action, and if they don't get it at kokogikan, then they'll watch K-1, and screw sumo. And the tremendous drop in sumo's popularity reflects the pure garbage the association is letting pass on the dohyo.

There was a Japanese movie a few years ago. The star was the same actor who beat Tom Cruise senseless in "Last Samurai." The movie -- Tasugari Sebei -- and I apologize again if the romanji sucks, was about the end of the shogunate. Samurai had become salarymen. There was only one guy in their "office" who could fight, and he ended up doing their dirty work. He was poor, and a widower, but he still "had it." This is one of the best movies I have seen period, so don't miss it.

I love Asashoryu's sumo cause he doesn't take the easy road. He kicks butt, period. Like most Japanese fans, I could care less about all the gimracks around the dohyo. Hey they New York Yankees, uniforms have one less pinstrip compared to the 1949 version. Not really, but would you care? Not me, I want to see a cracking good baseball game, and when I watch sumo, I want to see technique, bravery, resourcefulness and finality. Who has the most kensho, or who is the oldest yobidashi means zip if the real product is sucking eggs.

I think Asashoryu -- as the sole yokozuna with no one else in sight -- should publicly smack around every one of those lazy blobs in public, starting with Miyabiyama and Chiyotaikai. Just beat them til they puke. Either they start acting like rikishi instead of matadors or get out and let some other guys have a crack at it. Otherwise sumo is doomed... YMMV

Asashoryu is a true yokozuna coming from an equally honorable tradition of sumo. IMHO, you would have to go back to Kitanoumi to find a rikishi who could beat him better than 50% of the time, and even that might a stretch...

[Gusoyama 98]

Asashoryu is a true yokozuna coming from an equally honorable tradition of sumo.  IMHO, you would have to go back to Kitanoumi to find a rikishi who could beat him better than 50% of the time, and even that might a stretch...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apples and oranges. Its something we'll never know until we invent that time machine. Tochiazuma is no great yokozuna, but can handle Asa quite well when he's healthy.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

if i remember correctly kiao on one of his "tsuna runs" :-(  actually had his arm messed up by sakari who was acting as a dead weight in prebasho keiko instead of doing it correctly

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While not debating that Robocop is very lacklustre in training (have seen it in person on several occasions...Ushiomary & crew mopping the dohyo with 'Sakari), I do think Kaio will use any excuse for his lack of performance on his numerous yet unsuccessful tsunatori basho. (Sad goodbyes...)

[Mark Buckton 1]

I think there are some misconceptions about sumo in this thread.

Edited August 13, 2005 by Adachinoryu

[Petr 0]

I find the in-front-of-TV beating-and-puking kind of laments quite perverse.

I know that the popularity of sumo among Japanese is declining but it seems to me unfair to put all the blame on the rikishi. Btw. are you sure that the present 'lazy blobs' are not actually stronger the grand Yokozunas 40, 30, 20 years ago were?

[Kintamayama 44,639]

I find the in-front-of-TV beating-and-puking kind of laments quite perverse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hehe...ironic sentence considering Kotoku's identity..

[Kotoku 0]

I have absolutely no understanding about what you are talking about. Would you care to elaborate? As for the (un)happy faces inserted into my thread, that's pretty interesting too.

Firmly in the 21st Century, just like Annette and Bobby...

[Mark Buckton 1]

I have absolutely no understanding about what you are talking about.  Would you care to elaborate?  As for the (un)happy faces inserted into my thread, that's pretty interesting too.

Firmly in the 21st Century, just like Annette and Bobby...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

between the questioning faces are my comments - think you are simply exaggerating much and reminiscing too much - also - would you be happy if Mr Kawauchi - still in position as you know - went around using your name in public - on the Japanese sites?

[Kotoku 0]

Wow...the bile and bilge...-L- This is a Japanese site? Hmmmm... coulda fooled me, looks like English from where I sit. Kawauchi has a job 100% soley because of Glenn and myself. He'd still be arbiting -- now that's a pretty cool gerund -- his skinny butt off at Fuji if it wasn't for that program,but I digress.

Soooooooo... we have here an unhappy camper named adachi-swomething who must be part of what's left of the English broadcasts... and a nasty one at that.

I stand 100% behind what I posted, and I'm not gonna waste bandwidth splitting hairs with you. But really, you need to get a grip. Your personal attack on me makes you look pretty foolish...

Yours for better tachiai and colder beer...

[Mark Buckton 1]

Wow...the bile and bilge...-L-  This is a Japanese site?  Hmmmm... coulda fooled me, looks like English from where I sit.  Kawauchi has a job 100% soley because of Glenn and myself.  He'd still be arbiting -- now that's a pretty cool gerund -- his skinny butt off at Fuji if it wasn't for that program,but I digress.

Soooooooo... we have here an unhappy camper named adachi-swomething who must be part of what's left of the English broadcasts...  and a nasty one at that.

I stand 100% behind what I posted, and I'm not gonna waste bandwidth splitting hairs with you.  But really, you need to get a grip.  Your personal attack on me makes you look pretty foolish...

Yours for better tachiai and colder beer...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A bitter twisted individual who was pissed off the nation he moved to didn't change to accommodate him if I am not mistaken?

Irrspective of your 'I was here first, yes I was, if you don't believe me ask so and so, knew lardidah before you ever did etc etc bollocks MO' -

I think sumo will survive without you, with out me, Asashoryu - any single person. Don't you? Kawauchi-san too methinks.

Oh - ' around using your name in public - on the Japanese sites?' - does this read as this is a Japanese site? (Sad goodbyes...)

Thank Q for reading.

[Mark Buckton 1]

anyway - this thread has gone far far off topic so I'll follow NHK's, Japan the nation and SML's lead - and ignore you - bye bye.

[Lucius Flavonius 0]

A bitter twisted individual who was pissed off the nation he moved to didn't change to accommodate him if I am not mistaken? 

Irrspective of your 'I was here first, yes I was, if you don't believe me ask so and so, knew lardidah before you ever did etc etc bollocks MO' -

I think sumo will survive without you, with out me, Asashoryu - any single person. Don't you? Kawauchi-san too methinks.

Oh - ' around using your name in public - on the Japanese sites?' - does this read as this is a Japanese site?  (Sad goodbyes...)

Thank Q for reading.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How funny! Europeans get insulted real fast. Probably, they can't handle the weight of an honest word.

[Sasanishiki 57]

OK, both of you, take your personal squabbling over the past out of this thread. If oyu want to beat up on each other (not the irony in terms of the thread title) then do it via PM. Don't subject the rest of us to your tit-for-tat squabbling when it has nothing to do with the thread.

[Asashosakari 18,959]

I'm just wondering what an ounce of Flavonius-brand Honest Word goes for on the market...

[Kotoku 0]

I have absoulutely no idea who this guy is. I posted what I thought was a straight-up comment on Asashoryu and get all of this baloney. I love Japan, have lived there with my Japanese wife and her mom for 16 years.

Whoever you are, you need to chill out...

Edited August 14, 2005 by Kotoku

[Erkhembulgan 0]

Asashoryu is a true yokozuna coming from an equally honorable tradition of sumo.

[Fukurou 534]

OK, both of you, take your personal squabbling over the past out of this thread. If oyu want to beat up on each other (not the irony in terms of the thread title) then do it via PM. Don't subject the rest of us to your tit-for-tat squabbling when it has nothing to do with the thread.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agreed! (Shaking head...)

[Gusoyama 98]

What do you mean, man? I don't think that Tochiazuma is mostly "unhealthy" and Asa is always"healthy". Tochiazuma is good, but he is far from being like Asashoryu.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I merely was mentioning Tochiazuma because he has around a .500 record against Asashoryu. I recognize that Tochiazuma is not as good as Asa, I was actually using that point to show that Kokoku's statement that "you would have to go back to Kitanoumi to find a rikishi who could beat him better than 50% of the time" was questionable at best. We simply don't know how Asa would do against Takanohana, Akebono, Musashimaru, etc, at their peak. I hope this clears things up for you.