sumojoann

Happy Birthday to you, Asojima!! Us geezers and geezerettes need to support each other. Thinking of you on your Special Day!

I hope you will post more about your sumo-related travels with Mr Pibb. Very informative as well as entertaining. I love that Mr Pibb is an influencer on Instagram!

Welcome to the Forum, Offely! Lots of friendly folks. We look forward to your participation.

This past October at the Fan Appreciation event, he was the one playing table tennis with the public. He looked very happy and relaxed. Maybe that experience exacerbated any feelings of restlessness or dissatisfaction he might be having over his lot in life.

That's very strange! No problem at this end and my computer is VERY old and often gives me problems. I've also never seen that kind of error message before.

EDIT TO ADD THIS MESSAGE -- I THINK I HAVE MESSED UP THE VOTE COUNT BY MAKING A SECOND POST RATHER THAN EDITING MY FIRST POST TO ASK ABOUT THE YOKOZUNA-OZEKI SITUATION. IF I HAVE CAUSED A PROBLEM, LMK BY PRIVATE MESSAGE AND I WILL EDIT MY FIRST POST AND DELETE THIS POST. (THE VOTE COUNT SHOWS 6 BUT IN REALITY ONLY 5 HAVE VOTED). I have to say, I'm very confused about this concept of "Yokozuna-Ozeki." Does this mean that there would never be a situation where there would be 2 Ozeki but NO Yokozuna? Would the O-East automatically become a Yokozuna-Ozeki? When would there be a situation where there would be NO Yokozuna but TWO Yokozuna-Ozeki? Do I have to change my answer to show that Abi would be Yokozuna-Ozeki? What about Hoshoryu? Thanks!

- - - - - - - Y - - - - - - Abi - - - - O - - - - Hoshoryu Much as I admire Terunofuji, I feel like it's inevitable that his body (or critical parts he needs) will give out soon. I predict he will come back from his recent surgery and compete and maybe even win a Yusho but will be kyujo for Nagoya. He might even attempt to fight at Kyushu but will suffer a serious injury that will cause him to go kyujo again before Day 15. At that point, he will finally give up the battle and will reluctantly retire by the end of 2023. Abi has a lot going for him, not all of it positive, in my mind. He has a very strong "killer" instinct and has been very successful doing his own brand of sumo, which consists of using his height and amazingly long arms to get at the neck of his opponents and strangle them! He is so quick and confident that his opponents don't seem to be able to counter his attacks. I see him going as far as Ozeki sometime in 2023. Just hope he doesn't get injured (those supporters on both his elbows concern me). Hoshoryu keeps improving all the time and I'm amazed at his versatility and technical skill. He is also highly driven to prove himself to Uncle. He knows what it takes to succeed and is very very serious about winning. His leg trips are amazing. He will be promoted to Ozeki by the end of 2023. I lack confidence in Takakeisho. He has generally managed to avoid injury but boy, when he's injured, he doesn't seem very resilient to me. He looks intimidating and that left paw of his is amazing. I DON'T want to jinx him, but I worry that he will suffer an injury that will ultimately cause him to lose his Ozeki rank sometime in 2023. I pray that I am wrong. Neither Shodai (mentally) nor Mitakeumi (mentally and possibly physically) are in any shape to regain their Ozeki ranks in 2023 or probably ever. There are several other interesting up-and-comers but it's such a BIG LEAP to get to Ozeki that I don't see it happening in time for the January 2024 banzuke. I'm impressed with Wakamotoharu who seems to be catching up with his bro, Wakatakakage, whom I had high hopes for after his Yusho. Wakatakakage seems too inconsistent to be an Ozeki contender, though. Maybe in 2024 he'll achieve it. That sibling rivalry will push both of them. Takanosho looked soooo promising a year ago. A very good rikishi, a very nice guy from what I've heard, but something must be wrong. Injury? Nishikifuji impressed me. New guy in Makuuchi but calm and confident. Oho promising but inconsistent. Kiribayama earned an impressive 11-4 in his Makuuchi debut and won a special prize, and though he has had some amazing Ozeki-worthy bouts, I don't see him as an Ozeki on the January 2024 banzuke. Okay, y'all please forgive my stream-of-consciousness babble. This is what's actually going on in my brain!

Here is my second-favorite, and really the only other rap song I like. It's "Lose Yourself" by Eminem and is from the movie "8 Mile" (2002).

Yes!! Amish Paradise! LOL Hilarious!

Here's another excellent video to show stupid people what an exciting sport sumo is, and to get them out of that ignorant mindset that sumo is just fat guys in diapers belly-bumping. I find that if I show people videos of Enho (winning, of course!), I may not get a convert to sumo fandom, but it does seem to open people's eyes to the fact that there is a lot more to the sport. I then get a chance to explain that there are no weight classes, the ring is only 15 feet wide, the wrestlers wear nothing but the mawashi, the meaning of salt-throwing, the strong ties with the Shinto religion, etc, etc. Enho did single-handedly convert one acquaintance of mine into a fan, mainly of Enho, though! She kept going outside for cigarette breaks but told me later that she always took her phone so she could watch YT videos of his bouts while smoking!

Here is a great video to show your ignoramuses. It has a lot going for it! 1) It shows the GOAT's 30th winning Yusho; 2) lots of belt-grabbing, very little belly-bumping; 3) shows only the end of each bout, good for short attention spans; 4) shows the name of the winning technique at the end of each bout to help them understand that not every bout is the same; 5) has music to entertain them!

I normally don't care for rap music, but I make a HUGE exception for "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio (R.I.P.) from the 1995 movie "Dangerous Minds". This song became much bigger than the movie. The melody and chorus add a lot of emotion to the song and lyrics. Far beyond a typical rap song.

The Fox 4 News segment was very well done! All of the participants communicated so well and their enthusiasm was palpable. I wish you continued success in growing the Dallas Sumo Club, the other sumo clubs in Texas and elsewhere in the US. Y'all are definitely on your way!

Below is a post written by @Akinomaki, who was answering a question in another thread from someone who wanted information on the best way to buy sumo tickets. NOTE: ----- He indicates that the ticket terminals at the 7/11s can be switched to English. Assuming there haven't been any changes, that should solve your language issue at the 7/11. However, I can't determine from your post, @since_94, if you have already ordered your tickets. Akinomaki indicates that if you order from the official site, you would have to register and buy from the Japanese pages. So if you haven't ordered your tickets yet, I would recommend you order from buysumotickets.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Posted November 9 by @Akinomaki) "Not quite as easy, but you can nowadays always get tickets directly from the official site, till a day before you plan to go to visit the basho. Unfortunately they more or less scrapped the English side and you have to register and buy from the Japanese pages, when sales have started. Since there is hardly ever a sellout now, you can still buy tickets when you are in Japan, at the 7/11 convenience stores where you have to collect your tickets also when you order via the site. The ticket terminals there can be switched to English. There was a TicketsToday service for foreigners, but I can't access the site now and don't know if it still works." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you already placed your order? If not, I recommend you purchase your tickets through buysumotickets.com. So quick and easy. Even my Japanese friend in Japan gets his ticket this way.

Very touching music. Not a word was spoken by anyone. The music said it all...

Another one of my faves where you only have to listen to the first 2 notes to instantly identify which movie it's from. I still remember the day many years ago when the movie first opened in the theaters. It was playing in the auditorium next door to our auditorium where we were watching a different movie. Suddenly, we heard blood-curdling screams coming from the audience next door!!!! Had NEVER heard anything like that, before or since.

My all-time favorite science fiction movie is Blade Runner, the original one from 1982, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford. The music was composed and performed by Vangelis. I especially like the music in the end titles.

I always liked Aminishiki and I think he will be a great success. Was his leaving Isegahama beya planned all along or was this a sudden, unexpected move?

Funny you should say that. The first time I saw Hokutofuji, I thought he looked like a hit man! He was scary-looking. But then I found out that he is considered to be one of the nicest rikishi out of the whole bunch.

Here is Mainoumi leaping into the air like a rabbit at the tachi-ai. It's at the very beginning of the video. (The cursor jumped forward on my computer. You may have to set it back). Almost as dramatic as Hayateumi.

Some interesting background information in the SF Glossary about hassou-tobi ----- hassou-tobi, rare jump upwards at the tachiai by a rikishi attempting to surprise his forward leaning charging aite, when the move works it is a real crowd-pleaser and can be a spectacular way of winning; the originator of the term into sumo was moto-yokozuna Wakanohana I, originates from the story of Yoshitsune from Genji-Heishi war (1185) where according to legend Yoshitsune jumped from one enemy boat to another juking enemies around, it was said he could jump over eight boats (hassou no fune), nowadays Hayateumi has started to use this jump as part of his sumo repertoire.

Here's one more video I'm not able to watch. Does it have hassou-tobi in it?

Interesting information about the hassou-tobi on the SF Glossary. It mentioned that a rikishi named Hayateumi used it. I found this old YT video of one of his bouts but my browser is so old, it won't allow me to watch the video. Does it show him using the hassou-tobi?

That's because Ichinojo gave them BOTH a BIG PUSH!! You can tell by the sh**eating grin.