Wajima-Takanohana bout

[Asojima]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS6ZjOlgTE4

And here, Wajima versus Takanohana (video shown during the speech). A bout in fronf of the Tenno- you see, nobody want's to loose, that's a bout...

WOW

A touch of nostalgia for Washuyama and me. Thanks much. (Clapping wildly...)

[Washuyama]

Very much so... Although that was even before my time a little as I only remember Wajima wearing a yellow/gold mawashi. Anywho, those two always had great bouts together... (Clapping wildly...)

[Kotonosato]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS6ZjOlgTE4

And here, Wajima versus Takanohana (video shown during the speech). A bout in fronf of the Tenno- you see, nobody want's to loose, that's a bout...

WOW

A touch of nostalgia for Washuyama and me. Thanks much. :-O

That is definitely one of the greatest bouts I've ever seen! :-P

[aderechelsea]

That is definitely one of the greatest bouts I've ever seen! (Sign of approval...)

when someone who is not into sumo asks me to show him a great sumo bout i always use this one. Everytime i watch it i have a silly grin of happiness on my face .... (Enjoyable TV program...)

[Jakusotsu]

...if only the gyoji wasn't so annoying!

[Kotonosato]

...if only the gyoji wasn't so annoying!

I was thinking it was quite rare for a makuuchi gyoji to have such a weak voice. Maybe he was just having an off day.

[Manekineko]

Split from the Demon Kogure thread. Douzo.

[Asojima]

Between 1971 and 1980, there was a tremendous rivalry between Wajima, Takanohana and Kitanoumi. Wajima met Taka 48 times and Kita 46 times. Kita met Taka 48 times. Kita had a slight edge in wins against the other two, and Wajima had a slight edge over Taka. Most of the matches were absolutely stunning yotsu contests of give and take, move and counter-move and most ended in either a spectacular nage or powerful lift out. For ten years, these were the matches that were the must sees in each basho. The one in the video is the longest and most fascinating of the bunch, but it gives a flavor of the nature of the contests. There have to be VHS and DVD anthologies available covering these matches. You simply do not see sumo like that any more. It was a great era.

[Washuyama]

Those three definitely ruled sumo at the time, however as Kitanoumi was slightly younger, he began to pretty much dominate around 1977 ish. The final day bout between Kita and Wajima was my Super Bowl as a young boy.

[Gusoyama]

You simply do not see sumo like that any more. It was a great era.

Seriously, can anyone think of(and hopefully post) a match nearly magnificent as this one in the last 5 years? There was a Hakuho/Asashoryu match last year(I think) that was amazing, but nothing to this level.

[Jonosuke]

And they were the best buddies off dohyo.

They also trained together as Wajima was with Hanakago and Takanohana was with Futagoyama.

If I recall Wajima was instrumental in the old Takanohana marrying his wife.

I won't delve into it too much but there were lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about Wajima and Futahaguro.

When people dismiss them as weak yokozuna, I want to tell them go take a look at some of their bouts against other yokozuna and ozeki.

[Asojima]

Personally I don't like those old long bouts.

It got very hard holding your breath that long waiting for the spectacular move that you knew would end it. (Holiday feeling...)

[Jonosuke]

In the old days of professional wrestling they had two out of three 60 minute matches. Guys like Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz and Rikodozan often settled their matches with these long 60 minute bouts in their prime.

We no longer live in the era. We all live in a busier world now, so our attention span is shorter. Now we have WWE and their comic opera in which the matches often end in several minutes.

Sumo had its days of long bouts. Way back they had less number of basho or days in a basho. So they had to settle with the opponent that day or they never knew when they'd face each other again. And they also used to have draws and holds.

Even after 15 day basho came, the shisho were much tougher in the good old days and if a rikishi does not perform up to par, he would have had to answer to the shisho and the rikishi expected nothing less.

So these guys never gave up easily once they started their bout. They didn't care about risk of injury or the next day, they only competed for that day and worry about their next bout the next day. They had their pride of their rank, of job well done.

When two rikishi are in the middle of the dohyo with both hands in the other's mawashi, they are not just standing and singing karaoke holding a mike. If they let their hands go or stop pressing the opponent, the opponent will know and he can be quickly taken out of the dohyo. Looking from far, they may be virtually motionless but in the close range, there is a whole new world of two titans breathing hard trying to shove, pull and push. We've just witnessed a bit of it today with Asasekiryu and Aminishiki, neither wanted to lose to the other sekiwake.

Today for most rikishi, the fear of injury often outweighs anything else. When they get close to the edge, they rarely try to step in hard and stay in or worse attempt something like an Utchari. Why risk an injury today and lose the rest of the basho and fall down on the banzuke needlessly? After all, when all he is losing is just one bout.

They want to come back strong for the next day. They'd be thinking more like whatever happens today, they get a chance to get it back tomorrow.

There was a time not so long ago when longer bouts had their merit.

[Chisaiyama]

My point though was as a spectacle it's not the best even though a lot is going on technically.

Perhaps but I think the people in the arena paying out the good money might not agree with you. Have you ever noticed the incredible applause one of these matches get? Even one of the "minor" variety such as Aminishiki and Asaseikiryu got tons of applause and appreciation from the crowd. I started watching sumo during the Takanohana-Wajima era and we loved those bouts in those days. The tsuppari kings such as Takamiyama in his early days were okay but give me a great yotsu match any time.

[Washuyama]

...but give me a great yotsu match any time.

I agree... I used to love the "little guy" matches too, like Asahikuni/Washuyama or Masuiyama/Wakamisugi (prior to their promotions to ozeki and yokozuna respectively)