Mawashi binding

[HenryK]

I noticed that in the Kotooshu-Kisenosato bout, Kotooshu tried several times to get a grip on Kisenosato's belt from a good position, but he could not get his fingers in. Hence he was essentially helpless when Kisenosato moved forward.

This gives rise to a wider question--are rikishi trying to bind their mawashi in ways that make it hard for their opponents to get a good hold--and are there are legal and illegal ways of binding a mawashi (similar to boxing, where there are legal and illegal ways of wrapping the boxer's hands)?

Any insights welcome.

[ryafuji]

I am sure this kind of thing goes on. If you look at the famous yusho-deciding bout between Chiyonofuji and Asahifuji in Nagoya 1990 (available

) you can see that Asahifuji's mawashi is tied so loosely that it start to come apart as soon as Chiyo gets a grip on it, and he is left holding a pathetic little strand that he cannot do much with. Now this was the most important match of Asahifuji's life as he needed to win it to earn promotion to yokozuna. Was this deliberate gamesmanship on his part? I have no idea but I have always been suspicious. Edited November 24, 2010 by ryafuji

[Orion]

This gives rise to a wider question--are rikishi trying to bind their mawashi in ways that make it hard for their opponents to get a good hold--and are there are legal and illegal ways of binding a mawashi (similar to boxing, where there are legal and illegal ways of wrapping the boxer's hands)?

Any insights welcome.

So long as the mawashi is correctly tied and, above all, doesn't come off during the bout (in which case the man is disqualified), anything goes -- and always has done. Two ways: a mawashi tied so tight that an opponent can't get his fingers inside, or so loose that the opponent can't get a firm grip. For the second kind, Mienoumi's chief tsukebito was credited with enabling many of his boss's wins; Arakawa's skill in tying a loose mawashi that didn't look loose was a byword among the regular observers.

Orion

[Kuroyama]

If I'm not mistaken, they sometimes wet the mawashi down to make it fit even tighter. When you see one that looks like the rikishi has been sweating through it, that's what's really going on.

[Afrozuna]

Lol @ Chyonofuji gripping the mawashi only to realise he's been tricked. All credit to him for not giving up but really didn't have much chance there without a good mawashi grip, if it had been Akebono he would have initiated some furious tsuppari when realising he's been tricked