Canadian Sumo Hope

[Fay]

Homarenishiki vs Fukuazuma

[Kuroyama]

Poor boy bowed the wrong way after that matta...

[Kishinoyama]

Poor boy bowed the wrong way after that matta...

This is true but the bow was Homasho-esque. :-)

[WAKATAKE]

Still looked solid today, glad that he's doing well.

[ALAKTORN]

Yeah, he did great sumō today.

[Asashosakari]

Still looked solid today, glad that he's doing well.

He better be looking solid against an opponent who might not get a kachikoshi the rest of the year...

[Pandaazuma]

So he's going for oshi-zumou and using belt skills as a fall-back. As he develops and gets bigger, he should have a very strong oshi attack. I really hope he learns how to fight properly on the belt as well though - it could make him a formidable force. I have no doubt he will learn both!

[Fay]

Asanoshima vs Homarenishiki

[Senkoho]

Jonokuchi. Awkward as always.

[WAKATAKE]

Did one of the judges just tell the gyoji that he got the call wrong? No monoii on that one?

[Gurowake]

I think it was worth a mono-ii and at least cause the gyoji's initial decision to be respectable. What they did was just mean for how close that match actually was.

[ALAKTORN]

Is it me or did that gyōji not know very well what to do?

[WAKATAKE]

Is it me or did that gyōji not know very well what to do?

That is because he is more than likely not even 18 and very new to the sport. That's why he is in the jonokuchi, so he can learn from instances like that today.

[Akinomaki]

Shikimori Seisuke is the newest and youngest gyoji (15), joined in June and has his first dohyo appearance this basho.

[orandashoho]

[off-topic] Do these young gyōjis have to provide their own kimonos, or are they leant to them? These are very expensive outfits...

[Akinomaki]

Shikimori Seisuke is the newest and youngest gyoji (15), joined in June and has his first dohyo appearance this basho.

I checked the torikumi tables: This was actually the first day for him.

[Asashosakari]

I'd say that bout was a decent measure of Homarenishiki's current level, ranking-wise...upper-jonidan quality opponent with quite a few years of experience, and while Brodi came in quite high again, Asanoshima didn't really have the means to do all that much with it, despite the eventual close finish.

[Sumozumo]

Comparing his tachi-ai engagement with his performance in the US, it looks like he might be scared of hurting the thinner guys or something right now. Its very timid compared.

[Asashosakari]

If I'm "reading" the schedule correctly, his Day 12 opponent will be Yamatoarashi, another guy who's somewhat better than a jonokuchi ranking. Similar build to Homarenishiki, too, very tall but not that heavy. (And also somewhat limited technically from what I remember.)

[kosomo]

Comparing his tachi-ai engagement with his performance in the US, it looks like he might be scared of hurting the thinner guys or something right now. Its very timid compared.

I know it sounds counter intuitive but do you think that he may actually do better in a higher division where there isn't such a size disparity in his current division?

Homarenishiki Height: 196 cm

Homarenishiki Weight: 153 kg

Average Jonokuchi Height: 175 cm

Average Jonokuchi Weight: 108 kg

I'm sure he's having issues grabbing some of these guys that he's got more than 20cm and nearly 50kilos on.

Even if the technique was mediocre at best in the US Sumo Am. tourney's he was in, he must be used to going against much bigger guys being in the open weight division.

Again, I may be totally off-base here.

Edited July 21, 2015 by kosomo

[Asashosakari]

I know it sounds counter intuitive but do you think that he may actually do better in a higher division where there isn't such a size disparity in his current division?

Homarenishiki Height: 196 cm

Homarenishiki Weight: 153 kg

Average Jonokuchi Height: 175 cm

Average Jonokuchi Weight: 108 kg

He's only facing 7 opponents though, so the divisional average isn't very meaningful, IMHO. He'll probably do better next basho simply because there's a good chance that he will meet seven opponents who are actually ranked where they should be based on their skills, i.e. mid-low jonidan. His opponents so far aren't really jonokuchi-caliber except for Fukuazuma, but actually quite a bit better.

[kosomo]

His opponents thus far have been considerably smaller, both in height and especially weight:

Day 2 - Tsukimoto Mitsuhiro 180 cm 125 kg
Day 3 - Iwagami Taishi 179 cm 86 kg
Day 6 - Kiribayama 184 cm 94 kg
Day 8 - Fukuazuma Yuta 172 cm 107 kg
Day 10 - Asanoshima Jiro 168 cm 130 kg

[Asashosakari]

Well, according to reports Homarenishiki has lost some 20 kg since debuting... And you could just as well make the opposite argument that his opponents should be the ones with the problem, since they face 196 cm tall rikishi so rarely. The overall package is what matters, not singular attributes. And the fact of the matter is that Tsukimoto is almost certainly at least upper-mid sandanme level, Kiribayama low sandanme and Asanoshima upper-mid jonidan. He's going to meet easier opponents next time.

(I forgot about Iwagami though, that makes two jonokuchi-caliber opponents.)

[Odium]

As a fellow Canadian who once hoped to do what he had the guts to do, I really hope Brodi finds his way. All the best to him and I hope he makes sumo more popular in Canada so I will have people to train with!

[Orion]

[off-topic] Do these young gyōjis have to provide their own kimonos, or are they leant to them? These are very expensive outfits...

There's nothing expensive about a few meters of cotton. The heya normally provides the first, and the boy's family often clubs together to buy a spare.

Orion