Basho Talk - Natsu Basho 2016 +++ Spoiler Alert! +++

[WAKATAKE]

He's doing all this on purpose.

We'll be seeing the elbow in his match against Kise then.

[wuli]

if i could, i'd ban head and neck strikes, altogether

strikes are not wrestling; they detract a great deal from what wrestling offers and, much worse, some of these coldcocking strikes result in permanent damage

[Morty]

Something came flying out of Ikioi's mouth after that whack to the jaw. At first I thought it was a tooth but on super slow-mo it was probably just spit...

[WAKATAKE]

if i could, i'd ban head and neck strikes, altogether

strikes are not wrestling; they detract a great deal from what wrestling offers and, much worse, some of these coldcocking strikes result in permanent damage

Wrestling is an English approximation of the term sumo, which is written in kanji with characters meaning roughly 'mutual strike'. Wrestling in Japanese is レスリング.

As an amateur wrestler I assure you we don't allow strikes like "kachiage" in our sport like the MMA does.

[hamcornheinz]

strikes are part of sumo. I don't know why anybody would think anything else. Without strikes you don't have Akebono.

Edited May 16, 2016 by hamcornheinz

[Morty]

strikes are part of sumo. I don't know why anybody would think anything else. Without strikes you don't have Akebono.

Yep. Sumo isn't wrestling, it's sumo.

[WAKATAKE]

if i could, i'd ban head and neck strikes, altogether

strikes are not wrestling; they detract a great deal from what wrestling offers and, much worse, some of these coldcocking strikes result in permanent damage

Wrestling is an English approximation of the term sumo, which is written in kanji with characters meaning roughly 'mutual strike'. Wrestling in Japanese is レスリング.

As an amateur wrestler I assure you we don't allow strikes like "kachiage" in our sport like the MMA does.

Yes, and wrestling is not sumo. As I said, wrestling and sumo are written very differently in Japanese, as well as being very different in practice. It's why I prefer to use the term sumo as opposed to Japanese wrestling (sorry Saori Yoshida).

In a way with the rules changes that they've made over the years wrestling has some things similar to sumo now. Like if you are forced out of the ring then your opponent will score one point.

[hamcornheinz]

if i could, i'd ban head and neck strikes, altogether

strikes are not wrestling; they detract a great deal from what wrestling offers and, much worse, some of these coldcocking strikes result in permanent damage

Wrestling is an English approximation of the term sumo, which is written in kanji with characters meaning roughly 'mutual strike'. Wrestling in Japanese is レスリング.

As an amateur wrestler I assure you we don't allow strikes like "kachiage" in our sport like the MMA does.

Yes, and wrestling is not sumo. As I said, wrestling and sumo are written very differently in Japanese, as well as being very different in practice. It's why I prefer to use the term sumo as opposed to Japanese wrestling (sorry Saori Yoshida).

In a way with the rules changes that they've made over the years wrestling has some things similar to sumo now. Like if you are forced out of the ring then your opponent will score one point.

By the way, why don't people take advantage of that more? It seems like its always an afterthought when they do do it. Is it because it's just one point? Because more often than not, they do win by one or 2 points only..

[wuli]

i understand and appreciate these distinctions between wrestling and sumo

thank you

still, i would be more than willing to banish head and neck strikes

it would be a very different sumo, different enough to need another name, but it would be a more human and beautiful endeavor than the sumo we know

yes, i would also ban boxing, cagefighting, etc

they each have a beauty, but not sufficient to make up for their ugly horror; these do not sufficiently advance the human effort to become better

[hamcornheinz]

to bring an old topic back in, in terms of long-term damage mma is less dangerous than football. What looks brutal often isn't as bad as it looks.

[kuroimori]

if i could, i'd ban head and neck strikes, altogether

strikes are not wrestling; they detract a great deal from what wrestling offers and, much worse, some of these coldcocking strikes result in permanent damage

Tsuppari and harite are also not wrestling, I don't like these techniques very much, but they are part of Sumo nonetheless.

You can avoid running into a kachi-age wall as well as you can avoid bull-charging into a tachiai henka.

Edited May 16, 2016 by kuroimori

[Fukurou]

Ikioi looked absolutely terrified. Taking deep breaths under Hakuho's stare he could have passed out before that knockout.

Back to the forearm knockout blows, is he? For some old stuff, check out Hak's act during Aki and Kyushu 2012.

Here's what he did to Myogiryu during Aki that year. Makes what happened to Ikioi look like a love tap, IMO:

At least Myogiryu got his revenge at Hatsu 2013. It always helps to know what's coming (from 7:55):

[Kintamayama]

He's doing all this on purpose.

We'll be seeing the elbow in his match against Kise then.

Common mistake I make-it's the forearm, not the elbow. Hitting someone with your elbow could be really funny..

[Kintamayama]

I daresay it's about time someone dared to henka Hakuhou. With him not playing nice, it would be an act of daring beauty if someone managed to execute a perfect henka to counteract his slapping/forearm/tsuppari and send him into the lap of some female woman.

But alas, Hakuhou is too quick and wide-eyed at the tachiai for anyone to succeed, I fear.

[808morgan]

He's doing all this on purpose.

We'll be seeing the elbow in his match against Kise then.

Common mistake I make-it's the forearm, not the elbow. Hitting someone with your elbow could be really funny..

Might not be funny from Hak!

I made some gifs of the Ikioi match. He was in a daze as he left, POW

http://sumobasho.tumblr.com/

Edited May 16, 2016 by 808morgan

[Kintamayama]

He's doing all this on purpose.

We'll be seeing the elbow in his match against Kise then.

Common mistake I make-it's the forearm, not the elbow. Hitting someone with your elbow could be really funny..

Might not be funny from Hak!

I made some gifs of the Ikioi match. He was in a daze as he left, POW

http://sumobasho.tumblr.com/

It's not the elbow-it's the forearm. Again.

[robnplunder]

strikes are part of sumo. I don't know why anybody would think anything else. Without strikes you don't have Akebono.

Slapping with open hand is part of sumo. Striking a chin with elbow is not, as I understand the game. Someone correct me if I am wrong on this. That's not to say that others don't do it. I just wish Ikio remembers it the next time he faces Fakhuho and return it in kind.

[inhashi]

Available in English translation, Kisenosato interviewed on turning 30, how he's feeling for Natsu, and finally faced the fact on howhe tends to lose at crucial moments and not yet won yusho.

Edited May 16, 2016 by inhashi

[RabidJohn]

i understand and appreciate these distinctions between wrestling and sumo

thank you

still, i would be more than willing to banish head and neck strikes

it would be a very different sumo, different enough to need another name, but it would be a more human and beautiful endeavor than the sumo we know

yes, i would also ban boxing, cagefighting, etc

they each have a beauty, but not sufficient to make up for their ugly horror; these do not sufficiently advance the human effort to become better

Wow, stop watching it then! Sumo is meant to be violent.

That perfectly legit forearm smash (which was a legit technique in British wrestling too) has a Sumo name: kachi-age. In my ignorance, I thought it meant something like 'winning move', cos of the 'kachi' (turns out it's a totally different root that just sounds similar).

Still, when I see it used to great effect by Hakuho and Osunaarashi, I still think of it as a winning move.

[Asojima]

Hakuho's standard tachiai attack over the last several bashos has been a slap to the face followed by a forearm shot to the chest. Ikioi came in with his left arm lowered, and he dropped his chin following the slap. The blow that normally hits the chest caught him dead on the chin. Nothing vicious here. Ikioi was unprepared for the expected attack sequence.

[robnplunder]

Hakuho is a complete package. He's big & quick. The only thing that will slow him down is his age (or lack of motivation). Perhaps, someone like Miketaoumi or Shodai can come up to the plate to challenge the top 3 including Hakuho.

[WAKATAKE]

Hakuho is a complete package. He's big & quick. The only thing that will slow him down is his age (or lack of motivation). Perhaps, someone like Miketaoumi or Shodai can come up to the plate to challenge the top 3 including Hakuho.

It is getting to the point in our time where there are many up and coming young rikishi that are slowly but assuredly making their way to the sekitori ranks. Some of them are already in Makuuchi, but have yet to find their true strengths and abilities. Yes, people like Shodai, Mitakeumi, even others like Sato and Ura. I would even be willing to throw in Kotokamatani to that list. Eras in sports are always a cycle; there will be a champion, those who rival him, and the younger generation will rise to challenge him. I think in time, perhaps two to three years, Hakuho will start losing more to a lot of these guys. He'll probably still keep going, but he won't be able to be as dominant. Somehow the greats know when it's time to hang it up.

[robnplunder]

I am not sure about Ura challenging the Makuchi Yusho. I like him but he lacks the size. Unless he balloons up a bit, he may end up being another Satoyama instead of being another Chionofusi.

[WAKATAKE]

After seeing how Ura handled Dewahayate, he is definitely a force to be reckoned with. He definitely has a lot of gino-sho prizes in his future.

[Jyuunomori]

Ura, you are The Chosen One. Makuuchi debut it inevitable for both Ura and Sato.