Kyushu 2023 discussion (results)

[sumojoann]

What was the name of that kimarite that Takayasu used in his bout with Hoshoryu?  It was great!!

Edited November 17, 2023 by sumojoann

[since_94]

I vote Nishikigi for Man of the Match! Sky crane on Hokuseiho?!?!?! Tochinoshin will be proud. Also great fight by Takayasu to put the glowering one in the dirt. Love it!

[Kaninoyama]

Great day of sumo. Shakeup at the top as two Ozeki fall. Kotonowaka looking. solid. Gonoyama looks like the real deal despite his match record thus far. Was screaming at Takayasu to go for the leg, and he finally heard me. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by Kaninoyama

[sumojoann]

This was an amazing night of sumo!  My jaw hit the ground when Nishikigi of all people actually picked up Hokuseiho.  

Edited November 17, 2023 by sumojoann
To correct spelling

[Hankegami]

Happy Day 6 to everyone. My thought on the main Makuuchi matches:

Ichiyamamoto finally enters my radar by going 6-0 for his first time in Makuuchi. It was already observed here that he once went 5-0 (Natsu 2022), but he finished 8-7 mostly because he was put right in the san'yaku grinder for his last five days (went 8-2 > 8-7, poor chap). I highly doubt that he would do any better if he were to be put against them again, but this time he has room to hit 10+ for the second time after this Hatsu.

Tamawashi in the last two days has been a distant cousin of the man who oshiwashi'd (Moti (C) certified copyright) people out in the first four days of the basho. Birthday effect, anyone? Or perhaps a comeback of some injury he suffered from back in Aki? For certain, losing steam after four strong days reminds very close of post-Ozeki run Mitakeumi.

Atamifuji dropped one today. More than his ingenuity, it's more Sadanoumi's expertise at work. He got a solid two arms grip on Atamin and, more importantly, he denied the latter any grip of sort while working him out. Extremely, extremely brilliant.

Daieisho is harming himself once again. He overextended like Superman and went on the floor while Shodai had just to stand up to get his shiroboshi. Sigh.

Now, I guess I have to give Kotonowaka his due. Four Tits hits 6-0 and looks like an unmovable wall. I don't know how many oshi wrestlers can shove him out at this point. He will surely hunt Takakeisho's nights before their bout likely sometime in the last five days of this tournament. Kirishima and his recent penchant for oshi matches (today against Gonoyama of all people) can be in danger by the time Sekiwake and Ozeki will get paired up.

Talking about Takakeisho, the Hamster just jumped over one first serious hump (Tobizaru) and looks every inch 300% determined to get a back-to-back Yusho and finally grasp that damn rope with those tiny T-Rex hands of his. Did you notice that for a moment he even considered going for the belt? I mean, Tobizaru is weight and height wise an ideal test for some yotsu game for 'Keisho, but it was unexpected nonetheless. I am really curious on how far the Hamster will go this Kyushu.

Finally, Hoshoryu, I mean Takayasu. It's a shame that Papa Bear is already at 3 losses because in some days he definitively looks like the very man to defeat. Barring some surprising winning strike, Takayasu is likely out of yusho contention already (aside from Aki 11-4P, yusho bars are on a 12-3 level), but if he goes full bear more often he can still grab a sansho.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Hankegami

[Kishinoyama]

Excerpt from the shimpan meeting with Hoshoryu: 

Shimpan department: You know that you are being called into this meeting to discuss the stare down with Gonoyama.

Hoshoryu: It was just a stare down.

Shimpan department: Stare downs are allowed but that was lasted far longer than a normal stare down.

Hoshoryu:  I was just having some fun with my buddy Gonoyama.

Shimpan department: None of that matters. No more stare downs long enough for the people watching to make a sandwich.

Hoshoryu: Okay, okay…. What is my punishment?

Shimpan department: You will lose tomorrow.

Hoshoryu: Lose tomorrow? 

Shimpan department: That is correct.

Hoshoryu: That is too severe.

Shimpan department: Normally we would agree but after reading some comments on the sumo forum, we felt we had no choice. 

Disclaimer #1: None of the conversation above actually happened.

Disclaimer #2: Happy Friday if it is still Friday where you live. 

 

 

[RabidJohn]

I was greatly entertained today. The memory of Nishikigi hoisting Hokuseiho skyward will cheer me up when times are hard.

Great defence from Kotonowaka. He's better than his dad was - probably those yokozuna genes he got from his mum.

Stunning win by Takayasu, but props to both rikishi for avoiding bowling Inosuke despite the tate-gyoji's best efforts to get bowled.

[Koorifuu]

While watching Shodai win today thanks to his incredible ability to stay on his two feet regardless of whatever force is being applied to him, something dawned on me; he's very rarely defeated by being sent to the floor. It's almost always via being sent out of the dohyo. The numbers certainly back it up - 

Losses of Shodai

yorikiri	105
oshidashi	99
tsukidashi	23
tsukiotoshi	16
yoritaoshi	16
hikiotoshi	12
okuridashi	12
uwatenage	12
hatakikomi	11
oshitaoshi	11

Edited November 17, 2023 by Koorifuu

[dingo]

Wakatakakage still can't use his injured leg much. Today he was favouring it a lot, avoiding pressure as much as possible. And it was mostly useless when pressed against the tawara. Only he knows how much of is is physical and how much mental, but the fact is Wakatakakage is far away from the rikishi he used to be.

Wow, Nishikigi is about the last rikishi who I imagined using tsuridashi, especially against Hokuseiho of all people! After a shaky start Nishikigi has been getting into the groove in recent days.

Hokutofuji proved to be a quite troublesome opponent to Kotonowaka, but he managed to overcome the former eventually. Today was much shakier from Kotonowaka, wonder if the pressure to win is starting to affect him.

Gounoyama got the ozeki scalp he couldn't get yesterday. Despite the 2-4 scoreline he might go on to get a kachikoshi yet.

And just like that Kotonowaka and Ichiyamamoto are the lossless coleaders! Hoshoryuu couldn't have made it more obvious for Takayasu to pick up his leg, so he really should not be surprised or ended like this. Takayasu may not be an ozeki anymore, but he hasn't forgotten how to do ozeki sumo. 

[ouflak]

3 hours ago, sumojoann said:

What was the name of that kimarite that Takayasu used in his bout with Hoshoryu?  It was great!!

Looks like they've called it as a komatasukui.

Edited November 17, 2023 by ouflak

[sumojoann]

1 hour ago, ouflak said:

Looks like they've called it as a komatasukui.

Thanks!  My little folding kimarite guide tells me that that is an "over thigh scooping body drop."  It must be quite rare.  I don't think I've ever see it before.

[Tochinofuji]

I have to say, watching Wakatakakage today hurt my soul a bit. A ways to go before we'll see him in the top division again, but I have hope he'll turn things around in the coming months. Again, hopefully it's a mental thing and he just needs a basho or two to feel it out.

However, the tsuridashi from Nishikigi and the komatasukui from Takayasu were things of BEAUTY. Just phenomenal sumo. And with Gonoyama channeling some Chiyotaikai-in-his-prime vibes, it was a great day overall. 

[Tetsuba]

1 hour ago, sumojoann said:

Thanks!  My little folding kimarite guide tells me that that is an "over thigh scooping body drop."  It must be quite rare.  I don't think I've ever see it before.

Teru did one against Kiribayama a year or two ago, if my memory serves right.
Found it, 2 years ago :

[sumojoann]

29 minutes ago, Tetsuba said:

Teru did one against Kiribayama a year or two ago, if my memory serves right.
Found it, 2 years ago :

You have a very good memory.  Thank you!

[Bunbukuchagama]

7 hours ago, since_94 said:

I vote Nishikigi for Man of the Match! Sky crane on Hokuseiho?!?!?! Tochinoshin will be proud.

...And we added "lift him like a sack of potatoes" to our "One Thousand and One Ways to Defeat Hokuseiho" book.

[Yamanashi]

1 hour ago, Tetsuba said:

Teru did one against Kiribayama a year or two ago, if my memory serves right.
Found it, 2 years ago :

As I recall, Terunofuji's was a real tactic.  Looking at Takayasu vs Hoshoryu again, I had to laugh: Hoshoryu just laid that leg out there forever, and Takayasu kept trying to grab it like it was a Christmas ham.

[Bunbukuchagama]

8 hours ago, sumojoann said:

This was an amazing night of sumo!  My jaw hit the ground when Nishikifuji of all people actually picked up Hokuseiho.  

Nishikigi, you mean? He is actually very strong.

[Seregost]

I like Hoshoryu, his technique and sometimes even his petulant manners...he amuses me when he tries to intimidate his opponents like yesterday. But OTOH I really enjoyed that humble pie he ate today, handled by my beloved Papayasu. The stare down against the Bear some bashos ago didn't work either.

[Bunbukuchagama]

8 hours ago, Kaninoyama said:

Great day of sumo.

Great? It looked like somebody turned the clock back to the terrible Aki basho. Chaos all over the place.

[Bunbukuchagama]

4 hours ago, dingo said:

Wakatakakage still can't use his injured leg much. Today he was favouring it a lot, avoiding pressure as much as possible. And it was mostly useless when pressed against the tawara. Only he knows how much of is is physical and how much mental, but the fact is Wakatakakage is far away from the rikishi he used to be.

As I mentioned before, he shouldn't feel any pain or instability in his knee at this point - he wouldn't be allowed to even train if he did.

It's all mental. He has to learn to trust his body again.

[Koorifuu]

20 minutes ago, Bunbukuchagama said:

As I mentioned before, he shouldn't feel any pain or instability in his knee at this point - he wouldn't be allowed to even train if he did.

It's all mental. He has to learn to trust his body again.

True for any modern sport, but honestly, rikishi powering through seriously debilitating injuries is almost as much of a sumo tradition as the dohyo-iri is.

[Seiyashi]

I have to say this basho is providing some of the best sumo in a long time, in terms of both storylines and technical quality. The ōzeki are doing generally well although not so well it's a romp-fest, and there's enough up and comers with their own storylines and good sumo too.

[Bunbukuchagama]

19 minutes ago, Koorifuu said:

True for any modern sport, but honestly, rikishi powering through seriously debilitating injuries is almost as much of a sumo tradition as the dohyo-iri is.

I know what you mean, but I also know how orthopedic surgery works (including ligament repair). Once the inflammation subsides (after several weeks), there shouldn't be any pain (except if the joint was immobilized for a long time and you are supposed to work through pain in order to regain the range of motion); and knee stability is an objective thing, it is either there or not. This means the usual sumo "ignore the pain and be a good soldier" logic is not likely to play a role here.

There is a battle raging in Wakataka's head. On one side of it is doubt: "Will it hold? Am I not to early to return?"; on the other - growing confidence in his body: "I am back to normal". He will struggle till confidence wins.

[hakutorizakura]

Papayasu: "That's how you ozeki, boy, not by putting on silly faces."

[Bunbukuchagama]

2 minutes ago, hakutorizakura said:

Papayasu: "That's how you ozeki, boy, not by putting on silly faces."

Takayasu is a perfect grumpy uncle. Past his prime but still capable of teaching those younglings a lesson or two.