Takamisakari Suffers Another Humiliation

[Jonosuke]

A nightmare has returned to Maegashira West 7 Takamisakari, 28, of Azumazeki Beya during training sessions with sekitoris on Novembe 6. Takamisakari not only lost all his seven bouts to rapidly improving Hakuho, 19, but in the last bout, he injured his right elbow when he got himself beaten by an abise-taoshi.

Last year he injured his right shoulder when Yokozuna Asashoryu threw him out with Tsuri-otoshi and went into a mental shock. And again this time he has been crushed by another Mongolian sekitori. He has finished the hon-basho with a miserable 5 wins and 10 losses record and so far he has been having a series of wretched training sessions. "This has been absolutely the worst," Azumazeki oyakata made a scathing remark after viewing his session.

Takamisakari screamed after Hakuho beat him by abise-taoshi. In front of a dozen sekitoris, his body was splattered with mud. "I am Ok, I am Ok," Takamisakari said while rubbing his elbow. Then he ran out of the training dohyo area, leaving an excuse that he's been suffering from left knee injury as well and needed to have it checked out and to get a massage.

"The quality of his sumo is just so dreadfull, appalling. His tachiai is awfully flat," furious Azumazeki oyakata lashed out.

Takamisakari's luckluster training efforts have been often criticized by many as they could lead to injuries.

Mediocre training sessions are nothing unusual for him but at least he may want to avoid the repeat of bad memory from one year ago by suffering another humiliation from a Mongolian powerhouse.

Edited November 7, 2004 by Jonosuke

[Coo-cook]

I don't like the idea that he is beaten and injured by Mongolians, repeatedly.

I like Takamisakari a lot...and his sumo is so interesting and unpredictable. He can beat anyone in any moment. Takamisakari's injury and withdrawal would be a big loss to sumo.

What's wrong with this guy? Or what's wrong with Mongolians always picking him ?

[Jonosuke]

What's wrong with this guy? Or what's wrong with Mongolians always picking him ?

I don't think he is picked on by Mongolians especially as he has been picked on by almost all sekitoris.

Somehow the point hasn't got through to his thick skull that whenever he goes against Mongolian rikishis, he should be prepared to go all out as they will come out to him with their all. That's what intense training sessions are all about. They are all good students.

OTOH if an injured rikishi needs a light workout with a sekitori, he may be a good choice.

It's either he is not willing to put out or he is missing it entirely. I really don't know which. I just sometimes wonder how he has survived this long without suffering a far more serious injury during training sessions.

Edited November 7, 2004 by Jonosuke

[asa_love]

i feeel sorry for takamisakari...

but.. he should be happy that he found a way to be so POPULAR even though he doesnt have extremely great wrestling skills (compared to others at the moment..)

actually.. i think his spirit is great!! always trying very hard.. (at least to me he looks like he tries very hard!)

hmm... i wonder if any other rishiki would b stupid enough to start a new set of "special behavior" like takamisakari to gain popularity... that would be so sad to copy ..haha (Shaking head...)

[Guest anaqern]

i don't think anyone would copy takamisakari. his eccentricity is too much for the guys. most of them were a bit laid back except during bouts. anyway, i think takamisakari is not a very good rikishi and his form has been declining rapidly.

anyone could tell why he cannot produce some spark in keiko as when during real bouts????

[sumofan]

I think his problems is the same as mine when i was still practising Ju-Jitsu: he is simply not a warrior, and neither am i.

martial arts was the most imporant thing in my life for a time, and i would practise 1.5 hours a day every day of the week at least.

my technique was very good after a few years, but in a fight i would be intimidated by the looks of my opponents. especially if he looked mean, or -even worse- i KNEW he was mean.

some of those guys were bouncers (people who throw other people out of cafes) and had a well deserved reputation for being violent. even though they were my friends, and i knew they would not try to hurt me, i would be scared to go all-out.

the only thing that i was really good at was wrestling (i could tie sensei in a knot every time). the reason i think i did not hold back at that was that it did not invlove hitting or kicking each other.

despite the mental block i was really in love with the sport, so i think it is the same with him.

he loves sumo very much, but he just hasn't got the fighting spirit of a true warrior, whereas akebone radiates that -i am going to break your neck- aura.

[Calvin]

I wish everything OK with him and he'll show another few tricks at Kyushu Bashyo. I like his spirit.

Besides is anybody know what lenses he wears out of dohyo? Lenses seems a bit strong and he seems hardly could recognize his opponents (Applauding...) ?

[Yoavoshimaru]

I think the ability to instill fear in opponets is not only a valid and good skill to have, but under-rated as such. Good athletes in almost any sport have a swagger about them coming from pride in their skill that other competitors can see and feel right away. And if it makes the other competitors have just a tiny doubt in their heads along the lines of "can I really beat this guy?" then it's effective. That's how one puts together 30+ win streaks.

As to Takamisakari, dude's crazy :-( If you say he can beat any one at any time, surely you should recognize he can also lose to any one at any time, including as we've been told Sandanme rikishi.

[Otokonoyama]

As to Takamisakari, dude's crazy :-P If you say he can beat any one at any time, surely you should recognize he can also lose to any one at any time, including as we've been told Sandanme rikishi.

If he was really no better than sandanme-level rikishi, he'd surely have fallen from Makuuchi by now :-(

There must be some method to his madness, or he'd lose rank.

[Kaikitsune Makoto]

You know there is a type of Rikishi called Keikoba Yokodzuna, this basically means it's a guy who's invincible in practice, he tosses everyone left and right. However duning a Honbasho, he can't win on the tournament Dohyou. Takamisakari is probably the opposite, haven't heard a term for this yet.

Perhaps in Sakke's case the saying "Mind over matter" goes into eternal loop in the following way:

Sakke's mind is very weak in keiko and sometimes even in honbasho bouts and he loses like a jonidan weakling even with his strong sumo body = matter. Mind over matter indeed as his muscle power doesn't vanish anywhere from beating Taikai to losing to sandanme. Same muscles in each case, just much less in use in sandanme case scenario! But at the same time one could argue his "matter" is not very strong as he is so weak in keiko and just gets thrown around like a ragdoll but then his mind is massively strong in honbasho where he can beat guys like Taikai, Kokkai etc. and just be formidable :-P

There is only one Sakke in ozumo! Or actually two....but both in same body.

think his problems is the same as mine when i was still practising Ju-Jitsu: he is simply not a warrior, and neither am i.

No doubt he has some mental blocks and he does have those strange looks and gestures when he beats someone with attitude. His "Did I just do that? I am not sure if I should have done that..."-looks are priceless. Yet he is able to go past all mental blocks often enough to question whether he really has some mental block of going all out and not worrying about the foe. Perhaps that routine before the bout is indeed the only way he can get into that warrior-mode.

[Gusoyama]

I don't think Asa cares if the other rikishi are afraid of him or hate him. Either way, it often brings about the same result: A split second lapse in the bout. The split second where the other guy lets down his guard or goes off balance because of their feelings. The feelings distract them, and make them lose.

This is, by the way, why I think Hakuho is going to do so well, I don't think that he's afraid of anyone, and I don't think he'll let his emotions get the better of him.

[Yubiquitoyama]

Well, as quite a few have said, Takamisakari obviously has quite a few mental blocks, and this obviously affects him in training. Given his results in hon-basho, there is hardly any doubt that he has the talent and body to at least be a Makunouchi-rikishi, which is quite a lot more than most in Ozumo and definitely more than most of those Makushita rikishi he hardly can beat during training. I also think it's wrong to say he lacks fighting spirit (although it's not always obvious to me what that expression entails), both because of the way he actually wins in hon-basho, and because I doubt there would be any difference between training and hon-basho if he didn't have quite a bit of it. So something else is the matter during training, which no doubt will not get better by people pointing it out and physically or mentally try to force him changing his behaviour.

In my experience, the best way to go around mental blocks (or rather, the only one I can think of), is to somehow (and exactly how is often far from transparent) not think in a way that will induce them. Not think at all during "dangerous" situations would probably work best, and external/internal pressures not to act in a certain way is the absolutely best way to ensure one actually does act in that way. He probably thinks more and more about this during keiko, and without some change in that thinking, nothing will ever improve. In hon-basho though, he seems to somehow lose all inhibitions and do it all an auto-pilot, and I must say I'm quite surprised he still manages to do so reasonably well. I thought the pressure on him from various directions would simply make him completely fold up, but there's something in him that makes him not give in regardless, which I greatly admire.

As a last thing I can understand the reactions of some of the other rikishi (although, as I agree with Shiroikuma, the risk of Asashoryu inducing injury in fellow rikishi during training seems much greater than Takamisakari doing so, and Asashoryu even seems to do it on purpose), but it's rather clear that they will in no way change anything to the better.

[Mark Buckton]

Yubi-san,

where have you been my man? The forum misses you. :-(

[Jonosuke]

Perhaps I should write a little bit in defense of Takamisakari as I always have a warm spot for him in my otherwise decrepit heart.

He started sumo when he was in elementary school (granted that initially he hated it and only coaxed by his teacher to do it or threatened with no lunch as he was getting fat). He was a Middle School Yokozuna and won major tournaments while going to Hirosaki Jitsugyo High and later at Nichi-Dai (he won All Japan College Championship in his fourth year - if I am not mistaken Kotomitsuki/Tamiya was injured at the time but neverthless he carried the sumo club with him). During all these years he gained solid basic sumo skills. He looked much bigger while at Nichi-dai than now, bigger than Tamiya.

However he had a major injury (his left knee) that was so serious that he was not thinking of turning pro. Then in his second Makuuchi Basho, he suffered another major injury this time to his right knee joints. This after winning Kanto-sho in his Makuuchi debut basho. I believe both injuries gave him permanent psychological scars on him as they caused extreme pains and required long time to recover as well as competing with the pain. After the second injury, he fell all the way from Makuuchi to Makushita.

He often said he needed to do that "performance" during the shikiri to really psych himself or he would not be able to go through the bout. He has so much fear of getting injured again. And this is probably the main reason that he has trouble going all out as he has not established a mechanism to psych himself during training sessions.

I also think there is another fear factor for him - that is his bad eyesight. Since he does not see well, he never knows where he gets hit next so in manys he always compete in fear - it's like a fear of darkness. Remember he was almost in tears when he got hit in his face two days in a row and had blood in his mouth.

It's unfear to say to any rikishi to emulate the great Futabayama. But Futabyama was blind in one eye, before he became such an invincible presence on the dohyo, many criticized his "soft" tachiai as he was always late as he needed to see what his opponent would do. Futabayama overcame this difficulty so well that soon he had no weak spot that anyone could find. But that is another topic altogether.

[Kaihayaiha]

I also think there is another fear factor for him - that is his bad eyesight. Since he does not see well, he never knows where he gets hit next so in manys he always compete in fear - it's like a fear of darkness. Remember he was almost in tears when he got hit in his face two days in a row and had blood in his mouth.

Is there anything preventing him from using contact lenses?

[Zentoryu]

I also think there is another fear factor for him - that is his bad eyesight.

Edited November 10, 2004 by Zentoryu

[Gusoyama]

I don't think Asa cares if the other rikishi are afraid of him or hate him.

Well, I think Asashouryuu cares very much. That is the only reason he makes it a point to Tsuriotoshi everyone he thinks is dangerous to him, to try and make them fear him.

Off-topic: Gusoyama - funny Avatar, I'm still rolling on the floor laughing... (Applauding...)

I guess thats what I meant, he doesn't care if they hate him, as long as it gives him an advantage. My brain doesn't always translate its thoughts well (Laughing...)

Thanks about the avatar, its my Czech main man Takanoyama! The lower guys need some publicity too, eh?

[Kaikitsune Makoto]

Just want to say I enjoy immensely these reports and ponderings you post SHiroikuma! (Applauding...)

This whole thread has brought even more details about Takamisakari and his unique character and ways. Truly great stuff by all participants! (Laughing...)

[Zentoryu]

OK. And now the eyesight part.

This is one big myth all along about that he's concerned about losing the contact lenses on the dohyou and that's why he doesn't wear them or so...

No, actually it's completely different.

Takamisakari is very shortsighted. He's so shortsighted, he only sees blurs on the other side of the Dohyou, before he touches the opponent in a match, he can't make out his facial characteristicts for instance.

When I was at this one big party with him some time ago I asked him about it. Why don't you wear lenses?

"Because I'd be scared then."

I knew exactly what he meant. And that is the reason that he doesn't do anything with his eyesight now.

ShiroiKuma the myth buster. Excellent observations as always. We all learn a lot every time you post here. (Applauding...)

Edited November 10, 2004 by Zentoryu

[Phelix]

Do you know the scene in Monty Pythons "Search for the holy grail" where they meet the black knight. They chop his legs off, but he keeps screaming that he

Edited November 10, 2004 by Phelix

[Zeokage]

Isn't Sakari also the person who never wants to know who he's facing the next day before he goes to bed because he won't sleep thinking about it?

[Jonosuke]

Wow, ShiroiKuma, that was another great piece. I am ever glad you are here (Laughing...)

Aside from all your experience in walking the walk, I hope you are keeping all the things you are writing as you certainly can put them together and make it a book one day.

There are lot of books published that are actually a collection of essays the author wrote for something else.

There is a Japanese sumo book called "Chikarabito No Kuni" (Nation of Strong Men) written Asa Nonami a couple of years ago. This book was basically a series of anectdotes and stories she origianally wrote for a Sunday newpaper and had a lot of interesting tidbits and stories about rikishis and people who work for the Kyokai.

I am sure you already have enough to write a good book.

[Otokonoyama]

I second Jonosuke's comments, Shiroikuma-zeki. Please keep the good stuff coming!

One thing I'd like to mention is the contrast between a "do" and a sport. By definition, a "do" is a way of life, a path to follow. That's the paradox of sumo to me - it attempts to be both "do" and sport, combat and performance. That's one tricky balancing act, and perhaps the root of many a disagreement (Eh?)

[sekihiryu]

Isn't Sakari also the person who never wants to know who he's facing the next day before he goes to bed because he won't sleep thinking about it?

Yes and Asashouryu once said him, Im looking foward to fighting you tomorrow.

Takamisakari didnt sleep a wink (Pulling hair...)

Edited November 12, 2004 by sekihiryu

[Jonosuke]

Thanks for the great photos, Nishi san.

Is the first one taken at the same tournament as the other ones? Anyway on that one our Seiken Kato looks like falling asleep (Pulling hair...)

And on the last one he looks like marching with Kakizoe (though he is two years junior)