New ozeki Aonishiki

[Reonito]

34 minutes ago, Gurowake said:

Almost anywhere if you ask "Can an Ozeki be promoted to Yokozuna in just on basho" you'll be told no.  So where in the world is this guy getting the idea that it's possible?  Wishful thinking?

Even on sumo-specific sites, people have all sorts of ideas about banzuke movements that are completely divorced from reality.

[Ryoshishokunin]

See: some fraction of guesses on every GTB that are just *wildly* wrong on the parts of the banzuke that are basically set in stone.

[RabidJohn]

I'll be impressed if Aonishiki can just keep his double-digit KK run going through double yusho and promotion celebrations. He's not going to zensho in January.

[Akinomaki]

Aonishiki everywhere now, Toyonoshima has an interview with him on his site, 1st part today,

Sumo prime time has him today - fortunately among 13 other languages also in a Japanese translation (I haven't checked yet how bad), so one can evade Hiro's talk, 

he was on the Fuji TV 2025 Ozumo food battle today https://tver.jp/episodes/epz40goiwp

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1SLSEBZEm8/

....

and in 2027, a film about his story in sumo will be released in France,  HOPE 2ème opus des rêves ne meurent jamais - HOPE opus 2, dreams never die  o

Opus 1 was about a French yacht athlete 

[Heather82Cs]

13 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

Aonishiki everywhere now, Toyonoshima has an interview with him on his site, 1st part today,

Sumo prime time has him today - fortunately among 13 other languages also in a Japanese translation (I haven't checked yet how bad), so one can evade Hiro's talk, 

he was on the Fuji TV 2025 Ozumo food battle today https://tver.jp/episodes/epz40goiwp

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1SLSEBZEm8/

....

and in 2027, a film about his story in sumo will be released in France,  HOPE 2ème opus des rêves ne meurent jamais - HOPE opus 2, dreams never die  o

Opus 1 was about a French yacht athlete 

I watched Hiro 's video, and 2 things hit me.

The first is that so many of Ao 's bouts were brutal, he fell badly even off the dohyo so many times, I feel like it's a miracle he didn't get injured and accomplished what he accomplished.

(The second one is technically not about him but I will mention it anyway - in the Onosato/Kotozakura bout, maybe because of the angle of the shot, I swear it looks like the yokozuna puts the ozeki 's hand on his mawashi, and seconds later he loses, so weird.)

[sahaven111]

2 hours ago, Reonito said:

Even on sumo-specific sites, people have all sorts of ideas about banzuke movements that are completely divorced from reality.

See for example, the banzuke committee.

[Reonito]

2 hours ago, Heather82Cs said:

I watched Hiro 's video, and 2 things hit me.

The first is that so many of Ao 's bouts were brutal, he fell badly even off the dohyo so many times, I feel like it's a miracle he didn't get injured and accomplished what he accomplished.

(The second one is technically not about him but I will mention it anyway - in the Onosato/Kotozakura bout, maybe because of the angle of the shot, I swear it looks like the yokozuna puts the ozeki 's hand on his mawashi, and seconds later he loses, so weird.)

My random observations:

1. Hiradoumi's left hand was nowhere near the dohyo when he launched, and Konosuke let him get away with it.
2. The little nodowa to finish Tamawashi was a nice touch.
3. You can see Onosato stop using his left arm immediately after the initial contact in their day 13 bout, which jibes with when Nishonoseki said the injury occurred.
4. In the above-mentioned Onosato/Kotozakura bout the next day, I think he went for an otsuke with his left arm, but realized he can't use it, which is what created the impression that he put the ozeki's hand on his belt.

Edited November 28 by Reonito

[Akinomaki]

3 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

Before the start of the jungyo tomorrow in Isehaya, Nagasaki pref., rikishi and jungyo top were in Nagasaki city to lay down flowers at the peace monument

First official task today for the new ozeki, the flower ceremony in Nagasaki - articles about it nearly all have Aonishiki in the headline

 o o o o o o o

o o o

Yesterday he was with the heya in Uruma, Okinawa, a training camp location for Ajigawa

another news clip  o

o

Edited November 29 by Akinomaki

[RabidJohn]

According to Chris Sumo, the French have been making a documentary about him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znk2IXjGmzU&t=322s

[Akinomaki]

2 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

According to Chris Sumo, the French have been making a documentary about him

Rather: have decided to make one

On 28/11/2025 at 20:38, Akinomaki said:

in 2027, a film about his story in sumo will be released in France,  HOPE 2ème opus des rêves ne meurent jamais - HOPE opus 2, dreams never die  o

Opus 1 was about a French yacht athlete 

[Kintamayama]

Aonishishi

Edited December 4 by Kintamayama

[orandashoho]

As a long standing fan of Aminishiki it's good to see Ajigawa-beya doing so well. 

[Heather82Cs]

Oyakata channeru had an episode about him where they insisted his secret is being "packed" and suggested that maybe one way of messing with him could be preceding him at the start and putting both hands down before he does.

[Sumo Spiffy]

5 hours ago, Heather82Cs said:

Oyakata channeru had an episode about him where they insisted his secret is being "packed" and suggested that maybe one way of messing with him could be preceding him at the start and putting both hands down before he does.

That's... a reach. Certain guys are very comfortable waiting for their opponents to start the match and reacting to it, and Aonishiki definitely seems to be one of them. But this type of ploy wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, mess with him for very long. 

His tachiai screws with people because his approach and initial positioning is much different from most other wrestlers. He's extremely good at staying low and attacking with his belt out of his opponent's reach. I'm certainly not going to claim I know more about sumo than those guys, but I'm kind of puzzled if their best idea is changing his tachiai rhythm and not figuring out a way to deal with the tachiai itself.

[Akinomaki]

The oyakata channel episode about Aonishiki was reported in Sponichi. https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2025/12/04/kiji/20251204s00005000308000c.html#:~:text=相撲

Yamashina talked about Aonishiki always putting his hands down first. Others with this style were e.g. Yoshikaze and Kakizoe. If such a rikishi meets one who does the same, he always causes a matta, to mess up the concept of the other.

This matta game is what Aonishiki yet has to learn (to deal with), this is the possible weak point mentioned 

Edited Friday at 06:14 by Akinomaki

[Heather82Cs]

On 28/11/2025 at 20:38, Akinomaki said:

Aonishiki everywhere now, Toyonoshima has an interview with him on his site, 1st part today,

 

2nd part is out now.