Sumo

[Dronak]

The basho doesn't actually end until tomorrow, but after day 14 Musashimaru has locked up the tournament victory for his 10th yusho. A few of the other highly ranked rikishi have apparently lost their chances for promotion in the next few months with less than stellar performances this month.

 

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by Dronak

The basho doesn't actually end until tomorrow, but after day 14 Musashimaru has locked up the tournament victory for his 10th yusho. A few of the other highly ranked rikishi have apparently lost their chances for promotion in the next few months with less than stellar performances this month.

Thanks for the update, Dronak! How did Kaio fair?

Cthulhu

 

[Dronak]

As of day 14, Kaio's record is 11-3. The comment about lost promotion chances was based on a message I got on the sumo mailing list. Unfortunately, I didn't keep it and it hasn't appeared on the web site archive to check. I could be wrong, but I think the primary rikishi who were hoping to get considered for promotion were two of the other ozekis Tochiazuma (9-5 now) and Chiyotaikai (7-7 now) and sekiwake Kotomitsuki (8-6 now). For reference, the other ozeki Musoyama is now 9-5 and the other sekiwake Asashoryu is 10-4 (he's been rising fast as I recall).

I don't think Kaio is under consideration for promotion to yokozuna because he's not consistently pulling great records and staying in the hunt for the yusho. Back in Jan. he went 9-6, in Nov. he went 10-5, and in Sept. he went 0-4-11 (that's 11 days away from the ring, not drawn bouts ). He did win a yusho in July with a 13-2 record, but as you can see, he hasn't done great since. Usually for promotion to yokozuna, I think the committe wants to see something like at least 38 wins over 3 basho (38-7 combined record) plus two yusho, preferably consecutive ones. Yokozunas are the best of the best and expected to contend for the yusho every tournament. Kaio's not really there yet it seems.

 

[Cthulhu]

Thanks for the info! I figured Kaio won't be up for promotion for some time...he's just TOO inconsistent. When he's good, he's very good. When he's bad, he risks demotion.

Cthulhu

 

[Shinzu]

does anyone know the history of sumo? it is nothing i would get into, but it is very interesting to watch. i was always curious.

thanx in advance.

 

[Dronak]

Let's see if I can do a short summary of the history given in Mina Hall's book _The Big Book of Sumo_. She has about 7 pages total on the subject. Apparently it dates back around 1500 years and has its origins in Shinto religious rituals. "Early sumo was a combination of wrestling, boxing, and judo", violent, and with few rules. It became part of the military training, mainly the wrestling techniques from which Jujitsu developed (according to the book). The ring was eventually added as a boundary. When the civil wars ended, some of the samurai turned to martial arts like sumo to "vent their aggression" and something Hall refers to as "street sumo" was popular. That was later banned because it was so violent. The rest of the dohyo came into being -- rice bags for a barrier, poles supporting a roof marking the official fighting area. "Sumo stables were organized, rules were laid out, and professional sumo emerged." That's about the basics of it, it seems. If you want some more I can review the rest of it, but it isn't written as a real timeline, so dates for events aren't always obvious.

 

[Shinzu]

thanx for the summary

sumo is always interesting to watch. i just never knew how it developed.

thanx!
:yinyang:

 

[Dronak]

The May basho begins on Sunday the 12th for anyone interested. I'm sure there are a number of sites that will post up results and such, but the Nihon Sumo Kyokai site is the official one. That points to the English main page, BTW. I've been hearing that Takanohana is training again and doing fairly well in training matches against higher level rikishi. I don't think any official decision has been made yet as to whether or not he will participate in this basho. I think they're going to let him keep training and see how he feels closer to the start. It seems like they want him to be in top form before making his return, so it's possible that he'll skip this one in order to be completely ready for a return in July. We'll see, I guess.

 

[Dronak]

I've heard that it's now offical, Takanohana will be missing the May basho. This will be his sixth consecutive missed tournament, a record. From what I read, he really did want to get back and compete despite not having many training matches with high level rikishi. His trainer finally convinced him to wait until he was back at 100%. Talk now is that the Yokozuna Promotion Council (I think that's right) may have to make some recommendation to Takanohana. I think they have three main choices, but stupid me can't remember them exactly now. I think it's encourage him to return, support his choice to wait until he's fully ready, or suggest retirement. If people are interested in knowing more, I'll try to pay more attention to what I read so I can remember it to post here.

 

[Cthulhu]

I'm definitely interested! Please keep us informed. I was always impressed with Takanohana, especially considering his size amongst the other Yokozuna. It'd be a shame if he had to retire.

Cthulhu

 

[arnisador]

Any word about when/where highlights will be televised?

 

[Dronak]

I haven't heard anything about when the current basho may appear on TV. ESPN(2) does show Sumo Digest now and then. I think that it takes a while to produce the show though, so I wouldn't expect to see it very soon. I've never kept track of how long it takes, but if they're showing something in about 2 months when the next basho takes place, it could be this one. If you want to see matches now, try that link to a sumo movies page I posted near the top (first page) of this thread. That's where I watch most of my sumo.

 

[arnisador]

Thanks, I'll check the link.

 

[Judo_Kid]

I dont do Sumo, im Not fat. i cant do Sumo, im sire im going to lose. I dont like SumoWrestling.

I dont have any Info about SumoWrestlers. or what they do!

:EG:

 

[Judo_Kid]

I'll go check that site!!!

:EG:

 

[Judo_Kid]

Thanks.. I need to check out something about SumoWrestlers!

 

[Dronak]

Well, a couple of news articles were posted to the sumo mailing list saying Takanohana will be staying out of the upcoming July basho. This will be his seventh consecutive missed tournament. The talk is that if he doesn't return in September, chances are it will be recommended that he retire. I'm not sure what will happen if he does show up, but doesn't perform very well. As a yokozuna, he's expected to retire when he loses his form and can't compete at the very top level anymore. If he returns and performs poorly for a yokozuna, I suppose they might suggest retirement then, too. *shrug* I'll try to remember to pass along more information as I hear about it if you're interested.

 

[arnisador]

Sumo was on ESPN2 for an hour last night but I was unable to watch more than 30 seconds of it (family visiting). ISKA is on ESPN2 for 4 hours starting at 2AM tonight (technically, tomorrow morning).

 

[Cthulhu]

Thanks for the update, Dronak! I think it'd be a shame if Takanohana was forced to retire. I always thought he was a good wrestler; attaining the rank of Yokozuna along with the giant that was Akebono is quite a feat, I'd say.

Cthulhu

 

[Dronak]

Yes, Takanohana is excellent and I always enjoy watching his matches. I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen. I read things on the mailing list and there are some very knowledgeable people there, but not everything is facts or news. Some of it is just rumors of what's supposed to be being talked about. I don't think anything official has been said about asking Takanohana to retire. I think the rumor is that if he doesn't show up in September, he may be asked to retire. I don't think that's definite though.

Someone did post a copy of an interview with a former yokozuna, I believe, who kind of said the best way for Takanohana to come back is to do one of the off-month tournaments that don't count for standings before doing the real thing. But since there won't be one in August, he'd have to skip the September basho to start with the off-month one in October and then try for the full comeback in November. I think that's what the person interviewed was suggesting he do, take the time needed to heal and come back a little more slowly.

Apparently Takanohana is really carrying the popularity of sumo right now, too, and many people want to see him -- a message said that the announcement about him missing this tournament was delayed as much as possible so that ticket sales wouldn't be adversely affected. I guess Musashimaru just isn't as popular as Takanohana. *shrug* But if Takanohana tries to come back too early, he risks not only reinjuring his knee if it's not fully healed, but a poor showing and essentially forced retirement by not living up to the standards of a yokozuna. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The current basho just started, so there's two full months before the next one starts. Perhaps he will be ready to come back then.