April 2005

Asashoryu Rolls 11 in Osaka

Date and Venue Set for 
2005 US Nationals

   
Asashoryu Rolls 11 in Osaka
Ties Akebono on Yusho List:  Kaio Joins 600-Win Club
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

In the 25 top-division tournaments he had fought leading into the 2005 Haru Basho, yokozuna-East ASASHORYU had won ten of them while amassing 279 torikumi wins in the process – an astonishing pace of 11-plus wins per tournament.  He had made his yokozuna debut in 2003 under the roof of the Osaka Prefectural Taiikukan:  he had gone 10-5 and lost that particular yusho, but came back in 2004 to go zensho and run his rensho (at that time) to 30 consecutive torikumi.

Whether the “Mongolian Express” can keep this blistering pace in the long haul will remain to be seen.  But there was no noticeable slowdown in this year’s Haru workout.  With a new mawashi of gold-colored silk around his waist he made this year’s contest a near-Xerox copy of last year’s by clinching a tie for the title on day 12.  A crushout loss to newly-reinstated ozeki #2-West TOCHIAZUMA may have snapped the latest rensho at 27 consecutive torikumi wins, but the number-one man on the banzuke just dusted himself off and won his final two matches for a final record of 14-1.  The yusho was number 11 in his still-white-hot career, which puts him in a tie with 64th yokozuna Akebono for seventh place on the list of “legendary” grand champions.

Ozeki #1-West KAIO would have been right there alongside SHORYU in the early going except for a day 4 hiccup at the hands of maegashira #2-East KOTOMITSUKI.  Nonetheless, he did become the 12th man in modern sumo history to win 600 Makunouchi Division torikumi when he bested maegashira #1-East KYOKUTENHO on day 5.  He made kachi on day 9 to relegate his latest kadoban to the history books; but falling to sekiwake-East MIYABIYAMA and maegashira #4-East KOKKAI ended any chance at catching the flying Mongolian.  The “Human Juicer” finished at 10-5; while this is an acceptable performance for an ozeki, his hopes for yokozuna promotion are now on life support unless and until he takes two yusho in succession.  TOCHIAZUMA marked his new lease on the life of an ozeki by losing three of his first five torikumi.  The Tamanoi heyagashira traded wins and losses to stand 5-5 on day 10, then took his last five matches (including that with the yokozuna) to post a 10-5.  Meanwhile, ozeki #1-East CHIYOTAIKAI followed what has become (for him) a regular pattern of inconsistent performance.  Two years after being handed the Tenno-Hai under the Taiikukan’s roof he was being bested by hiramaku on a regular basis.  On day 10 he was still in good shape at 6-4, but then lost his last five matches to end up with yet another kadoban over his head.

Between SHORYU, KAIO, AZUMA and some unexpected strength in the upper hiramaku ranks, it was day 4 before any of the lower sanyaku men even won a torikumi.  “Sleeping Thunder”, sekiwake-West HAKUHO (Mongolia) seemed to have trouble waking up in the early going:  after losing to countryman SHORYU on day 11 he was on the precipice at 4-7.  But he woke up and blasted through his final four opponents to extract an 8-7 from the jaws of the ‘make-koshi monster’.  His was the only kachi outing among the foursome.  MIYABIYAMA’s run at gaining a second ozeki promotion was blown out of the water as if struck by a “Long Lance” torpedo.  The member of Musashigawa Beya’s once-powerful “College of Sumo Knowledge” was forced to play catch-up from the very outset and never got there:  four consecutive losses at the finish left him wrecked and sinking into the maegashira depths at 5-10.  Bad as that effort was, both occupants of the ‘killer rank’ fared even worse.  For komusubi-West KOTOOSHU, making his sanyaku debut this tournament after a very fast climb through the ranks, it had to be like hitting a solid concrete wall set across I-15 at the California-Nevada state line.  (Do any other readers remember the climax of the 1971 movie “Vanishing Point”?)  Both the “Bulgarian Beanpole” and komusubi-East IWAKIYAMA finished their Osaka road trip at 4-11.

Maegashira #7-West TAMANOSHIMA was zensho going into day 8; but three straight losses removed him from the race for the Cup.  His 12-3 effort won him the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) and earned top ‘dohyo cred’ among the hiramaku.  Other notable maegashira performances were turned in by:

KOTOMITSUKI (9-6)
#3-East TOSANOUMI (10-5)
KOKKAI (9-6)
#6-West ROHO (11-4)
#8-West TAKAMISAKARI (9-6)
#10-West KAIHO (11-4)
#11-West AMA (9-6)
#17-West AMINISHIKI (9-6)

KAIHO and AMA shared the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize).  The Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) was not awarded this basho, and there were no kinboshi awarded.

In Juryo, #4-East KOTOSHOGIKU won the championship with a 13-2 outing that should place him in the top division two months from now.  These other ‘contenders’ had mention-worthy efforts:

#2-West TOKITENKU (10-5)
#3-East TAKEKAZE (11-4)
#5-East KATAYAMA (10-5)
#8-East TAMAASUKA (10-5)
#9-East DAISHODAI (9-6)
#10-East TOCHISAKAE (11-4)
#11-West SENSHUYAMA (11-4)
#13-West TOCHINOHANA (10-5)

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Date and Venue Set for 2005 US Nationals
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

The 2005 United States National Championships will be on the East Coast this year.  Specifically, they will be held at the HCST-APA Recreation Center in North Bergen, New Jersey on Saturday, June 4, 2005.

This tournament is the qualifier for the United States team for the World Championships in Osaka.  Participants must be United States citizens or legal (‘green card’) residents.  All participants must hold United States Sumo Federation membership.  As applicable last year:  if a legal resident wins a weight-class competition, the citizen with the highest finish will be placed on the team for Osaka.  The use of shorts by competitors is optional (‘traditional’ or ‘raw dog’ will be allowed).

For detailed entry information, refer to the information flyer in this issue.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

“Legendary” Yokozuna (10+ Yusho)

(updated after Haru 2005)

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

The 600-Win Club
(updated after Haru 2005)

* Non-Japanese

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Sun Shines on SHUNBUN 2005
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

The final figures aren’t in yet, but the rainy season of 2004/2005 is going to go into the record books as either the wettest or second wettest in Southern California history.  With weeks of rain already in the books and still falling the Thursday before SHUNBUN 2005, we received a call from “Yukikaze” asking if we should postpone.  Our reply was that the weather casters had consistently called for clear and sunny skies for the weekend.  Before going to bed that night, we looked out the door to see clearing skies.  As predicted, Friday dawned clear and sunny.  SHUNBUN (The Spring Equinox Tournament) was a go!

With the US Sumo Open just the previous week, it was inevitable that some sumotori would need a rest.  Just the same, five boys ranging from nine to fourteen and seven men turned up ready to do battle.  Of the five boys, nine-year old 170-pound Steve Simpson was both the youngest and the biggest.  It was decided to divide the boys into two three-man pools with Steve in both.  In the first pool, Steve beat eleven year old Sean Horton and then lost to Sean’s twelve year old brother Paul.  In the bigger division, Steve beat thirteen year old Joey Barna and then lost to fourteen year old Mark Horton for his second silver medal of the day.

With Trent Sabo a no-show due to logistics problems, Art Morrow was the only lightweight present.  He decided to just go Masters rather then fight middleweights.  The Masters division consisted of Jeff Riddle, Glenn Crosby and Art.  They finished in that order.

At one point it appeared that we were going to have a mixed middle/heavy division consisting of Jeff Riddle, Doug Cochran, Glenn Crosby, Dan Kalbfleisch and heavyweight newcomer Jay Taylor.  A phone call from Troy Collins, who was stuck in traffic, led to some stalling in the form of extra fun competition for the kids.  Troy eventually showed up about forty-five minutes late - and five and a half pounds overweight!  This meant we would have a four-man middleweight competition and a best-two-of-three heavyweight battle.  The middleweight round robin saw Dan emerge from his DOD debut with the gold medal.  Doug was second and Jeff third.  Jay drew a tough assignment trying to take two wins from Troy.  He gave a good account of himself, but when the dust had cleared (OK, after weeks of rain, there wasn’t actually any dust) the current US National middleweight champ had the heavyweight gold.  

Troy, Dan, Jeff, Doug, Jay and Glenn lined up for the open division.  Troy and Dan were seeded at opposite ends of the single elimination (with repechage) bracket.  On his way to the gold, Troy introduced Jay to his amazing and infamous tsuridashi.  Doug garnered the silver while Dan survived the repechage for his second medal of the day, a bronze.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

IF YOU REALLY LOVE SUMO AND WANT TO STAY CLOSE TO IT FOR MANY YEARS TO COME…

MAKE THE COMMITMENT!!

Become a United States Sumo Federation LIFE MEMBER

A one-time tax-deductible donation of $200.00 eliminates your worries about annual USSF dues FOR LIFE.  If you compete in USSF-sanctioned amateur sumo events for ten years or more, a Life Membership will pay for itself.  It also shows you are very serious about the sport, and is a definite ‘resume enhancer’ if you decide to seek office in the USSF or any other amateur sports body.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Current Holders of USSF Dan Rank

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

SHUNBUN 2005 Podium Finishers (photos by “Yukikaze")
	<< Younger Boys:   1) Paul Horton; 2) Steve Simpson;  3) Sean Horton
	Bigger Boys: >>   1) Mark Horton; 2) Steve Simpson; 3) Joey Bama
	<< Men’s Masters:   1) Jeff Riddle; 2) Glenn Crosby;  3) Art Morrow
	Men’s Middles: >>   1) Dan Kalbfleisch; 2) Doug Cochran; 3) Jeff Riddle
	<< Men’s Heavies:  1) Troy Collins;  2) Jay Taylor
	Men’s Open: >>  1) Troy Collins; 2) Doug Cochran; 3) Dan Kalbfleisch
A GREAT SPRING DAY ON THE “DoD”:  the stalwart sumotori of all ages and weights who came to Garden Grove for SHUNBUN 2005.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

The 2005 US Sumo Open:  Top-Level Talent, High-Powered Action
Report by "Yukikaze" for SUMO SHIMPO

The 2005 US Sumo Open was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Saturday, March 19th.  There was a lot more room for everyone compared to last year, when we were sardined into the New Otani Hotel.  Also:  the dohyo was on a raised platform, which improved visibility for the spectators but made things a bit interesting (in the Chinese sense of the word) for the competitors.

As promised by the promoters, a Japanese club team from Shizuoka Prefecture came and competed.  One of the members of this team was former world heavyweight champion (1996) and all-Japan champion (2003) Koichi Kato, who was no stranger to the Los Angeles area (refer to article in Hatsu 2004 SUMO SHIMPO).  Unfortunately another member of the team, heavyweight Keisuke Matsuno, suffered an arm injury in a match during the California Sumo Association workout the prior Sunday and was unable to do battle.  Even more unfortunate was receiving word that former pro sumotori & North American heavyweight/openweight champ Wayne Vierra was unable to come due to a death in the family.  Katsuhiko Shimomura, the Shizuoka director and coach, shared the referee duties with assistant coach Yukimasa Muramatsu.  A three-man contingent from Bulgaria represented the European Community in this event.  In a sense, the Los Angeles Police Department had a ‘team’ present to answer the taiko.

The men’s lightweights (under 187 lbs./85kg) was the smallest divisional competition:  Tyler Olson, Trent Sabo and Trever Van Eede all ‘made weight’ while Bulgaria’s world junior champion Valentin Gogov failed by almost ten pounds.  The three official competitors fought a round-robin:  Sabo and Olson took the two finals positions.  The threesome then took on Gogov in an unofficial special competition.  Gogov defeated Van Eede and Olson before falling to Sabo.

Eleven competitors stepped onto the platformed dohyo for the middleweight (187-253 lbs./85-115kg) action.  They were divided into two pools.  Pool One consisted of Joe Davis, Shintaro Fukuzato (the third member of the Shizuoka team), Kena Heffernan, Joey Nawa, Jeff Riddle and Kurt Rightmyer.  Pool Two was populated by Matt Anderson, Doug Cochran, Troy Collins, Dan Kalbfleisch and Rene Marte.  Twenty-six matches later the following “Final Four” was headed to the division finals:  Collins, Fukuzato, Heffernan, and Marte.

There were twelve men in contention for the heavyweight (over 253 lbs./115kg) crown, which made for two six-man pools.  Pool One held Lamont Campo, Jon Crite, Kelly Gneiting, Sotir Gochev, Koichi Kato and Devon Kobashikawa.  Pool Two contained Marcus Barber, Justin Crite, Scott Edwards, Mando Garza, Carl Pappalardo and Dimitar Petkov.  A total of thirty matches were fought, 15 for each pool.  When the dust cleared the following rikishi stood tall for podium slots:  Gochev, Kato, Pappalardo, and Petkov.

After the break, the women’s events were fought.  The lightweights (under 143 lbs./65kg) were Susie Gras (LAPD), Rieko Okada, Heather Olson and Michelle Pike.  The four-way round robin seeded a bracket.  Olson d. Pike for the bronze medal; Gras d. Okada for the gold.  The middleweights (143-176 lbs./65-80kg) were Patty Braendle (LAPD), Hiroko Suzuki and Mashid Tarazi.  The three-way round robin sent Braendle and Suzuki to the final:  Suzuki, who has Women’s Professional Football League experience (see related article), prevailed for the gold.

The men’s lightweight final finished quickly as Sabo took down Olson for the title:  Van Eede got the bronze without a fight.  The middleweight finals resolved in this order:  Heffernan d. Marte; Fukuzato d. Collins; Collins d. Marte for bronze; Heffernan d. Fukuzato for gold.  In this writer’s opinion, the heavies followed pretty close to form:  Kato d. Petkov; Pappalardo d. Gochev; Petkov d. Sochev for the bronze; Kato d. Pappalardo for the gold.

Four women stepped up to fight in the Open competition.  Neither Braendle nor Gras were present due to their having to report for LAPD duty.  The single-elimination bout sequence went this way:  Tarazi d. Pike; Olson d. Okada; Tarazi d. Suzuki (a very long, hard bout); Tarazi d. Olson for the gold.  The men’s Open was also “lose one, you’re done”.  Collins, Justin Crite, Heffernan and Kato made it to the final bracket.  The sequence was:  Heffernan d. Collins; Kato d. Crite; Collins d. Crite for bronze honors; Kato d. Heffernan for the championship.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

US Sumo Open Podium Finishers (photos by “Yukikaze") (NP = not present at awards ceremony)
	<< Women’s Lights:   1) Susie Gras (NP); 2) Rieko Okada;  3) Heather Olson
	Women’s Middles: >>   1) Hiroko Suzuki; 2) Patty Braendle (NP); 3) Mashid Tarazi
	<< Women’s Open:   1) Mashid Tarazi; 2) Heather Olson;  3) Hiroko Suzuki
	Men’s Lights: >>  1) Trent Sabo; 2) Tyler Olson; 3) Trever Van Eede
	<< Men’s Middles:   1) Kena Heffernan; 2) Shintaro Fukuzato;  3) Troy Collins
	Men’s Heavies: >>  1) Koichi Kato; 2) Carl Pappalardo;  3) Dimitri Petkov
Men’s Open:  1) Koichi Kato;  2) Kena Heffernan;  3) Troy Collins

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Kotooshu Wins Race
Becomes First European Joi-Jin
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

For over three years KOKKAI had been the pioneer, the ground-breaker.

The strongman from the Republic of Georgia (also home to amateur champions Levan Ebanoidze and Jondo Dabrundashvili) entered sumo on the Nagoya 2001 banzuke as a member of Oitekaze Beya.  He shot through the Jonokuchi with two consecutive 6-1 performances, then won the Jonidan and Sandanme yusho in his next two tournaments.  He found the Makushita competition to be a whole lot tougher (he was ranked there for over a year) but he finally broke through on the Natsu 2003 banzuke to become the first “Eurikishi” to ever reach the sekitori ranks.  Unlike many shin-Juryo, he did not suffer make-koshi in his first ‘professional’ effort:  he posted 8-7, 9-6 and 9-6 records before taking the division championship with a 14-1 in November 2003.  This earned him promotion to the Makunouchi in January 2004.  His subsequent outings pushed him to the top of the hiramaku ladder.  But despite his best efforts, he has not been able to smash through into the sanyaku ranks as of this writing.

In the meantime, KOTOOSHU joined the sumo world in November 2002.  Training in the powerful Sadogatake Beya, the tall (6’8”/203cm) Bulgarian won the Jonokuchi yusho in January 2003.  He then posted three consecutive 6-1 records to reach the Makushita in September.  His subsequent Makushita efforts of 5-2, 5-2 and 6-1 were followed with a 7-0 division-winning effort.  He went 10-5 in his first sekitori outing at Natsu 2004, then won the Juryo yusho with a 13-2 the next time out.  This propelled him onto the Aki 2004 banzuke’s top row.  He won 20 of his first 30 maegashira bouts before going 9-6 in January at the #4-East slot.

OSHU’s high-energy rise through the ranks, along with KOKKAI’s inability to punch through his own figurative ‘glass ceiling’, have combined to give the Bulgarian the distinction of becoming the first European sumotori to reach the sanyaku ranks.  He is listed at komusubi-West for Haru 2005, while KOKKAI is at maegashira #4-East.  OSHU also becomes the first “Eurikishi” to meet the service time and rank requirements for the purchase of a toshiyori.  (He would still have to become a Japanese citizen, and he would have to come up with the going price if he could find someone who’d sell.)  And he holds the honor of being Sadogatake’s top-ranked deshi ahead of maegashira #2-East KOTOMITSUKI, #9-East KOTONOWAKA and #12-West KOTORYU.

The European migration into pro sumo continues to grow.  Russia’s ROHO (Otake Beya), coming off a 7-8 at the year’s start, is still a rising presence at the #6-West position.  His younger brother HAKUROZAN (Hatachiyama Beya) is sitting at the top of the Juryo ranks, poised to step into the ‘bright lights’.  Estonia’s BARUTO (Mihogaseki Beya) is in the middle Makushita:  the Czech Republic’s TAKANOYAMA (Naruto Beya) and Russia’s AMURU (Onomatsu Beya) are in the lower part of that division.  Russian ORORA (Kitanoumi Beya) remains in the high Sandanme for the moment.  MASUTOO (Chiganoura Beya) is the first Hungarian (civilian name:  Attila Toth) to enter pro sumo:  he is ranked at Jonokuchi #33-East.  This correspondent sees this movement as a good thing:  it will strengthen the professional game and increase the possibilities for an eventual designation as an Olympic sport.

(Writer’s note:  if KOTOOSHU can average more than 11 wins per outing in his next few basho, he could become the first “Eurozeki”.  And if he wins consecutive yusho after that - would he then be the first “Eurokozuna”?)

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Sumo World Says 'No Thanks' to Pants

Reuters News Service:  March 24, 2005

TOKYO - A tussle has broken out in Japan's tradition-bound sumo world over the right to wear pants in the ring.  Gargantuan sumo wrestlers generally compete naked but for a "mawashi," an arrangement of wrapped cloth that preserves a bare minimum of modesty.

Sumo's amateur association hit upon the idea of allowing shy youngsters to wear "sumo pants," a more substantial garment similar to cycling shorts, to try to boost the dwindling numbers of children taking up the sport, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun said on Thursday.  "Pubescent kids are not going to want to take part if they don't look cool," Yomiuri quoted one local amateur sumo official as saying.

Tonkatsu To Teach at Martial Arts Camp
SUMO SHIMPO News Services

For a number of years now, there has been a martial arts camp in the lower Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California known as Camp Bushido West.  The Goltz Judo Club has always been one of the major participants.  In the past it has catered to judo and jujitsu enthusiasts; but this year they are also featuring wrestling.

Last year, camp director Charlie Robinson invited Harry “Tonkatsu” Dudrow to come up and present sumo.  It was a case of too short notice at that time, but not this year.  On July 25, just three days after his sixty-fifth birthday, one of the key figures in the renaissance of amateur sumo in Southern California loads his gear and heads for the mountains.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Football Player, TV Reporter Grace US Sumo Open
by “Tonkatsu” For Sumo Shimpo

The fifth US Sumo Open saw a definite upturn in the number of female competitors from last year’s two heavyweights and one lightweight, to a four-woman lightweight division and a three-woman middle/heavyweight division.

Two of this year’s competitors were from Japan:  Hiroko Suzuki, a woman’s professional football player; and Rieko Okada of TV station LA 18, who was on assignment.

Hiroko, who hails from Tokyo, played offensive and defensive line for the Long Beach Aftershock of the WPFL (Women’s Professional Football League) last year.  She previously played for teams in Daytona Beach, Arizona and Philadelphia.  In spite of having no grappling background, Hiroko used her football experience and general athletic ability to win the women’s middle/heavyweight division and place third in openweights.  Her epic battle with Mashid Tarazi in the Open division was one of the highlights of the day.

Rieko, by way of contrast, is from Tottori Prefecture in southwestern Honshu where she earned the rank of shodan in judo.  She claims it was easy to earn shodan there because the prefecture is so small.  The judo experience certainly didn’t hurt any as Rieko took the silver in the lightweight division.

<< TOUGH COOKIES:  professional football player Hiroko Suzuki (left) and judo-skilled local TV reporter Rieko Okada look ready to tackle all  competition at the 2005 US Sumo Open.  (Photo by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO.)

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Report:  Manny Yarbrough
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

I first met Manny Yarbrough at the US-Japan Expo in November of 1993.  At the time, he weighed six hundred pounds.  I remember being impressed with how well he carried that much weight.  At six foot seven, he certainly carried it better than Konishiki carried a similar number of pounds at six foot one and a quarter.

Manny still weighed around six hundred when he won the open division at the 1995 Sumo World Championships.  From there, his weight steadily began to rise.  By the time he won his only North American Championship in 2001 he was up to seven hundred twenty.  At last report he weighed over eight hundred pounds.

We have been told that Manny was afraid to try such radical steps as stomach stapling because of what happened to his friend Mike Munford, a Jamaican sumotori who died during a liposuction procedure.  Shortly after the last SUMO SHIMPO came out, we received an e-mail of an article about Manny.  According to the article, Manny was embarking on a campaign to lose weight under the guidance of an expert on the subject.  The object was not only for Manny to lose weight, but for him to work with overweight kids to motivate them to lose weight.  Another goal was to get back down to where he could compete in sumo again.  Part of the motivation for this was the possibility that sumo might be an Olympic sport by 2012.  Manny will be forty four by then, but still possibly a contender if he can get back to his old weight and form.

We wish Manny well in his efforts.  Sumo aside, the most important reason to do this is so that he can make it to forty four.  Carrying over eight hundred pounds has to be a tremendous strain on every part of his body.  Manny has been a good spokesperson for amateur sumo, and all of us should have him in our thoughts and prayers.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Shaking Hands With Asashoryu
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

On Tuesday April 5th, “Yukikaze” and I attended a press conference at Dodger Stadium about Grand Sumo Las Vegas.  We were invited as representatives of SUMO SHIMPO.  The Nihon Sumo Kyokai was represented by Takasago Oyakata, Yokozuna ASASHORYU and former yokozuna Musashimaru Oyakata.  The Mandalay Bay Resort, where the event is to take place, was represented by Mr. Glenn Medas.

Since I hate to be late for things, I got there way early.  In fact, I was the first person to sign in.  I had plenty of time to talk to people who ranged from limo drivers to members of the PR firm that is running the event.  I mentioned to one of the PR people that I was looking forward to meeting ASASHORYU because I know how to say how are you in Mongolian.  He took me into the room where the VIP's were to introduce me.  ASASHORYU was changing, so he introduced me to Takasago Oyakata, who said hello in English and shook my hand.  I in turn bowed and introduced myself in proper Japanese fashion as I had recently learned on a CD.

Takasago asked me (through an interpreter) about amateur sumo in the United States and if the top sumotori were from Hawaii.  I told him that of late, only one wrestler (Kena Heffernan) had been coming from Hawaii and that most of the top amateurs were from California and New Jersey.  (Note:  Ernie Hunt says that Takasago (then moto-ozeki Asashio) was one of the rikishi that he wrestled when the Sumo Kyokai used to come to Hawaii.)

ASASHORYU didn't come out until the start of the press conference.  When it was over, he and Takasago went straight back to the VIP room.  Most of the media swarmed around Musashimaru.  In the meantime, I went to the door of the VIP room, which was open.  Takasago and ASASHORYU were putting on Dodger jackets.  When they came out I said to ASASHORYU "Sian Byna", which is ‘how are you?’ in Mongolian.  He turned to me, said the same thing in return and shook my hand.  That was all I got, but it was more than enough!

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]

Vegas Sumo Event Announced at LA Press Conference
by "Yukikaze" for SUMO SHIMPO  

Grand Sumo will be returning to the United States for the first time in two decades, according to an announcement made at the Stadium Club lounge at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, April 5.  Specifically, it will be October 7-9 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It is part of a series of events this year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city of Las Vegas.

The press conference began with a drum call, performed by a yobidashi.  (Before the event he was given a copy of the newly-promulgated “Dohyo of Dreams” brochure:  there was a brief discussion on how to pack him down to Garden Grove to oversee new upgrade work – Ed.)  The formal announcement was made (via interpreter) by Takasago Oyakata of the Japan Sumo Association.  With him at the head table were current yokozuna ASASHORYU, former yokozuna Musashimaru, and Glenn Medas, Vice President of the Mandalay Resorts Group.  After the announcement, Mr. Medas thanked the Association for choosing to come to Vegas and making everything possible.  The floor was then opened for questions and answers.

After the conference, Musashimaru talked briefly about how today’s young male athletes are doing themselves a disservice by not considering sumo and concentrating on football and basketball instead.  This writer asked, “if you could do it all over again, would you do everything the same?”  The answer was a fervent “Absolutely!”.  He also stated that he has no current plans to purchase a toshiyori or open his own stable (he still has about 3.5 years to finalize that decision).

The editorial staff of SUMO SHIMPO were present as invited, fully-accredited media members.  (Judging from some of the questions from other media persons present – this writer recalls a statement made by then-Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight to a press assemblage:  “I’ve forgotten more about this (bleeping) game than all you people combined are ever gonna know.”  SUMO SHIMPO knows sumo! – Ed.)

California Sumo Competition Calendar for 2005

(T) = Tentative

All information on this calendar subject to change:  contact listed STAGING ORGANIZATION for latest information.

[back to top]  [back to Sumo Shimpo home]