October 2006

Shoryu Rocks:  What Else Is New?

The 600-Win Club

   
Shoryu Rocks:  What Else is New?
Miyabi Meets Criteria for Re-Promotion
by “Yukikaze" for SUMO SHIMPO

For the first time since the Taiho era, one rikishi is clearly showing prohibitive dominance over the world of professional sumo.

With his 26th birthday fast approaching, and absolutely no need to prove anything to anyone except the history of the sport, yokozuna-East ASASHORYU (Mongolia) continued his absolute, not-always-benificent reign over the dohyo’s sacred terrain.  A day 6 loss to komusubi-East KISENOSATO turned out to be just another small pebble on the rails of the unstoppable “Mongolian Express”.  He clinched a tie on day 14 despite falling to ozeki #1-West CHIYOTAIKAI, then disposed of fellow countryman (and most dangerous rival) ozeki #1-East HAKUHO on senshuraku to settle matters.  SHORYU’s 13-2 finish garnered him his 18th Emperor’s Cup in 35 Makunouchi Division tournaments.  The final day win over HAKUHO was top-division victory number 400, against 108 losses and 17 absences.

After winning the yusho in May, many were probably hopeful that HAKUHO would become a strong counterweight to SHORYU.  That might still happen; but a flat-looking 8-7 posting indicated that “Sleeping Thunder” still needs some seasoning before he can take that last step.  A 10-5 effort (including a win over SHORYU) showed that TAIKAI should not yet be dismissed as a spent force.  The “Sofia Skyscraper”, ozeki #2-West KOTOOSHU (Bulgaria) finally showed he was capable of putting up numbers worthy of ozeki rank:  he also finished with a 10-5.  #3-West TOCHIAZUMA has been having problems as of late, but managed to put them aside and punch out a 9-6 effort.  If any ozeki showed serious weakness, it was #2-East KAIO.  The “Human Juicer” got badly squeezed himself, with only one win in his first six torikumi before pulling out.  The resultant 1-6-8 puts the Tomozuna heyagashira into kadoban yet again.

Sekiwake-East MIYABIYAMA’s recent power run has slowed a bit.  After going 14-1 and 10-5 in his last two tourneys, he fell off just a hair and ended this basho with a 9-6 mark.  This still gives him a 33-12 record in his last three outings while in the sekiwake rank – which, by the rules currently in force, should earn him a re-promotion to ozeki.  The trouble is:  with five men already holding that rank, the promotion committee has been making noises about being sticky.  They shouldn’t be – the rules are there for all to see, and the former college champion has met the criteria.  KAIO and AZUMA are both showing signs of weakness and may both fall out in the coming year.  MIYABIYAMA should receive what he has earned.  The rest of the lower sanyaku did just enough to hold onto their paychecks.  Sekiwake-West KOTOMITSUKI finished with yet another 8‑7 mark.  Both men in the “killer rank” made 8-7 as well.  KISENOSATO’s win over SHORYU earned him the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize).  Pioneering “Eurikishi” KOKKAI (Georgia Republic) finally made the ranks of the joi-jin at komusubi-West, and will be able to enjoy it for at least two more months.  He is now eligible to purchase a toshiyori IF he becomes a Japanese citizen.

On day 6, maegashira #6-East AMA (Mongolia) who at 253 pounds could make middleweight in an amateur competition, was 6-0 and leading the yusho race.  Subsequent losses to HAKUHO, SHORYU and AZUMA still left the smallest man on the banzuke’s top row with an 11-4 mark and the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize).  He shares top maegashira performance honors with #3-West AMINISHIKI, who also went 11-4 and took the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize).  Other notable hiramaku showings:

#1-West ROHO (Russia) (10-5)
#5-West IWAKIYAMA (10-5)
#7-East FUTENO (9-6)
#7-West KOTOSHOGIKU (10-5)
#8-West KAKIZOE (9-6)
#10-East TAKEKAZE (10-5)
#13-East HOKUTORIKI (10-5)

In Juryo:  #3-East TOYOZAKURA and #8-East TAKANOWAKA finished with 11-4 records.  TAKA won the playoff for the yusho in professional sumo’s Triple-A division.  Other honorable mentions among the ‘contenders’:

#1-West KAKURYU (9-6)
#2-West USHIOMARU (9-6)
#4-West KITAZAKURA (10-5)
#5-East OTSUKASA (10-5)
#10-East OGA (9-6)
#11-East TOCHIOZAN (9-6)
#11-West WAKATOBA (9-6)

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The 600-Win Club

(updated after Aki 2006)

* Non-Japanese

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“Legendary” Yokozuna (10+ Yusho)

(updated after Aki 2006)

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

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SHUUBUN 2006
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

SHUUBUN (the Japanese term for the occasion of the Fall Equinox) debuted in 2002 with the sub-title “The Fall Housecleaning and Surplus Medal Close-Out Tournament.”  Since then, it (along with its Spring Equinox counterpart SHUNBUN) have become staples of the Southern California sumo calendar.  The basic idea is to hold it as close to the actual day as possible (although one year we didn’t hold it until late October).  The last two years it’s been a week late to accommodate the Georgia Sumo Open.  Both of these contests are always held at the “Dohyo of Dreams” in Garden Grove, California.

With Trent Sabo in Japan training for the World Championships, Troy Collins leaving for Osaka the next day, and no Mongolians prowling the area, the turnout for SHUUBUN 2006 was a little smaller than usual.  Still, with seven men and three little girls, we were well above the all-time low turnout for a DoD tournament of four contestants.  With this writer donning his black bow tie and whites and Matsuzaki-san serving as judge, action commenced with the little girls.  Some very good matches saw Judy Morrow prevail over Shannon Cochran and Hannah Crosby.

The men’s lightweight division saw Jason Gilbert and Art Morrow stage a replay of the California Sumo Championships with Jason again emerging as the victor.  The men’s middleweights saw Bradley Sutton upset Doug Cochran in the first match on his way to the championship.  Doug was second and Glenn Crosby (who is trying to get down to lightweight, but not there yet) took third.

Heavyweight action saw Dan Kalbfleisch take two in a row from Jim Lowerre.  Jim then had to face Art Morrow in Master’s Open action.  After a good struggle, Art was able to dump Jim on his back with a nice soto gake.  Between this and one of the falls he’d taken in one of his matches with Dan Jim had to bow out, giving a fusensho win to Glenn.  Glenn then beat Art for the Masters gold.

The men’s open saw its smallest lineup ever, with only four sumotori (Dan, Doug, Bradley and Glenn) answering the bell.  They finished in that order, as Doug was able to avenge his earlier loss to Bradley.

We thought that was going to be the end of the day, but the girls wanted more action, not against each other but versus Dan!  The first match saw Hannah and Judy go down or out, leaving Shannon to face the monster alone.  The monster lifted her over his head and carried her out of the ring.  Unfortunately for him, he was ruled to have stepped out backwards, giving the win to the girls.  In the next match, the monster scooped up all three girls and carried them out of the ring.  The rubber match saw the superior stamina and technique of the girls prevail as they forced the monster out of the ring for a decisive win.

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RESULTS OF SHUUBUN 2006 (The Fall Equinox Tournament)
(“Dohyo of Dreams”, Garden Grove, CA)

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<<  BEAUTIES BATTLE THE BEAST…The fan-favored Little Girl competitors team up against the seemingly-invincible “Dan-zilla”.  They managed to win out in a well-fought best-2-of-3 matchup.  (Photo taken with Jim’s camera.)

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2nd Georgia Sumo Open
Report by Packy Bannevans for SUMO SHIMPO

Sorry for the delay, but here is my version of events!

The 2^nd Annual Georgia Sumo Open was held on Saturday, September 23^rd at Stone Mountain Park as part of JapanFest 2006.  We had great weather and only a couple of minor problems with set-up compared to the inaugural event of last year.  Thanks to Lisa Hannabach, my trusty assistant, a total of 7 new recruits signed up for the Georgia chapter of the USSF and joined the competition with the 5 current members who made it out for the weekend of fun.

We started as we always do with a discussion of the sport of sumo, some basic demonstrations of technique, and then we invited the children in the audience to join us for warm-ups and fighting.  The crowd of spectators numbered in the hundreds and the number of children kept growing as the morning progressed.  After the initial fighting was over, we resorted to using the children’s wrestling matches as entertainment between tournament divisions.

We began the tournament with the lightweight competition among three rookie wrestlers who joined the USSF only moments before.  Jeb Root, brother-in-law of Dan Kalbfleisch, drove down from North Carolina to compete against Fred Syre of Atlanta and Bora Lam of Kennesaw, GA.  All three wrestlers showed some true potential, but Fred took first place, followed by Jeb and Bora.

Although there were only two competitors in the women’s division, the fighting was nonetheless intense.  Rookie Catherine Watkins of Atlanta proved that she cold hold her own with second year Georgia Sumo Association (GSA) member Robin Stafford of Columbus, GA.  In fact, Catherine won the first bout between the two even though it was her first sumo match and she was actually in a lower weight class than her opponent.  Robin did not let this setback affect her too much though as she came roaring back to win the next two matches and claim the gold medal.

Next up were the middleweight bouts which pitted a rookie from Chicago with a familiar last name – Brian Kalbfleisch (brother of Dan) against three veterans:  Doug Cochran of Golden State Sumo, Bradley Sutton of the California Sumo Association (CSA) and Packy Bannevans of the local GSA.  This division saw few if any surprises as the veterans showed their muster and finished with Doug in first, Bradley in second and Packy in third.  If we had given a fighting spirit award, it would have had to go to Brian for his valiant efforts in his first sumo matches!

Although it looked at first like Dan Kalbfleisch of the CSA would simply win by default due to lack of competition, he actually had to fight to get his gold.  Last-minute entrants Greg Midura of Athens, GA (GO DAWGS!) and Kang Thao of Jefferson, GA were no match for the current California state champion, but they earned their sumo wings nonetheless.  Greg came out in second place with Kang settling for third this year.

The last competition of the day was the open event in which all competitors got to fight at least twice more.  The only true upset of the first round was when lightweight newcomer Bora managed to force out his much larger heavyweight opponent Kang.  Otherwise, larger and more experienced wrestlers advanced to successive matches.  In the final bout, Dan mowed down Doug and received an automatic entry into the championship match with the yet to be determined winner of the second round.

The second round of the open competition produced almost the same results as the first with veteran wrestlers working their way through the competition.  In the penultimate bout, Doug once was again the master of Packy and assured himself of a re-match with Dan.  Although it wasn’t easy, Dan managed to get the best of Doug again and showed his true championship form.

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RESULTS OF the 2nd GEORGIA SUMO OPEN
(Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, GA)

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THE SUMO PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE FIELD:  covering the action in Georgia and New Mexico
	<<  Packy Bannevans (left) and Brian Kalbfleisch prepare for a middleweight clash at the Georgia Sumo Open.  (Photo taken with Dan’s camera.)
>>  Georgia Sumo Open babyweight champion Garret Bannevans makes his first dohyo appearance surrounded by the might of father Packy, Dan Kalbfleisch and Brad Sutton.  (Photo taken with Dan’s camera.)
	<<  Two local girls tie up in what appears to be more of a freestyle style of wrestling as Packy Bannevans oversees the action at the Highlander Open in Gallup, NM.  (Photo taken with Kurt’s camera.)
>>  Brad Sutton (left) and Kurt Rightmyer show the folks the aggressive style of sumo fought by middleweights all over the country at the inaugural Highlander Open.  (Photo taken with Dan’s camera.)

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Sumo Comes to New Mexico at 1^st Annual Highlander Open
Report by Kurt “Tachikaze” Rightmyer for SUMO SHIMPO

The Indian Capitol Sumo Kyokai and its founders Kelly Gneiting and Joe Gray welcomed participants from around the nation for the 1^st Annual Highlander Sumo Open in Gallup on August 26.  From the moment of our arrival it was apparent that Kelly and Joe had done a lot of planning in advance to ensure the event’s success, a charity benefit for Manuelito’s Children’s Home.  The organizers construct a raised, outdoor dohyo especially for the tournament held at the Gallup Flea Market. They also made the necessary effort to secure numerous sponsors for the event, and we were all grateful for the complementary lodgings, meals, and discounted t-shirts.  The event also received substantial pre-coverage on radio and TV.  Joe, his friend Colbert, Steven Jimenez, and I did three radio interviews within an hour of our arrival Friday morning, while Dan Kalbfleisch and Kelly made the trek to Albuquerque, picking up Georgia Sumo Open founder Packy Bannevans and five-time national champion James Perry along the way for a TV interview with ABC that aired later that evening.

     Still, despite the best efforts and good intentions of our hosts, nature conspired to inflict tragedy on the proceedings. During the week leading up to the tournament, heavy thunderstorms buffeted the Gallup area, and two nights before the main event Joe Gray lost both a favorite cousin Darrel Luther, 28, and Darrel’s son Damani, 2, in a freak flash flood accident.  Joe deserves a lot of credit for persevering in the face of such tragedy, and the 2006 Highlander Open was dedicated to the memory of Darrel and Damani, with co-emcee Kelly calling for a moment of silence to mark their passing.

     The tournament fielded ten wrestlers, including Navajos Joe Gray and his sister Elizabeth.  Without a lightweight division Bradley Sutton and I kicked things off, going the best two of three for the middleweight gold. Bradley can now stake claim to having won the first-ever sumo bout on New Mexico soil. Bradley also took the second of our hard-fought matches and won his first gold medal. Additionally, Bradley has been filming our recent tournaments and posting them on Youtube.com. They have been a blast to watch. So congratulations are definitely in order for Mr. Sutton.

     The heavyweight division saw five competitors doing a round robin for four playoff spots. It was a spirited contest, including one 30-second bout where U.S. junior champion Steve Jimenez finally prevailed over current California State champion Dan Kalbfleisch.

Unfortunately, James Perry had to retire due to injury, ending his hopes of a medal.  Steve bulled out Joe for the bronze and reigning U.S. heavyweight champion Kelly slammed Dan down hard to win the gold by yoritaoshi.

     In reviewing the matches on Youtube.com, it was immediately apparent that in the heavyweight final the tawara gave way by a full inch, with Dan incurring a bad case of bruised ribs in the fall. At this point I am reluctant to blame anyone for the ring malfunction, unless it is Mother Nature.  Heavy rains on previous days had drenched the ring, and all of us were scrambling on tournament morning, laying down sand and tamping. Even a skip loader was brought in to clear the spectator area of four inches of mud. Despite our heroic efforts accidents still happened. In addition to Kalbfleisch’s misfortune, almost every other wrestler received some unsightly scrapes from the coarse sand outside the ring.

    In the women’s division, U.S. lightweight champion Michelle Pike faced off against local Navajo heavyweight Elizabeth Gray for a best of three.  Michelle needed a tune up for the upcoming World Championships in Osaka. In their first match she quickly showed her skills as she got Elizabeth spun around and down from behind. However, the next two matches were much more competitive as Elizabeth caught on and kept Michelle centered in front of her. Eventually, Elizabeth got the best of her rival, forcing Michelle out twice in succession to win the gold. 

     Packy Bannevans put on a mawashi for the open weight division, handing the referee reins over to co-host Kelly Gneiting.  Dan “Itakunai” Kalbfleisch stepped up to the challenge as the only heavyweight competitor. Again the round robin fighting was intense with a few mono ii rematches. Eventually, Joe Gray bowed out to abrasions and winless me with shoulder pain.  Dan won the open weight gold, Packy Bannevans the silver and Bradley Sutton the bronze by default. 

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RESULTS of the 1st HIGHLANDER OPEN
(Gallup, NM)

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