June 2007

Hakuho Runs Table for Tsuna

Tochiazuma Puts In His Papers

Hakuho Runs Table For Tsuna
Posts Zensho for Second-in-Row:  Shoryu Falls to 10-5
by “Yukikaze for SUMO SHIMPO

Drama reared its head in two instances before the 2007 Natsu Basho even began.  High blood pressure issues had been bedeviling ozeki #2-West TOCHIAZUMA for some time now:  it had even been reported he had suffered a mild stroke at one point, resulting in a hospital stay after withdrawing from the Haru tournament.  It was probably very difficult for both himself and Tamanoi Oyakata (his father) to decide to ‘put in the papers’ for retirement, but in the best interest of his future health it was no doubt the right one.  (See related article in this issue.)  Then there was maegashira #8-East KYOKUTENHO driving an automobile in violation of Kyokai rules, getting into an accident, and injuring another person (only minor injuries were reported).  Some time back, then-maegashira Toki was driving a car and got into an accident in which another person was killed.  TENHO’s punishment was the same as Toki’s was then:  suspension for the entire upcoming basho.  He also had his salary cut by 30% for three months (his stablemaster, Oshima Oyakata, had his wallet similarly lightened).

DA WINNA – AND NEW GRAND CHAM-PEEN… HAKUHO waves to the crowd as he is paraded away from the Kokugikan following his 15-0 yusho-winning effort.  Coupled with his March victory in Osaka, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council has voted to make the young Mongolian the sport’s 69th grand champion.  (Photo:  Kyodo News Service)

The 0-0-15 sent Toki down to the Juryo:  no one knows yet whether the senior Mongolian sumotori (in terms of time in pro sumo) will suffer the same fate. Once the bell was rung for the start of the action, many of the usual favorites took the early lead.  Some of those suspects then began to fall back in accordance with their usual patterns.  The first sign that something was going to be different than usual came on day 10 when yokozuna-East ASASHORYU (MGL), in his usual position of odds-on favorite, was crushed out by maegashira #4-East AMINISHIKI.  This was the second tournament in a row where the “Mongolian Express” surrendered a gold star.  It also allowed ozeki #1-East HAKUHO (MGL) to pull clear from not only the yokozuna, but from two surging hiramaku:  #9-West ASASEKIRYU (MGL) and #10-East DEJIMA.  SHORYU got back on keel with a shiroboshi over sekiwake-East KOTOMITSUKI, but “Sleeping Thunder” kept rolling and did not look back as his countryman proceeded to fall to ozeki #3-West CHIYOTAIKAI, #2-East KAIO and #1-West KOTOOSHU (BUL).  HAKUHO had his third career Tenno-Hai, a second consecutive yusho, and promotion to sumo’s pinnacle rank clinched after day 14’s action; but he still had one thing left on his list of action items.  And he completed that on senshuraku, rolling SHORYU to the clay by uwatedashinage to nail his first zensho yusho and serve notice that the jidai that had begun in January 2004 was now over.  Meanwhile, “The Express” found himself tagged with an uncharacteristically-poor 10-5.   The remaining trio of ozeki did much better this time than they did in Osaka.  TAIKAI had the kadoban ‘buck’ coming in, but fought hard to offload it with six shiroboshi to open and kachikoshi on day 10.  He topped SHORYU on day 12 to stand 10-2 but could not close matters out against other joi-jin, losing his last 3 for a 10-5.  KAIO won his first seven over hiramaku and had his eight on day 9, but had problems handling joi-jin until he got his turn against the reeling grand champion.  He also finished out at 10-5, and now has 697 Makunouchi shiroboshi:  both Takanohana (65) and Mushshimaru (67) are squarely in his sights for Nagoya.  OSHU had 7 wins in the first eight days, but then lost four straight before regaining the rails against TAIKAI and SHORYU to put a 9-6 on the board.  With HAKUHO moving up, and AZUMA packing it in, no ozeki will be kadoban when the Aichi Prefectural Taiikukan opens its doors in July.   The reduction in the ozeki ranks was received as good news in the lower sanyaku – for one rikishi, anyway.  KOTOMITSUKI won his first four torikumi, and nine of his first 10, on his way to a strong 12-3 posting.  Coupled with the 10-5 he racked up in Osaka, he now stands at 22-8 over his last two tournaments:  ten or more wins in Nagoya could very well give Sadogatake Beya a second ozeki in the very near future.  Sekiwake-West AMA (MGL) struggled the entire basho mixing shiroboshi and kuroboshi, and after day 13 stood on the brink with a 6-7.  But the smallest man in the Makunouchi (124 kg / 273 lbs) pulled up his tabi and won his last two matches (including ASASEKIRYU on senshuraku), made his kachi, and keeps his sanyaku paycheck.  Both komusubi were roughly handled this time out.  East-sider TOYONOSHIMA got hammered early and often on his way to a 4-11 mark:  West-sider KOTOSHOGIKU did better but still got pinned with a 7-8, which means both ‘killer rank’ slots will be occupied by new faces in July.   The race for top maegashira honors ended in a 12-3 tie between ASASEKIRYU (who was awarded the Gino-Sho) and #10‑East DEJIMA (who earned the Kanto-Sho).  Other maegashira efforts earning honorable mention:   #4-East AMINISHIKI (9-6) (kinboshi) (Shukun-Sho) #7-East TAKAMISAKARI (9-6) #7-West WAKANOSATO (10-5) #9-East ROHO (RUS) (10-5) #9-West MIYABIYAMA (9-6) #13-East FUTENO (10-5) #14-East RYUO (MGL) (10-5) #16-East HOKUTORIKI (9-6)   In Juryo:  #11-West BARUTO (EST) came very close to an unprecedented second zensho in this division, but finished at 14-1 to take the championship.  Other worthy contender efforts:   #2-East KITAZAKURA (9-6) #2-West HAKUROZAN (RUS) (9-6) #5-East KAIHO (9-6) #6-West TOYOHIBIKI (10-5) #11-East SHIRONONAMI (9-6) #13-East WAKANOHO (RUS) (10-5)   As a follow-up before this issue is finalized:  it has been announced that shin-yokozuna HAKUHO will be using the Shiranui-style yokozuna dohyo-iri.

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Tochiazuma Puts In His Papers

Health Issues Cited in Retirement
by “Yukikaze for SUMO SHIMPO

Citing health issues (including headaches, dizziness and a mild stroke which had resulted in a hospital stay), ozeki TOCHIAZUMA announced he was retiring from sumo competition effective prior to the start of the 2007 Natsu Basho.   Daisuke Shiga (TOCHI’s civilian name) had been born to be a part of the sumo world every bit as much as the Hanada brothers had been.  The son of Tamanoi Oyakata, he entered the world on November 9, 1976 and entered the sumo world at the 1994 Hatsu Basho.  His rise through the lower divisions was fairly fast with yusho in the Jonokuchi, Jonidan, Sandanme and Makushita divisions.   He made his sekitori debut at the 1996 Natsu Basho (now bearing his father’s shikona) and went 10-5.  (One of those 5 losses was to future fellow-ozeki CHIYOTAIKAI.)  Four months later TOCHI won the Juryo yusho with a 12-3 mark:  he was shin-nyumaku in November, went 10-5 in his debut performance, and would remain on the banzuke’s top row for the remainder of his career.  He made his first sanyaku appearance at Nagoya 1997, going 9-6 at komusubi #2-West and earning a sekiwake slot.  In perhaps a foretelling of what was to come, he went 2-4-9 at Haru 1998 and was demoted to maegashira #5 for the Natsu:  this would be his lowest ranking from this point out.  He gained a reputation for serious strength combined with great technique, which made him a consistent performer in the joi-jin ranks.  In the last half of 2001, while ranked at sekiwake, he posted records of 10-5, 12-3 and 12-3 to earn promotion to ozeki.  And in his first basho as ozeki, he won the Hatsu 2002 championship with a 13-2 mark.

As an ozeki, TOCHI showed the ability to hold the rank.  But he never seemed to have the “belly fire” necessary to break through to the grand champion’s place in the rankings.  It was almost two years (Kyushu 2003) before he won his next Tenno-Hai.  He was in kadoban a total of eight times.  In two instances during 2004 he posted consecutive make-koshi records and was demoted to sekiwake:  both times he won 10 or more shiroboshi for reinstatement.  His third (and final) top-division title, at Hatsu 2006, was easily the most memorable:  it marked the end of the historic rensho that had made ASASHORYU (68) the first modern sumotori to win all six basho in a calendar year.  A year later, he was kadoban again after a 5-10 effort.  In Osaka he came out probably figuring (in this writer’s opinion, anyway) this would be his final performance under the ‘bright lights’.  He fought like a man determined to go out on a high note, and won his first seven torikumi.  Fellow ozeki KOTOOSHU and HAKUHO fended him off the next two days; but he then defeated maegashira KASUGAO for the all-important eighth shiroboshi.  He lost to SHORYU the following day, handed a fusen win to CHIYOTAIKAI, and withdrew from the dohyo wars… permanently, as it turns out.   TOCHIAZUMA finishes with a career record of 560 wins, 317 losses and 169 absences:  his Makunouchi record is 483-296-166.   He is the first sumotori since the War years to win at least one yusho in every one of professional sumo’s divisions:  Makunouchi (3 times), Juryo (once), Makushita, Sandanme, Jonidan and Jonokuchi (once each).  He won a total of 12 sansho:  3 Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance), 2 Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit) and 7 Gino-Sho (Technique).  He earned 4 kinboshi.  He is the logical heir to the Tamanoi elder name, and to Tamanoi Beya.

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Kinboshi:  Receivers and Givers

(updated after Natsu 2007)

Y = number of basho ranked at yokozuna

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS (Natsu 2007)

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The 600-Win Club

(updated after Natsu 2007)

* Non-Japanese

The ASASHORYU Watch

(updated after Natsu 2007)

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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.

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”Bökh” Is Not a Klingon Delicacy:  A Primer on Mongolian Wrestling
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

Wrestling, in its many forms, is the World’s oldest sport.  There are many national variations.   We thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the other national forms from time to time.  With the second Mongolian ascending to the top of the sumo pyramid, we thought that the logical place to start would be with Mongolian wrestling, called “Bökh” or “Bayirldax” in Mongolian.  It is probably no accident that the fathers of both ASASHORYU and HAKUHO were champions of Mongolian wrestling.  HAKUHO’s father won the Mongolian wrestling championship six times.  In addition, he was the first Mongolian to ever win a medal at the Olympics, taking the silver medal in the middleweight 78-87 kg division of Free Style wrestling at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.  We found four information filled pages on the subject in the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, plus many other items on Google.  Readers are encouraged  to Google the subject.  You’ll be surprised at how much information there is.  Also, there are lots of clips of Mongolian wrestling on YouTube.

Like sumo, bökh  has a strong military element in its past.  Along with horsemanship and archery (the bulk of the Mongol armies were horse archers) it’s considered one of the three “manly skills”, all of which are contested in the major summer festival known as Naadam.  Naadam takes place for three days in July of each year.

Wikipedia lists a half-dozen variations of Mongolian wrestling.  W e are just going to cover the two primary ones. The one practiced in the nation of Mongolia (commonly referred to as Outer Mongolia) and the Chinese province known as Inner Mongolia.

Like traditional sumo in Japan (as compared to International Amateur Sumo), there are no weight divisions in any of the versions of Mongolian wrestling.  There is also no time limit on a match.  We found a photo on Google of a semi-final match that lasted slightly over three hours.  This doesn’t mean there was three hours of non-stop wrestling.  According to some of the post on Google, particular by Western visitors, there is a lot that goes on besides actual wrestling.  One Canadian thought it was really boring.

Like many of the world’s forms of wrestling, the primary object of bökh is simply to score a fall, no pin needed.  In the Outer Mongolian version, the object is to force your opponent to touch his back, knee or elbow to the ground.  In the Inner Mongolian version, you lose if any part of the body other than the feet touches the ground. Under Inner Mongolian rules, you are not allowed to touch your opponent’s legs with your hands.  Not so in Mongolia, where grabbing your opponent’s legs is fair game. In fact, a substantial number of the attacks we saw involved leg grabs, particularly of the ashitori variety.  We even saw one match where a wrestler was able to force down and opponent who had his leg to the ground. Strikes, strangles and locks are illegal in both versions.  As in sumo, a judo style sacrifice throw will lose you the match, since the first wrestler to touch the ground loses, regardless of who initiated the throw.  We saw matches at Naadam on YouTube where one wrestler had both feet and both hands touching the ground.  In such cases, he was still in the match as long as his knee or elbow didn’t touch the ground.

In common with both sumo and all the Japanese martial arts, certain rules of courtesy and etiquette are part and parcel of Mongolian wrestling.  For instance, whether winning or losing, good manners dictate that the two opponents shake hands and salute each other and the audience, both prior to and after a bout.  Also, when a wrestler throws his opponent to the ground, he is supposed to help his opponent to his feet before he dances off the field (although in the videos we saw on YouTube, this seems to be very loosely observed).  After a match, the loser passes under the right arm of the winner as a sign of respect.

The costumes worn by the wrestlers vary considerably in the Inner and Outer Mongolian versions.   For the Mongolian version, the wrestlers wear a tight, collarless jacket called a “jodag.”  Wikipedia says that it is “short-sleeved” but the sleeves are actually long. It is traditionally made of blue or red wool, although some modern wrestlers have changed to silk or cotton for greater flexibility.  The “jodag” is tied with a string around the chest which holds it open at the chest.  According to legend, on one occasion a wrestler defeated all combatants and then ripped open the jodag to reveal her breast.  Ever since, the jodag has had to reveal the chest to verify the wrestler is indeed male.  Also worn are small tight fitting blue or red cotton briefs called “shuudag”, which look very much to this writer like ‘Speedos.”  Finally, there are the boots called “Gutal.”  The traditional Mongolian version is made of soft leather with turned-up toes.  These days, commercial western-style boots are also worn.  However, thus far, we haven’t seen any cowboy boots.

The costume of Inner Mongolian wrestling is quite different.  Wrestlers wear a loose fitting blouse and loose fitting pants, which are usually (but not always) white.  The sleeves of the blouse come only to the elbow.  They also wear a thick vest made of camel hair leather. This vest has metal studs. Instead of a string, a leather belt is worn.  Finally, there are soft leather boots.

Like sumo, both forms of Mongolian wrestling have pre-match ceremonies that have their origin in ancient tradition.  In both versions it takes the form of a dance.  In Mongolia, the dance imitates a bird of prey taking off from the a perch (or perhaps a hunter’s gauntlet).  The Inner Mongolian version is supposed to imitate lions or tigers prancing.  We don’t know about Inner Mongolia, but at the start of Naadam, all the contestants bird dance onto the field at once.

There are several unique aspects of bökh.  First of all (and very differently from sumo) there is no fixed contest area.  Matches are most commonly held on a large field, although they can also be held on bare dirt or even indoors.  Not only that, there are dozens of matches going on at the same time.  This may be because of the need to winnow out some five hundred twenty contestants.  Each wrestler has a second who offers encouragement (frequently in the form of slaps on the butt) and helps to keep them from getting tangled up with other matches going on at the same time.  In both versions, tournaments are single elimination:  one loss and you are done for the day.  Many of the matches we saw on YouTube resembled freestyle wrestling, with lots of leg attacks.  However, extensive use is also made of the string around the chest and many throws originated from grips on the opponent’s shorts.

Like sumo, Mongolian wrestling has ranks.  In the Mongolian version these ranks can only be earned at the naadam festival, the number of rounds won by a wrestler determining his rank.  The ranks are: unranked, bird (eagle), elephant (camel), lion (wolf) and titan (Knight or great warrior).

This article was compiled by Tonkatsu from numerous sources on Google; particularly Wikipedia and articles by Matt Furey (Inner Mongolian) and Aaron Fields (outer Mongolian), both of which can be found at www.combatwrestling.com.

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Coming Soon to Your PC:  The Official USSF Web Site
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

It almost seems as if every organization and its sibling has a presence on the World Wide Web.  This includes most of the sumo clubs in Southern California, as well as the International Sumo Federation.  But the United States Sumo Federation has not had a Web presence where information could be obtained and application processes streamlined.

But that is going to change.  With the support of the Board of Trustees, and input from technically-savvy members of the amateur sumo community, the USSF should soon have a site online and running.  It will be possible to download forms for sanction application, annual and life memberships, and dan promotion (among others).  There will also be links to those USSF-registered sumo clubs anywhere in the USA that have a Web presence.

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Current Holders of USSF Dan Rank

* Nidan promotion pending

Current USSF Life Members

1. Harry Dudrow  2. Yoshisada Yonezuka  3. Jim Lowerre  4. Andrew Freund  5. Troy Collins  6. Hiroshi Matsuzaki  7. Manny Yarbrough (honorary)  8. Trent Sabo  9. Packy Bannevans  10. Doug Cochran  11. Tom Zabel  12. Dan Kalbfleisch  13. Kelly Bannevans  14. Richard Hopp 15. Gary Goltz (honorary)

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The Photo Page:  Fun In The Sun 2007 (taken by Micki Clark)

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This is the main character, Darryl Tackelberry, better known as RAFUYAMA (Los Angeles Mountain) because that is his hometown.  Presently a sekiwake, RAFU is one of the professional sumo world's A‑listers and enjoys every minute of his life.  Although still working on his hinkaku and quick temper, Darryl is a "good boy" according to his stable mother.

RAFUYAMA's other tsukebito is Toshio Inaba.  He's also in the Makushita division, with the shikona TOMONOYUKATA (abundance of knowledge).  He loves to read and study - a real egghead.  Toshi combines brain and brawn.  He would be a total sumo geek if RAFUYAMA and MAINONAMI didn't include and encourage him in having more fun.

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United States Sumo Calendar for 2007

CLASSES/TRAINING SESSIONS

Contact the listed STAGING ORGANIZATION for the latest fee schedule and other information.

COMPETITIONS

(T) = Tentative

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