Introduction to SUMO

Linthec said:
I just found a really awesome documentary I'd like to share. I may be wrong but I haven't seen it posted yet.

A karateka and K1 guy, Nicholas Pettas, tries sumo. He's enthusiasic, respectful, and legit about the whole thing. It's a great informative watch, here's part 1 of 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIRG0simtDE
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yeah, that's a great documentary. i had it in this thread before, but it the video i had linked got taken down by NHK, so thanks for the link i'll add it back to the first page.
 
In the documentary, they were talking about how it's important to get low and push up. Having a belly makes it difficult to get pushed up against because your body angles downward into the belly.

An overly mesomorphic physique, like Overeem's or a bodybuilders, angles upward into the chest and shoulders, like a "V". Very easy to get underneath and push up against. An "A" shape you can only really push down against, which means you are pushing into the ground where they are braced.
 
Linthec said:
In the documentary, they were talking about how it's important to get low and push up. Having a belly makes it difficult to get pushed up against because your body angles downward into the belly.

An overly mesomorphic physique, like Overeem's or a bodybuilders, angles upward into the chest and shoulders, like a "V". Very easy to get underneath and push up against. An "A" shape you can only really push down against, which means you are pushing into the ground where they are braced.
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I'd imagine the belly also prevents their opponent from getting close to them and getting a good grip.

But think about it this way as well: if a rikishi weighs 150 kg at 20% bodyfat, he'll weigh 20 kg less at 7% bodyfat (and that's not even taking into account that he'd probably lose muscle mass as well when losing weight). 150 kg is more difficult for the opponent to move than 130 kg.
 
Linthec said:
In the documentary, they were talking about how it's important to get low and push up. Having a belly makes it difficult to get pushed up against because your body angles downward into the belly.

An overly mesomorphic physique, like Overeem's or a bodybuilders, angles upward into the chest and shoulders, like a "V". Very easy to get underneath and push up against. An "A" shape you can only really push down against, which means you are pushing into the ground where they are braced.
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yeah, i think that's an excellent answer. and i don't know much about this sort of thing, but i also assume loads of muscles reduces flexibility which is extremely important in sumo.

and we actually did get to see overeem doing sumo, when he competed in the Ultimate Sumo Championship competition:



he competed against basically non-sumo guys in bobby ologun, kiyoshi tamura, and sanae kikuta, although tamura does have a sumo background and both he and kikuta beat sumo wrestlers earlier in the competition. kikuta even beat shinichi suzukawa (former wakakirin) who actually competed in the top division which is pretty amazing.

semmy schilt also did well in one of the Ultimate Sumo events, while having a traditionally not so great sumo physique.
 
Broculis said:
And why people clap when the dude "stomps"?
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forgot about this question.

i'm guessing you mean when they show Hakuho doing his ring-entering ceremony.



the audience just claps when he finishes for the same reason audiences clap after any performance, really. their applause isn't really a part of the ritual.

the stomps (shiko) he does in the ritual are meant to drive evil spirits from the ring, and you'll often hear the crowd shout when the yokozuna stomps down, probably to feel like they're taking part in the ritual as well.

there's a good guide to that (and other topics) found HERE.
 
Cool video! Looks like Hakuho practicing Ssireum wrestling with someone I don't recognize. Probably some Mongolian dude.
 
Something I noticed.

Japanese/Mongolian/Asian in general sumo, while very big and heavy with alot of fat, are round and smooth in terms of their build.

But when you see Western sumo in the amateurs they just look like obese people. Fat jelly rolls, kankles, fingers like sausages and just really gross in general.
 
Linthec said:
Cool video! Looks like Hakuho practicing Ssireum wrestling with someone I don't recognize. Probably some Mongolian dude.
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yeah, that's actually mongolian wrestling.

pretty crazy to see hakuho thrown like that.

Edison Carasio said:
Something I noticed.

Japanese/Mongolian/Asian in general sumo, while very big and heavy with alot of fat, are round and smooth in terms of their build.

But when you see Western sumo in the amateurs they just look like obese people. Fat jelly rolls, kankles, fingers like sausages and just really gross in general.
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i think a lot of that probably has to do with their training regimen. a lot of those amateur guys are obviously not able to devote as much time to sumo as the professionals, and probably just aren't in as good shape.
 
GoForkYourself said:
i think a lot of that probably has to do with their training regimen. a lot of those amateur guys are obviously not able to devote as much time to sumo as the professionals, and probably just aren't in as good shape.
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I would also imagine that a lot of those amateur guys were obese before starting sumo, and were attracted to the sport because it allowed them to make use of their excess weight.
 
dsctlvr said:
I would also imagine that a lot of those amateur guys were obese before starting sumo, and were attracted to the sport because it allowed them to make use of their excess weight.
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yeah, that's probably also the case.

a lot of the japanese guys get into sumo because they're big kids too, but that brings them into sumo from a young age, so again their body is in better shape.

i'd also guess diet might have something to do with it, as i doubt the amateur sumo guys from the west are eating chanko-nabe and rice, although they might be.
 
this is such a great post, really informative. I used to love watch sumo wrestling on Channel 4 in the UK when I was a kid (I believe Brian Blessed did the commentary). I was fairly big as a kid myself so it was great to see a sport where you didn't have to be skinny to compete.

Anyway, I was wondering if there were any particularly good sumo tournaments you could recommend? I haven't seen it in years so I wouldn't know where to start. Is there anything that really stands out like Pride 10 or Bushido 9 for example?
 
BigDeadFreak said:
this is such a great post, really informative. I used to love watch sumo wrestling on Channel 4 in the UK when I was a kid (I believe Brian Blessed did the commentary). I was fairly big as a kid myself so it was great to see a sport where you didn't have to be skinny to compete.

Anyway, I was wondering if there were any particularly good sumo tournaments you could recommend? I haven't seen it in years so I wouldn't know where to start. Is there anything that really stands out like Pride 10 or Bushido 9 for example?
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hahaha, wow brian blessed doing sumo commentary. i'd love to see that.

and as far as a good sumo tournament, i wouldn't say that any tournament is much better than the others. they all have their ups and downs throughout the 15 days, although some have more memorable finishes and more exciting races for the championship than others.

we're half-way through a tournament right now, and although jumping in in the middle might be a bit daunting or confusing, i would recommend following along with us HERE. and you can watch daily compilations of all of the top division matches at Kintamayama's Youtube Channel starting at day 1 if you like:



and feel free to ask any questions you might have either here, or in the thread for the tournament going on right now, and someone will try to give a helpful answer.
 
what's with the things hanging down on the front of their outfit? and why do they tuck them up on their leg at the start, are they allowed to touch the ground?
 
codemonkey76 said:
what's with the things hanging down on the front of their outfit? and why do they tuck them up on their leg at the start, are they allowed to touch the ground?
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yeah, they're called sagari and they can touch the ground during the match, but as you said they're tucked behind the legs as they get ready to start the match. i'm not sure why they're tucked up like that, but it probably has some symbolic significance.

they're basically just ornamental. they're not connected to the mawashi (belt), but the strings are attached to a band which is tucked into the belt. they fall out fairly often, and you'll see the referee picking them up in the middle of a match and throwing them to the side of the dohyo.

for lower ranked wrestlers they're soft, but the guys in the top two divisions have their strands stiffened with some kind of seaweed-based glue if i remember right, so in that sense they're a sign of rank.
 
BigDeadFreak said:
this is such a great post, really informative. I used to love watch sumo wrestling on Channel 4 in the UK when I was a kid (I believe Brian Blessed did the commentary). I was fairly big as a kid myself so it was great to see a sport where you didn't have to be skinny to compete.

Anyway, I was wondering if there were any particularly good sumo tournaments you could recommend? I haven't seen it in years so I wouldn't know where to start. Is there anything that really stands out like Pride 10 or Bushido 9 for example?
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Maube the last September tournament stands out a bit, as Harumafuji had his second basho win in a row there, whcih got him the Yokozuna rank.

And the final fight with Hakuho was epic!
 
Hey guys. I found this new documentary from Al Jazeera on Mongolian wrestling and sumo. Enjoy.

 
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