SUMO - 2021 Nagoya Basho (July 4th - July 18th)

[listrahtes]

I hope Teru doesnt injure himself. His knees are a constant reminder of all his injuries.

am no fan of Teru but for sure wish him well and that he can win some basho to be a worthy Yokozuna.

Was wrong with Wakatakakage. I thought he was ahead of Hoshoryu and would walk through into the upper echelon of Makuuchi. Maybe next basho.

For next basho I do expect Hoshoryu to continue with his win streak and Takakeisho to sit that one out too or get injured fast again. Dont know why but the injury this time felt significant. Wouldnt it be great if Hakuho is so pissed now that he continues to dominate most basho again for the next 2 years. I would buy me a Hakuho pyjama

 

[Stormtrooper85]

Seriously though, i've watched very few Sumo matches in my life, but man were they good.

It's very captivating and easy to gain interest in.

 

[Nova44]

It's very captivating and easy to gain interest in.

I'd love to but i wouldn't even know where to begin. Help me sensei!

 

[Stormtrooper85]

I'd love to but i wouldn't even know where to begin. Help me sensei!

Well the July Tournament just concluded yesterday.
This thread should have videos available if you want to watch it and I believe the NHK website will have highlights of all 15 days with English commentary. You can also check Jason's All Sumo Channel on YouTube for matches

The next tournament begins in September so you'll have some time to watch some matches if you want to watch that

 

[Nova44]

Well the July Tournament just concluded yesterday.
This thread should have videos available if you want to watch it and I believe the NHK website will have highlights of all 15 days with English commentary. You can also check Jason's All Sumo Channel on YouTube for matches

The next tournament begins in September so you'll have some time to watch some matches if you want to watch that

On it.

 

[Apollo33]

Anyone know if Teru's arm was hurt at against Hakuho, it looked like a nasty arm throw

 

[Fork]

I'd love to but i wouldn't even know where to begin. Help me sensei!

hahaha, i'll try not to recommend too much, but for a quick intro to the sport check the Introduction to SUMO thread to get a brief introduction to the sport. i haven't updated it in a while so some of it is a bit out of date but it's still good, basic info about the sport.

if you're interested in watching matches, as @Stormtrooper85 mentioned, this NHK World Sumo page has a lot of highlights from the last tournament with English commentary. Kintamayama on YouTube also has highlights of each day of the tournament on his youtube channel, so you could relive the tournament from day 1 there too (or pretty much any tournament going back to 2011).

for sumo matches from the past i really highly recommend the National Art of Sumo series. the most recent DVD they released covered 2007-2010 so the series isn't completely up to date but it goes through key matches from 1936 to 2010 in roughly 40 minute videos, each covering important matches from 3-4 year chunks. there's no commentary and everything's written in Japanese so you might not get some of the context and the versions available online aren't great quality, but it's an epic series and there's a playlist of every episode chronologically HERE. here's the one from 2007-2010 pretty much starting off with Hakuho's promotion to Yokozuna:

 

[Nova44]

hahaha, i'll try not to recommend too much, but for a quick intro to the sport check the Introduction to SUMO thread to get a brief introduction to the sport. i haven't updated it in a while so some of it is a bit out of date but it's still good, basic info about the sport.

if you're interested in watching matches, as @Stormtrooper85 mentioned, this NHK World Sumo page has a lot of highlights from the last tournament with English commentary. Kintamayama on YouTube also has highlights of each day of the tournament on his youtube channel, so you could relive the tournament from day 1 there too (or pretty much any tournament going back to 2011).

for sumo matches from the past i really highly recommend the National Art of Sumo series. the most recent DVD they released covered 2007-2010 so the series isn't completely up to date but it goes through key matches from 1936 to 2010 in roughly 40 minute videos, each covering important matches from 3-4 year chunks. there's no commentary and everything's written in Japanese so you might not get some of the context and the versions available online aren't great quality, but it's an epic series and there's a playlist of every episode chronologically HERE. here's the one from 2007-2010 pretty much starting off with Hakuho's promotion to Yokozuna:

Thank you good sir.

 

[Slick_36]

Takagenji will be retiring soon, I predict his new name will be Tokenganja.

But seriously, fuck this. I hate that we spread our demonization of marijuana across the world.

 

[winterbike]

Takagenji will be retiring soon, I predict his new name will be Tokenganja.

But seriously, fuck this. I hate that we spread our demonization of marijuana across the world.

Does Japan's fear of weed come from the US? (Honest question, I don't know anything about their history with drugs).

 

[Stormtrooper85]

Does Japan's fear of weed come from the US? (Honest question, I don't know anything about their history with drugs).

It's not just Japan, it's almost (if not all) Asian Countries. My guess, if I had to take one is the anti-drug paranoia is intimately related to the trauma of China being humiliated in the Opium Wars.

Yes China and Japan are different countries but what impacts China impacts every country in that region and yes Weed is no cocaine or heroin but it's a general fear and paranoia combined with propaganda. It is not socially accepted. Even alcohol is viewed with suspicion in many Asian countries. The idea that it is more harmful than weed is still very new even though it is backed by studies

Ultimately the viewpoint is that Drugs are a debilitating thing that brought China, a formerly glorious empire, to its knees at the hand of Western colonial powers, so we must be vigilant about their presence in society, lest we suffer the same fate again.

Edit: During these times, the Chinese were known as the Sick Man of Asia (a term used ins some Martial Arts movies, Jet Li's Fearless for example) this term was used as recently as 2014 by previous president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III it is still something very relevant in the public conscious

Reading on the Opium Wars is absolutely fascinating (albeit horrifying and all around awful) and something I'd recommend if you want to learn why they are so much against something like weed

 

[Slick_36]

And I think for Japan in particular, some of it stems from the American influence in the 1950's. That was a time where America had some pretty extreme thoughts on it and that aligned with that general thought of drugs. Absolutely no one wanted to follow China's footsteps at the time.

 

[BoxingMMA]

I'd love to but i wouldn't even know where to begin. Help me sensei!

very easy to get into! Basically it’s 6 tournaments a year, that’s it. What happens in each tournament dictates the rankings of the wrestlers and how they will be placed in the next tournament. (First division, second, etc) you lose by getting out of the circle or touching the floor with any part of your body that isn’t the bottom of your feet.

that’s all you need to know to start, the rest of the questions you start having can be answered as a need to know basis or else you may be overwhelmed with hundreds of years of shit that makes no sense but it’s there only due to tradition.

the way I got into sumo was by watching Jason’s sumo Chanel. It’s in my opinion the best way to watch a few old tournaments and get used to the ropes. Jason is a teacher living in Japan and like the teacher he is he always feels compelled to explain everything that’s happening each match, even if he has done it a million times.

Plus his channel is a great way to catch up on old classic bouts. I’d go to his channel abs follow a few older tournaments. He normally covers them every day so you can watch full tournaments for the first time one after the other.

that’s what I did, I went back a few years and started watching old tournaments day by day as if I was watching live, I had no idea who was going to win.

eventually I caught up with a live on going basho and have watched every single basho since then

It’s an incredible sport.

 

[Emporio Alnino]

Yokozuna Hakuho finds himself in the crosshairs of the sport's top officials again, for his unorthodox and rough tactics in the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament and his celebration afterward.

The Japan Sumo Association’s Yokozuna Deliberation Council on July 19 questioned Hakuho's fighting style, although he hoisted the Emperor's Cup with a perfect 15-0 mark.

Hironori Yano, the council chairman, criticized Hakuho for his tactics for the initial charge against ozeki Shodai on Day 14. Yano said the yokozuna “looked awful” in retreating before the bout started and keeping his distance from his opponent before engaging him.

He also complained about his vicious “kachiage” forearm thrust into ozeki Terunofuji's face and repeated "harite" (face slaps) in their widely anticipated bout on Day 15 to decide the championship and celebratory fist pump afterward.

JSA Chairman Hakkaku told council members that the association will teach Hakuho how to behave properly.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399422
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I figured this was coming after the kachiage and post match celebration. "JSA Chairman Hakkaku told council members that the association will teach Hakuho how to behave properly." Oh God <45>They're really gonna make it hard for him to get that elder stock huh?

 

[Slick_36]

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399422
------------------------

I figured this was coming after the kachiage and post match celebration. "JSA Chairman Hakkaku told council members that the association will teach Hakuho how to behave properly." Oh God <45>They're really gonna make it hard for him to get that elder stock huh?

Pretty sure he already has elder stock, it's just not in his name specifically. I wasn't a huge fan of the elbow but honestly I probably wouldn't have thought twice if it was against anyone else or was under any other circumstances.

The Shodai match was an insult to tradition, but it was healthy for the sport. Shodai needed that kick in the ass and it will always stand out as a significant moment. You could call it an avoidance of the tachiai, but he didn't move forward from that spot, he genuinely let Shodai engage him on the edge.

 

[Stormtrooper85]

I give you the 73rd Yokozuna Terunofuji Haruo

 

[Stormtrooper85]

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399422
------------------------

I figured this was coming after the kachiage and post match celebration. "JSA Chairman Hakkaku told council members that the association will teach Hakuho how to behave properly." Oh God <45>They're really gonna make it hard for him to get that elder stock huh?

Hakuho should've hit that Stone Cold Hakuho Stunner on Hakkaku and his 8 pitiful championships.

They hate em cause they ain't em.

 

[Fork]

Takagenji will be retiring soon, I predict his new name will be Tokenganja.

But seriously, fuck this. I hate that we spread our demonization of marijuana across the world.

yeah, sucks that he'll be getting in a lot of trouble for something pretty innocuous. but, like his brother i think he's got an attitude problem and i won't be too sorry to see him leave the sport. here's a match from 2017 where he disrespects Asahisho by not bowing or even really looking at him when they step up onto the dohyo, and he gets a good post-match slap/push to the face for it:


i wanted to root for his brother in MMA and it seemed like he was going for a good redemption arc, but after that fight where he kept attacking the pro-wrestler after the fight was over it doesn't seem like he's really done much to try to change. womp womp, both brothers seem like losers...

 

[Fork]

I give you the 73rd Yokozuna Terunofuji Haruo

man, what a story for Terunofuji. and it really highlights what he had to overcome when he tries getting down on his broken knees.

and thinking about how he looked as he was on his way up the first time, then how he looked after the injury, and how out of shape he looked when he returned in Jonidan (timestamped):


that's a tremendous amount of determination and i'm sure competing while in a lot of pain, all to make it to the top of the sport.

 

[Apollo33]

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399422
------------------------

I figured this was coming after the kachiage and post match celebration. "JSA Chairman Hakkaku told council members that the association will teach Hakuho how to behave properly." Oh God <45>They're really gonna make it hard for him to get that elder stock huh?

I hope Hakuho wins the next one doing these "unorthodox" moves just go piss them off