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    #26
    I recall that a basho(?) was planned for the Albert Hall back in the 70s, but was cancelled at the last minute as it was possible there were menstruating women in the audience. The rules might have changed since then of course.

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      #27
      So - Sumo is suffused with Shinto ritual, and Shinto like a lot of religions has various taboos around menstrual blood but that;s a new one on me. The bigger issue is sexism more generally: women are certainly allowed to watch Sumo in Japan (and always have been, so far as I know) but they are forbidden from touching the dohyo (the raised mound on which the ring sits).

      There is "women's sumo", but the ring isn't mounted and technically it's not called sumo because the shinto would blow a gasket. Also, women's sumo looks a lot more like western women's wresting in that it's all grappling, and (AFAICT) no slapping.

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        #28
        He's not Furtho, but a while back Brian Phillips wrote this for Grantland, and it's, well, a Brian Phillips piece, so obviously you should read it.

        I'm getting 'video not avalailable' on those final day highlights, incidentally. Is it just me?

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          #29
          I vaguely remember when that came out. Maybe I should give it a re-read.

          Anyways, if that video doesn't work, try this one (NHK's english-language highlights)

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            #30
            There was a basho at the Royal Albert Hall in 1991

            It was the first to be held outside of Japan for 1,500 years.

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              #31
              I don't know anything much about sumo, sorry - but as an avid viewer of NHK World I am aware of this highlights/video on demand page on their website.

              The Japan Times today has a piece headed "[Japan Sumo Association] offering foreign fans rare glimpse of special sumo rituals," which may be of interest, here.

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                #32
                OK, so the November basho started today in Fukuoka. Here's what you need to know:

                * 3 of the 4 yokozuna are competing. Kakuryuu is not, I think this is 4 in a row he has missed. He may well be asked to retire. Of the other three, Haramafuji is pretty banged up (more on him in a sec). Hakuho is back and looking his badass self. His to lose (and is he wins, it's his 40th, which is unprecedented)

                * Onosho - newly promoted to the senior ranks (Komosubi) after just three tournaments (which is some kind of record, I think) - is the guy to watch. As per the rule of the schedulers sticking it to anyone who;s not an established champion, they scheduled him against two yokozuna in the first two days. As it happened, the first one was vs. Haramafuji (September's champion), and Onosho wiped the floor with him. Awesome stuff. And he's up against Kisenosato tomorrow (who looked pretty iffy in losing to a Maegashira today)

                * One sub-plot at this tournament is Aminishiki. He has just returned to the top level after banging around in the lower divisions for awhile. At the age of 39. Which makes him the oldest person ever to return to Makuuchi. He handled his first bout really well. Made it look easy.

                Day one highlights are here.

                Also, there is a new-ish and quite outstanding english-language sumo blog I am now following called "Tachiai" (which is Japanese for "initial movement", that is the first, explosive move the wrestler makes after his knuckles hitting the sand to start the fight). If this thread is intriguing you at all (probably not but hope spring eternal) go check it out.
                Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 12-11-2017, 13:59.

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                  #33
                  Day two. Harumafuji lost again, 0-2 and you have to wonder if he stays in the basho much longer. But Hakuho...well, take a look here at 15:58. It's an astonishing piece of sumo. After the initial clash, Hakuho throws a set of fake punches against his opponent Tamawashi. This so unnerves Tamawashi that he completely misses hakuho's left hand going down for his belt. Hakuho spins him around and pushes him out of the ring *backwards*. Great stuff.
                  Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 13-11-2017, 23:54.

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                    #34
                    And yes, Harumafuji had indeed pulled out of the tournament, amidst not just injuries, but revelations that three weeks ago he knocked another wrestler (Takanoiwa, a fellow Mongolian) cold by hitting him over the head with a beer bottle during a drunken night out.

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                      #35
                      Or, more to the point, propels him out forwards, which is to say the opposite of what would more normally be expected, which is what I think you were trying to get at! Need the slow-motion replays to really appreciate it, too, as the action takes place in such a brief blur you can hardly see the sequence of events at real speed.

                      Many thanks for the updates here AG, don't want you to think no-one is reading. I hadn't taken any real notice of sumo since there was the brief 'glamorous' period c. 1993 when Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana were all ascendant and put the sport briefly in global view, but after reading this thread the other week I (inadvertently) spent hours surfing Wikipedia catching up with all manner of the great combatants and history of the sport. Hakuho's dismantling of almost every record worth speaking of is truly astonishing, and that clip was a neat little microcosm of his talent wasn't it?

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                        #36
                        Originally posted by Anton Gramscescu View Post
                        And yes, Harumafuji had indeed pulled out of the tournament, amidst not just injuries, but revelations that three weeks ago he knocked another wrestler (Takanoiwa, a fellow Mongolian) cold by hitting him over the head with a beer bottle during a drunken night out.
                        Just seen this, too. That's a career-ending incident, potentially, isn't it? For a yokozuna in particular to have stooped to such practices would be considered irredeemably shameful.

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                          #37
                          Yeah, it is. The first Mongolian yokozuna, Asashoryu, was asked to retire becuase of getting into a fight with a bouncer. Mind you he'd already blotted his copybook by playing charity football when he was supposed to be recuperating from an injury. Not sure this is *as* serious. But combined with age and injuries it might be. Would be weird to have two yokozunas have to retire at the same time (pretty sure Kakuryuu is going to get the boot shortly).

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                            #38
                            Yes, what happened with Asashoryu was one of the things that made me think this could be curtains too – although looking back upthread I realise I was conflating Harumafuji's current injury woes with your comment "I think this is 4 in a row he has missed. He may well be asked to retire.", which was actually about Kakuryuu, so it wasn't like Harumafuji was already walking a tightrope as I'd imagined there. Will be very interesting to see how this does play out.

                            Surreally enough, "Sumo champ Harumafuji investigated over 'bottle assault'" is currently the #6 Most Read story on the BBC website. It also suggests the victim (Takanoiwa) received a fractured skull, which is pretty serious stuff by any measure.

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                              #39
                              Is there a lot riding on Kisenosato's performance in this basho? Linking from that BBC article VA mentions it says he was made the first Japanese-born yokozuna in however long earlier this year, but has had injury problems since then.

                              If I've got this right, here he is winning earlier today to move to 2-1 this basho on day 3. That follows beating Onosho in day 2.

                              Looks like there are six wrestlers on 3-0. including Goeido and Hakuho.
                              Last edited by Kevin S; 14-11-2017, 15:53.

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                                #40
                                Ah, just found a clip of that day 2 match - Kisenosato didn't have to do much...

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                                  #41
                                  Originally posted by Kevin S View Post
                                  Is there a lot riding on Kisenosato's performance in this basho? Linking from that BBC article VA mentions it says he was made the first Japanese-born yokozuna in however long earlier this year, but has had injury problems since then.
                                  I think everyone will be happy so long as he finishes and wins ten matches. Finishing because there's a general issue with injuries in Sumo these days because of the hectic off-basho schedule. There was a very good piece in the Japan Times about it a couple of weeks ago. Ten wins because any yokozuna has to look like a champion and once you get to single digits, you ain't that. But that's any yokozuna, any time. This is why they tend to pull out more frequently than anyone else. They have to be close to perfect all the time.

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                                    #42
                                    Day Three highlights are here. Kisenosato looked OK. On current form, though (and it's early yet), it is going to come down to Hakuho and Goeido .

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                                      #43
                                      You want to see how good Hakuho is? Watch this tape from about 6:00. Henkas are bad, but he just sells this one with so much style (it's not just the first clap, but the *second* one which makes this so awesome) you can't help but love it. And that almost-smile at the end...

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                                        #44
                                        Day four is here. Kisensato loses to a maegashira to go 2-2 - he doesn;t look injured, he just looks rusty. Hakuho again just torches his opponent. Two Ozekis (Goeido and Takayasu - I really like the latter) are also 4-0, as are maegashiras Ichinojo and - amazingly, the 39 year-old wunderkind Aminishiki, who is looking very crafty. Onosho lost again to go 1-3. Each of his three losses have come through losing his footing, which suggests a bit of naivete more than anything. He's mostly looked pretty good. odds are he'll finish this basho with a losing record and get busted back to Maegashira, but it will have been a good learning experience and next time he comes up through the ranks i think he's likely to stay up.

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                                          #45
                                          Day five. Probably the best single day worth of sumo I've seen all year. Good bouts all the way up the card. Onosho loses again through complete lack of guile. He's the Sumo equivalent of Keegan-era Newcastle. Aminishiki(!), Goeido and Hakuho all still unbeaten at 5-0.

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                                            #46
                                            Originally posted by Various Artist View Post
                                            Surreally enough, "Sumo champ Harumafuji investigated over 'bottle assault'" is currently the #6 Most Read story on the BBC website. It also suggests the victim (Takanoiwa) received a fractured skull, which is pretty serious stuff by any measure.
                                            The Harumafuji story is still getting a lot of coverage on NHK World’s news. Sounds to me like he is going to be in very big trouble.

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                                              #47
                                              Yes. Turns out *after* hitting Takinoiwa with a bottle, H'fuji then punched him 20-30 times. And Takinoiwa was leaking cerebro-spinal fluid by the time he got to hospital.

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                                                #48
                                                Belated thanks for the grantland link Sam. That's some writing.
                                                I enjoyed Channel 4s coverage back in the day. Something very satisfying about the ceremoniality of it all and the sheer unadulterated intensity of the contests.

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                                                  #49
                                                  As I said I don't follow sumo at all, but I do watch NHK World a lot and because there's a tournament happening at the moment I tend to see trailers for their coverage. One of them contains a fantastic moment that really caught my eye -- the very start of a contest, literally the first explosive half a second or so, in which the two wrestlers surge towards each other and, if you're watching closely, you'll notice that the initial contact between them comes not as a clash of shoulders or chests, but in the form of one wrestler, with lightning speed but great deliberation, slapping the other round the face. It's an extraordinary piece of piss-taking disrespect.
                                                  Last edited by Furtho; 17-11-2017, 15:50.

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                                                    #50
                                                    (edit - apologies, that was exactly the same clip as Gramsci put up the page)
                                                    Last edited by Kevin S; 17-11-2017, 14:42.

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