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| SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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Chris Gould
Chris sinks his teeth deeper into how sumo can go about pulling in the
younger fans in part two of a three-part series.
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| Azumazeki up close and personal |
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Steven
Pascal-Joiner / William Titus
A wiz with a pen and a wiz with a lens get together with SFM to share
their time with Azumazeki Oyakata - Takamiyama as was - with the wider
sumo following world.
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| Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former
yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama.
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| Eric Evaluates |
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Eric Blair
Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as
perhaps only he could.
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| Heya Peek |
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Jeff Kennel
First time heya visitor Jeff Kennel wrote about, photographed and even
made a video of his time spent at Arashio Beya prior to the Kyushu
Basho. All to be found within.
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| SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya.
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| Photo Bonanzas |
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See behind the scenes at the Kyushu
Basho, morning training in Arashio
Beya through the eyes of an artist and exactly what the Azumazeki lads
had to eat halfway though the July Nagoya Basho. All originals, all
seen here and nowhere else, and all for you.
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| Kyushu Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting
results for good measure.
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| Lower Division Rikishi |
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Mikko Mattila
The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks
to Mikko's eyeing of life down below the salaried ranks.
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| Hatsu Ones To Watch |
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Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come
January and the Hatsu Basho.
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| Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers
unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
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| Amateur Angles |
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Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms.
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| Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
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| Fan Debate |
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Facilitators -
Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd
Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or
not as the case may be.
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| SFM Cartoons |
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Benny Loh &
Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic
offerings.
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| Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements including
Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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| Lets Hear From You |
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What was it that made you a sumo fan?
Starting with issue #10, the SFM
staff will reveal a little of their own routes into sumo fandom -
starting with Benny Loh.
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| Readers' Letters |
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See what our readers had to say
since we last hit your screens.
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| Sumo Quiz |
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The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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The
training ring, or dohyo, was on the ground floor and from the clothes
hanging out on the balcony, it looked like the living and eating
quarters filled the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Core sumo exercise - teppo pole
We arrived a little after 7:30 and practice had already started. A few
people were already there watching the 7 or 8 wrestlers getting warmed
up with some stretching.
The room is relatively small and covered in wood paneling on all sides
with about 3 feet of space from the walls to the edge of the dohyo.
There is what I call a ‘Slapping Log’ sticking up 7 feet out of the
ground in one of the corners and a bucket of water for drinking in the
other. It has a very cozy warm worn-in feeling to it. It smelt very
much like a room big dudes sweat in everyday. It’s very quiet except
for
the guys counting off while stretching. Nobody is
talking. Everybody is very serious. I keep thinking that if this was an
American sport there would be a lot of ass slapping and momma jokes.
None of that going on here.
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Soon they proceeded to some other
warm-up exercises focusing on
techniques, rolls and strength building. You could now easily see who
the top wrestlers were just by looking at their size and strength. I
was told that the top guy at this heya is from Inner Mongolia, China.
He was easily the strongest guy in the room. I was surprised to see one
wrestler who was very ‘normal’ looking. He also looked pretty young and
his hair wasn’t as long as the others so I figured he was something of
a beginner. They had yet to bulk him up.
It then dawned on me that it does take a lot of work...and food...to
achieve a good sumo body. It was good to see a spectrum of wrestlers
and get an idea of how a young sumo wrestler starts out.
The oyakata rolls in, sits cross legged on his cushion in front of the
ring (we are sitting right behind him) and starts reading a newspaper
in the middle of the warm-up exercises and pays them absolutely no
attention. Everybody knew instantly that the Alpha Male had just
entered the room.
After a bit more warming-up they got into some actual practice matches.
This is when it got more exciting. Honestly I couldn’t tell if they
were going all out or not. It seemed like it. Anyway, seeing and
hearing these guys slam into each other and maneuver at lightening
speed was amazing. In person they are deceptively quick and agile. I
was riveted. But, what I really found interesting was being able to
look closely at the wrestlers and get a feel for what life might be
like for them in this alien world steeped in tradition and history.
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Sumo is like few other sports. These guys are
(pardon the
pun) huge
cultural icons, idols and...well for
The
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
most of us, downright mysterious
big dudes. Seeing them at a very normal morning practice with their
scrapes, their bruises, and their taped-up wrists helped me come to an
understanding of them as amazing athletes. I’ve tasted blood now, so to
speak, and I’m hooked. The sounds, the smells, seeing the details up
close made all the difference for me. I hope some of that feeling comes
out in the photographs I took that day for those of you who don’t live
near a sumo-beya.
Now it might be time to find out what it feels like to actually be (and
wear one of those belts) in the ring before another 5 years fly by in
Tokyo.
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