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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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being
pushed toward the edge, and then lost to both Hakuba and Koryu,
yielding morozashi to both of them. He was also beaten by Mokonami’s
shitatenage even though he had a good right hand outside grip. He stood
at 2-3 after five bouts, and even injured his lower back in his 3rd
loss.
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basho he started out with two wins, but then suffered his first ever three bout losing
streak before bouncing back and securing his promotion to juryo by
defeating juryo rikishi Mokonami to get his 4th win. Kadomoto’s promotion
to juryo means that Sakaigawa-beya starts the year 2007 with four
sekitori rikishi (Iwakiyama,
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more than 23-year-old
Hakuba. Bushuyama spent quite a few basho in makushita after dropping
down from juryo but showed the spirit and ability to make it back to
juryo. He has just as much hunger to succeed as any of the youngsters
that will join him in juryo in the Hatsu basho. He always has
great fighting spirit and shows his emotions whether he wins or
loses. Bushuyama had a good 5-2 record at ms4 and aims to fully
employ his strong right hand outside sumo in the Hatsu basho.
Wakamifuji, Sakaizawa, Gagamaru and Sasaki were the notable
makushita debutants. Only Sasaki failed to have a decent basho.
Wakanoho’s stablemate, 21-year-old (there was a mistake about his age
in the previous issue) heavyweight Wakamifuji got a surprise 7-0 yusho
in sandanme in the Aki basho and skyrocketed all the way to ms14 for
his makushita debut. He fought valiantly and only narrowly missed
kachi-koshi by losing his decisive bout to finish 3-4. Considering that
fact that he had 3-4 and 4-3 in sandanme only two basho ago, a 3-4
debut result at ms14 can be regarded as a successful start in
makushita. He lost to small men Furuichi and Sugita, but beat big
Shibuya and strong Nakanishi.
Sakaizawa (23) made his makushita debut too and easily scored a solid
6-1 at ms46. Even in his loss against Rikiryu, he was strongly in the
bout and only lost by touching down a fraction of a second before
Rikiryu in a battle of throws. He not only performed well numberwise
but also showed true power in his sumo. He has technique, power and the
innate ability to succeed, and will definitely
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| Yet, he
bounced back well by defeating Goeido, a foe he had never beaten
before. Finally, he slapped down Hokutoiwa in the decisive bout.
Wakanoho is a distinctive rikishi because he is so young, is also a
foreigner, and boasts a very mature body for an 18-year-old.
Kadomoto and Koryu are both 22-year-old rikishi. Kadomoto made
his debut in the 2005 Hatsu basho, only one basho earlier than
Wakanoho, and so rose in the ranks almost as fast as him. He had
only one losing record on his way to juryo and has shown formidable
power utilizing his big and strong body. In the Kyushu
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Hochiyama, Goeido and
Kadomoto). It wasn’t that long ago when Iwakiyama was their only
sekitori, so Sakaigawa is definitely one of the hottest heya right now.
Mongolian Koryu moved to Japan as a young fellow, and took six years to
advance to juryo. He was in makushita for a long time like
Hakuba, and gained much experience in the very competitive high
makushita ranks. In the Kyushu basho he had some bad losses but also
defeated juryo rikishi Mokonami, and got morozashi against Wakanoho in
defeating him.
The returning juryo rikishi is 30-year-old Bushuyama, who still has only 8 years in professional sumo, one year
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