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SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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Chris Gould
Wrapping up his look at increasing the popularity of sumo, Chris Gould caps a series the NSK would do well to refer to.
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Sumo Souvenirs |
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Mark Buckton
Souvenirs are a part of every sport and sumo is no different - or is
it? A look at collectibles and the downright trashy, the bona fide
versus the unproven.
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Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda's latest look at times past focuses on former makunouchi man Dewagatake.
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Eric Evaluates |
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Eric Blair
Eric takes a no-nonsense look at the claims of fixed bouts in the Japanese media.
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Rikishi Diary |
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Mark Kent
Mark Kent - English pro-wrestler and amateur heavyweight sumotori -
takes us through the first month or so of his training and preparation
for the various European events lined up in in 2007.
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Heya Peek |
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Chris Gould
SFM's Chris Gould was in Japan for the Hatsu Basho and popped along to
the new Shikoroyama Beya to give SFM an online exclusive peek into
sumo's newest heya.
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SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Mark - Buckton on Kent that is as Mark Kent, the UK's
only active heavyweight amateur answers a few questions on his own
recent entry into the sport.
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Photo Bonanzas |
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Sumo Forum stepped in to take the weight off the shoulders of SFM as
far as Hatsu went so we could sit back, relax, enjoy the sumo and take
a few more select pics you won't see anywhere else.
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Hatsu Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Hatsu Basho and chucks in a few bits on the rush of henka
that threatens to sully the good name of at least one foreign ozeki.
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Sumo Menko |
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Ryan Laughton
Sumo cards of old brought to life by expert collector Ryan Laughton. None of your BBM here.
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Haru Ones To Watch |
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Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come March and the Haru Basho.
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Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest look at 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 the 'sumo factory' of lore - Nichidai.
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Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best the WWW has to offer.
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Fan Debate |
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Facilitator - Carolyn Todd
Moti Dichne comes back for more and takes on Bradley Sutton on the subject of 'Modernize the heya - yea or nay?'
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SFM Cartoons |
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Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Benny's artistic offerings.
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Sumo Odds & Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements - as always includes Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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Let's Hear From You |
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What was it that made you a sumo fan? Ryan Laughton - sumo fan and menko expert reveals all.
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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 a genuine banzuke.
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predictably
settle into an early ottsuke stance. On the down side, he appears
to have a chronic thigh injury, which was manifest in his first makuuchi
basho last May. He wore a substantial wrapping during Hatsu, and
was noticeably limping at times toward the end of the basho. If
this can’t be fixed, he’ll struggle to finish basho
strongly.
M5 Takamisakari’s army of fans were highly heartened by his 6-2 start,
and possibly had visions of sanyaku dancing in their heads, but alas, a
wily banzuke and several doses of reality were in the offing
instead. Partly due to Baruto’s kyujo and that the Sadogatake
boys (Kotooshu, Kotomitsuki, Kotoshogiku) couldn’t fight each other, he
was pitted against three of the joi-jin and that was enough to spoil
his party…he ended at 7-8 and will settle in more familiar environs in
Haru.
While Takamisakari’s seven wins might be considered a nice surprise,
two other men with that total are approaching washout country. M5
Kokkai mysteriously showed up for Hatsu minus 13 kilo, and it showed as
he was bounced around like never before. There were encouraging
stretches of bouts without all those thoughtless slap-down motions but
otherwise his sumo was more or less the same. Maybe he’s trying
to change his game, but into what? For M10 Iwakiyama, the wheels
continue to fly off at breakneck speed. His own 7-8 mark comes on
the heels of the listless 2-13 showing at M1 in Kyushu. Some say
he has a
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neck
injury, but most rikishi are nursing something or other, so this is a
real conundrum. Not too long ago, these two were still being
touted as ozeki hopefuls but it’s been regress versus progress for them.
When banzuke luck thrust shin-nyu-maku Kakuryu into a M8 slot in
Kyushu, most predictions for him were dire, but he shocked the experts
by bolting to a hot start before settling back to 8-7, staying at
M8. This time, the big boys were ready for his helter-skelter
game, but his 6-9 offering still paid for at least one more ride in the
top division. Another Mongolian lightweight in the mold of Ama,
he’s also young, fast, and creative, but unlike Ama, he needs more
moving-forward techniques to go with his side-wheeling maneuvers.
When new boys move onto the joi-jin block (Kotoshogiku, Tokitenku,
Homasho), someone must make way and it could be that we’ve seen the
last of Aminishiki, Dejima and Tochinonada in that precinct. M2
Aminishiki is still just 28, but the 4-11 beating he took in Hatsu
portends that, with his bum knee, it’s questionable he can challenge
for sanyaku again. M1 Dejima scored the shocker of the basho by
stuffing the yokozuna on Day 3, and added wins over Hakuho and
Kotomitsuki, but still stumbled to 4-11, so at 33 with those woeful
underpinnings, he’s in no shape to keep pace with the new young
bucks. Also hitting age 33, M6 Tochinonada is actually a former
joi-jin but his 6-9 at this rank is probably the best he can now hope
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for. The ex-giant killer will be fortunate to be seen on the same dohyo with a sanyaku rikishi again.
Tokitenku
M15 Asofuji’s two-basho run in the top division is now history as he
could only muster 4-11. As he crosses back to juryo, he’ll take
M11 Toyozakura (3-12) with him, who is now the senior tour guide for
that excursion. The well-traveled M16 Otsukasa (7-8) will tag
along down. M10 Jumonji (4-11) and M11 Tochinohana (5-10) will
probably escape the axe and stay in makuuchi because of the few
impressive marks in the upper juryo ranks.
You’re probably going to think I
Next
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