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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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noticed
how neat and tidy the streets were kept although I must say I was
disappointed with how westernized it all was; I was expecting it to be
more oriental I suppose. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to
travel anywhere outside of the city so I never got to see the Japan I
wanted to see.
As for the locals - the people of Japan were wonderful – polite,
respectful and friendly, but most of all – patient. As I can’t
speak a word of Japanese it took some time to make myself understood. I
just can’t imagine a foreign visitor getting the same treatment in
England.
Training on a real dohyo was great in all respects bar one – sliding on
the sand for a couple of hours a day ripped most of the skin off the
bottom of my toes but what’s a bit of pain when you’re having fun.
The day of the tournament I was buzzing, and couldn’t wait to get up
there. When it was time to get ready I went to the practice dohyo to
psyche myself up; and then the call came and into the main arena I
went. There was a bit of a wait and I found it hard to keep psyched but
after my bout started I felt I was doing ok, pushing my opponent
towards the tawara and, in my opinion, I was in control. Then my hand
started to slip towards his throat and my natural reaction was to pull
my hand away. He quickly capitalized on this movement and was under
that arm using it to lever me out: so ended my championship. When I
found out he was the South American champion I did feel a bit better
but not much. Overall I enjoyed the experience although I did miss my
wife and children.
MB: Where do you see yourself going in amateur sumo? Is it a long-term commitment on your part?
MK: I only started sumo in March 2006 and as I live about 130 miles
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from
the BSF training gym, I can’t just pop up there. My son plays football
in the winter and my daughter does athletics in the summer so that’s
most of my weekends taken up. From when I started to when I was asked
to go to Japan I only had about 4 or 5 training sessions. For that
reason, unless I can get more training in I really can’t see myself
winning any major tournaments although that won’t stop me trying.
MB: Do you have any plans to enter the next World Championships (2007) in Switzerland or any other Europe based events?
MK: I would like to
compete in both the European (Ed. Hungary) and World Championships (Ed.
Switzerland) this year if I can impress enough to be picked to
represent Britain.
MB: What kind of training regime do you follow?
MK: Most of my
training (when I get the chance to train) is pro-wrestling based as I’m
a highly ranked wrestler over here. Some of the wrestlers I know help
out with a bit of sumo practice that helps, yet I could really do with
more all-round training. That said most of my time is taken up as the
kids’ taxi.
MB: Do you think sumo could take off in the UK?
MK: I personally
don’t think the UK is open-minded enough for sumo. They still see the
‘Fat Bloke’ as an object of fun and ridicule, unable to see beyond the
shell to the skill, balance, power and agility of the sumo wrestler.
I’m afraid it would just be a novelty. I hope I’m wrong though.
MB: On the wider
stage, some in Japan are pushing for amateur sumo to be included in the
Olympics. Is this a viable option or pie in the
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sky, in your opinion?
MK: if you had asked me
that a year ago I would have said it wasn’t a global sport. Seeing how
many countries are into sumo in the past 10 months, I’d now say, “Why
not?” I’ve always thought the Olympics should be about individual
(participant) sports with no team games, so sumo fits in, in my book.
MB: Rifts have
appeared in the ISF (International Sumo Federation) over the past year
concerning amateur rikishi making profits from sumo. (The ISF is
against this whilst senior officials at the ESU (European Sumo Union)
have appeared more active in chasing the greenback). Where do you
stand on this issue of allowing those who won't ever have a chance to
enter the professional game to make a few dollars / pounds / yen from
the sport?
MK: As with most
sports these days money carries weight. No one wants to take part in
sport just for the sake of competing. In saying that if someone
gave me money to do something I love, then who am I to stop them?
Seriously though, if anyone turns ‘pro’ in any sport, that’s fine by
me, as long as they don’t want the best of both worlds and expect to
compete as a pro one day and an amateur the next.
MB: Given the
opportunity of shaving off a few years, would you like to have entered
the professional game, knowing what you do know about the sport?
MK: That’s an easy
question to answer - OHH YES! When I watched sumo on TV years ago I
dreamt of being up there with them and wanted to be the first English
Grand Champion. Anyone out there with a time machine, please get in
touch.
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