Ankle-/foot-picking techniques are very rare in sumo. Kozumatori, tsumatori and susotori are representative and all are exceptional cases when appearing as the official winning technique. Kozumatori was added to the official kimarite list in 2001 and had only been seen once in makuuchi before the Hatsu 2007 basho, in which it was brought into play once in makuuchi and once in juryo; both were excellent examples of this uncommon technique. By definition, kozumatori is an ankle pick where the attacker pulls the back of the calf or the ankle of the opponent while applying pressure to topple the opponent over. It can be done either face to face or, as on both occasions in Hatsu 2007 basho, from behind. In either case, the point is that the attacker grabs the lower leg of the opponent and lifts it upwards and towards himself while pushing the opponent down.

Chiyotenzan was the first makuuchi rikishi to perform kozumatori when he beat Miyabiyama on Day 1 in the Haru 2001 basho. He also used it once against Musashimaru but as Musashimaru didn’t fall down and merely stepped out, hopping on one leg, it was not registered as kozumatori. In the recent Hatsu 2007 basho, Toyonoshima found himself to be a surprising yusho candidate on day 14 but was manhandled by Ama’s outstanding kozumatori. After the initial tussle, Ama got a right hand outside grip and executed an uwatedashinage move. In the middle of the move he reached for Toyonoshima’s left lower leg, grabbed it and pulled it upwards while pushing Toyonoshima from behind. The outcome was a quite dominating kozumatori that sent Toyonoshima rolling down off the dohyo. In juryo, rising star Goeido has been exhibiting signs of mastering leg techniques and showed in his Day 9 bout against the juryo leader Kobo that he is able to go for some ankle picks too. In this bout Goeido used a right hand outside grip and slow uwatenage turn to move Kobo close to the edge and then as Kobo resisted, he grabbed his left lower leg above the ankle, lifted it, and Kobo lost his balance and fell down. Both kozumatori were the finishing touches of a throwing maneuvre and hence were naturally in the ’kozumatori-from-behind’ category. Kozumatori fell under the definition of tsumatori before the kimarite expansion in 2001. 

The difference with tsumatori is that in tsumatori the target body part is the distal foot or toes. This technique is a bit bizarre in the kimarite list as it basically means that the attacker has worked his way to the side of the opponent and while the opponent rushes past, the attacker takes hold of the opponent’s toes and lifts the foot upwards while the opponent falls forward. Tsumatori is virtually never seen in sumo. The only tsumatori in makuuchi since 1990 appeared in an Akebono-Tosanoumi bout in the Haru 2000 basho. Akebono instinctively used Tosanoumi’s foot for support  during an erratic finish at the edge and tsumatori became the accidental kimarite. Akebono said in an interview after the bout that he wasn’t even aware of such a kimarite.  Three years ago, tiny kainahineri expert Furuichi won with tsumatori in the makushita division on Day 15 in the Hatsu 2004 basho against Toyonokuni. Furuichi used dashinage to cause Toyonokuni to stumble forward, dived down to grab Toyonokuni’s foot and evidently had a grip on Toyonokuni’s toes when driving him out from behind. This tsumatori wasn’t accidental.

Susotori also targets the ankle and can be either a well thought-out strategy or a fast reaction to an off-balance situation. In most cases the opponent is in sideways stance while the attacker reaches down to the ankle furthest away, pulls that leg up and drives the opponent down. Mongolian rikishi have attempted this technique every now and then but the success rate in sumo isn’t that high and exposure to slapdown and throws is clear when reaching down towards the ankle.  The last susotori in makuuchi was seen in Haru 2002 basho when Aminishiki showed his fast reflexes in a bout against Hamanishiki and swept Hamanishiki’s ankle when falling down. Since 1990 there have been only four susotori in the makuuchi division and in the lower divisions, the technique isn’t performed more than a couple of times a year at most. Recently retired Kyokushuzan had only one susotori win in makuuchi but went for it numerous times.

Grabbing the lower leg, ankle, foot or toes is certainly more of an anomaly in sumo than an often seen technique.  There have been only 7 appearances in makuuchi altogether in over 30 000 bouts since the beginning of the Hatsu 1990 basho. Easy mathematics leads to the conclusion that less than one in 4000 bouts ends with this type of technique in the makuuchi division.



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