What Will Become of the Dynasty?
Brian Lewin
The Hanada Dynasty – past or present?

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
A look at a rikishi of yesteryear with Tenryu our man for August.

Heya Peek
John Gunning
John attends a chanko session at Chiganoura Beya.

Photo Bonanza
For a glimpse at some of the sights you won't see on TV.    

July Basho Review
Lon Howard & John Gunning
Lon gives us his Nagoya Basho summary and his take on upset of the tournament while John chips in with his ‘gem’ of the basho.

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila takes a break and Eric Blair covers the lower divisions in his own ‘unique’ way.

Aki Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Aki Basho banzuke while Mark previews the ones to watch next time out.

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Gyoji goings on and several things you never knew about the ones officiating.

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko walks us through his 2 chosen kimarite.

Minusha
John McTague
John's unique view of news from outside the dohyo.

Boletín de Sumo en Español
Eduardo de Paz Gútiez
An article on sumo’s very first fan mag – Boletin de Sumo en Espanol

Online Gaming
Jezz Sterling
Hear from the founder of Bench Sumo of one of sumo's most popular games.

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s focus on 3 of the most interesting online sumo sites today.

Fan Debate
Henka – good, bad or ugly? See what our debaters think.

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan – the Petros Zachos story.

Ngozi on the Road
Ngozi T. Robinson
NTR visits an amasumo event in the north-east U.S. and tells us what it was like.

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho's banzuke.

IK: The idea that some fans enjoy a “well executed henka” is not an impossible one but how do you tell if a henka is ‘well executed’ anyway?  Just when it works?  It almost always does, so what does that mean?  The fans that were happy after Roho took out Kokkai with his henka were happier to see Kokkai lose than they were in awe with the quality of Roho’s henka.  The buzz in the audience was because the match ended so fast.  I didn’t hear much clapping.  There has been much discussion elsewhere about Kokkai’s attitude and his approach to sumo, and this probably had more to do with the fan’s reaction.  If henka was just another arrow in the quiver, why don’t rikishi try it more often against Asashoryu?  It would sure improve their odds, which these days are usually 20-1 against them.  The fact is that performing a henka against a yokozuna is as distasteful as a yokozuna doing one him self.  Other than a hansoku, no other maneuver carries such a stigma.  This means that fans make a hard distinction between henka and all other moves.  When Asashoryu knocked Kotooshu out in 0.9 seconds it was a powerful and physical move toward his opponent, and not a movement planned at getting an easy win by avoiding contact.  Ama is one I really admire because he always takes on his man head

MD: No one attempts a henka against Asashoryu because the consequences will be dire.  He will kill them next time.  That is not a good example – no one dares henka the yokozuna not because of the ‘distastefulness,’ but out of fear.  And comparing a hansoku to a henka is inherently impossible because a hansoku is a foul – an illegal move, whereas henka is legal.  And I doubt the ‘stigma’ bit too.  Maybe, just maybe, when a sanyaku rikishi does it, it is considered ‘distasteful’ by some, but other than that, I disagree.  You can tell a well executed henka just like you can tell a well executed nage – if it works.  And not all henkas work.   A prime example of a well executed henka is Hayateumi’s trademark ‘hassotobi.’  The crowd goes wild when he does that, and it’s a henka, no doubt about it.  This sort of flamboyant sumo brings in the crowds and doesn’t drive them away; just like Sakari’s totally unacceptable (distasteful in any old-school sumo terms) antics bring in the crowds and have made him by far the crowd favorite.  It seems all rikishi and everyone connected to the Kyokai frown and tsk about it but you can’t argue with success.  As for the fans’ reaction to the Roho-Kokkai

match, you were there, so you know better than me but it sure looked as if they were enjoying it.  As an aside, Roho is equally disliked for his ‘disrespect,’ so I wouldn’t chalk it down to the fans disliking Kokkai.  If anything, I think they dislike Roho more…and I haven’t seen any discussion anywhere about Kokkai’s attitude anywhere official (forget the fan banter..), though I have seen miles of ink written on Roho’s attitude on many online sites.  And yes, I admire Ama for going straight-on too.  That doesn’t stop me from enjoying watching some rikishi clumsy enough and inattentive enough to fly into the stands on their own.

IK: I never compared henka to hansoku, rather said that they both have a stigma.  By accepting that when a sanyaku rikishi does henka it can be judged distasteful, you seem also to be accepting that there is a stigma of some sort – are you not?  Why would the yokozuna get angry with an opponent’s henka if it is such a great move?  There is something to that, I think you must agree.  To compare Hayateumi’s henka to Takamisakari’s pre-match antics is nonsensical, as once Takami becomes involved with the contest he does not lower himself to henka (not to say

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