Amateur Sumo – the sport as it should be
Mark Buckton
Sakai World Sumo Champs – not all about winning

Las Vegas Koen
Joe Kuroda
Our man reports from the fight capital of the world

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
A look at a rikishi of yesterday with Kotozakura – our man for October

Heya Peek
John Gunning
John’s early morning dash to Azumazeki-beya & report on TKOTU

SFM Interview
Katrina Watts sits down with SFM’s Mark Buckton to discuss amateur sumo

Photo Bonanza
SFM’s best yet – Aki Basho/ Las Vegas / Amateur World Champs / Azumazeki-beya visit – seen nowhere else

Aki Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Aki Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results, and his take on the tournament while ‘gem’ of the basho takes a break

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila returns to cover lower division ups and downs

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

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Discovers and explains amasumo & ozumo variations

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko once again walks us through his chosen kimarite

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of news from outside the dohyo

Online Gaming
Zenjimoto of ‘game fame’ covers some of the very best sumo games around – his own!

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

Fan Debate
Is the limit on foreign rikishi fair? See what our debaters had to say

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh
In the first of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and chuckle at Benny Loh’s offerings

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? Gernobono tells all

Readers’ Letters
See what SFM readers had to say since our last issue

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

  repertoire – Tomonohana. When Mainoumi’s career in makuuchi was at the end of the line, uchigake was a very seldom seen technique appearing about once per year in makuuchi. The last three years have brought a rather dramatic change and uchigake is again establishing a bit more apparent role in the kimarite field. Kaiho was the only makuuchi rikishi in 2000, 2001 and 2002 to win with uchigake, but since 2003, new rikishi with uchigake skills have built up their careers and stormed into makuuchi with their honed uchigake-prone synapses, cerebellum and other physiologically vital parts needed for series of motion. Asasekiryu, Kasugao and Takekaze are all known to try uchigake every now and then. Yet, Tokitenku is the main reason why uchigake has entered more into the public awareness in the past year or so. Out of the last six uchigake in makuuchi (since Nagoya basho 2004), five had Tokitenku’s signature. Since 1990 Hatsu basho, uchigake has been seen only 42 times in makuuchi, which means once in every 650 bouts. But with the Mongolians, Kaiho, Takekaze and Kasugao around, it is likely that uchigake will become more common.
 Uchigake is more useful in judo than in sumo and goes by the name ouchigari there. In sumo, it is called inside leg trip where the attacker hooks his leg around the opponent’s leg from the inside, as opposed to outside like in sotogake. Otherwise, uchigake is similar in principle as sotogake with the point being to sweep the opponent’s leg, while aiding the movement with the grip on the belt. Right leg hooks around the left leg or vice versa. Despite being very rare or perhaps exactly because of being so rare, uchigake has drawn some well-deserved attention. There are a couple of classic examples of a small rikishi beating a behemoth with uchigake. In 1994, Mainoumi toppled Konishiki (over 250kg) with uchigake and in 2001 Kaiho gave the same treatment to Musashimaru. Both bouts were the kind which tend to leave memory traces to most sumo fans’ brain cortex.

The uchigake-move is seen more often than the winning technique itself. Simply because rikishi can attack with uchigake and at times gain advantage with the help of the attack and continue with other techniques to win the bout. For example, Kaiho has used uchigake attempts to substantial degree
during his career, despite having only five wins in makuuchi with uchigake.

Watashikomi is used in as similar a frequency as uchigake. A mere 38 watashikomi have been executed in makuuchi since Hatsu basho 1990. Thigh grabbing push down is the translation and it is usually seen on the edge of the dohyo, where the attacker grabs the opponent’s hamstring area and pulls the leg, while keeping up the forward pressure with his upper body, especially when the opponent, in a disadvantageous position, tries a twist down and the attacker’s upper body gets pressed towards the dohyo. That offers an automatically good opportunity to use the opponent’s leg as support by grabbing it and simultaneously adding to the balance shortage the anguish of an on-the-edge teetering opponent. Occasionally a leg grab at the end of an oshi/yori drive is not registered as watashikomi but yoritaoshi. Evidently, the diagnostic difference between the two moves is that there has to be a pull of that grabbed thigh, while simultaneously being close enough to bend one’s upper body towards the opponent in order to

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