Sumo Fan Magazine

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.	Enter Michael J. Stopka, owner of Design Toscano of Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Stopka sells the figurines and wanted to help. After seeing a report on television about Doc’s plight, Stopka sent the dentist a brand new Basho (retail $99). Doc was overjoyed. The original Basho remains on the loose, but if authorities can locate the stout statue, he’ll return to the garden with a worthy opponent waiting. Other News Former Hawaiian sumotori Hajime Morita recently celebrated his 102nd birthday. Morita, who never made the trip to Japan, but performed on	Kauai during the plantation era in sumo tournaments held at various locations around the island, still enjoys watching the Japanese feeds of hon-basho tournaments on TV with his grandson, Glenn. Manchester RFU – a rugby club – has hired Sumo World Championships medalist Steve Pateman of the British Sumo Federation to lecture his team on how to tackle. He led a session on how to bring sumo skills to rugby at a coaching master class run by RFU. One big difference: sumo wrestlers don’t run downfield. William “Tyler” Hopkins (ex-Sunahama) and Eric “Fats” Gaspar (ex-Koryu), both natives of Hawaii and both retired, wowed the onlookers at the Missouri Botanical Garden	during the Japanese Festival in St. Louis last month. Both wrestlers were themselves impressed by the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River. The two had wanted to see the landmarks ever since reading Mark Twain while growing up in Oahu. Just a thought: While in Las Vegas, might one of the craftier sumotori make it to a final table of the Texas Hold’em tournaments? I can just hear World Series of Poker host Lon McEachern shout, “Asashoryu’s all in with pocket aces!” I’m all out. Home