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.	MB – What about the women’s game? What does the future hold in store for the ladies on the dohyo and have you ever competed in the women’s competition yourself? KW – Sumo is a sport well- suited to women. It’s a combative sport without being violent. It’s takes balance, flexibility and strategy, as well as physical strength, so, women can also excel. If I hadn’t hurt my knee in a skiing accident, I would have wanted to try sumo for myself. In this year’s All Japan Shin Sumo Championships, my heroine, Ms. Saito, placed third in the open division. She is 55! MB – As an announcer, what has been your funniest experience to date on the amateur sumo scene? KW – Well, let me say that announcing is a pretty serious job, and the embarrassing moments far outnumber the funny ones, but probably, trying to pronounce the many foreign names correctly has caused a few laughs. Particularly, the Thai, Russian and Mongolian names can be tongue-twisters. I started studying Russian after	the Russian team coach came and banged on the broadcast desk shouting “I TOLD YOU THREE TIMES HOW TO SAY THIS NAME AND YOU DID NOT PRONOUNCE IT CORRECTLY.” I thought if I studied the language a bit, I might have a better chance at getting the intonation right. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now, I have to use my terrible Russian to interpret for the competitors, which probably leads to even funnier situations. MB – And the saddest or the least enjoyable? KW – That would have to be the World Championships in Riesa (Germany) in 2004. There were two German announcers, but only me for English. The program ran way overtime, and there were no breaks. The German guys could leave the broadcast desk in turn, but without me to do the English, everything would have had to stop. That meant from 11:30 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., without a break, not even time to go to the distantly-located toilet. Not an enjoyable experience. MB – Are there any particular non-Japanese nations you see	as providing rikishi for the professional side of the sport in the years to come? KW – That’s a difficult question. A good rikishi could come from anywhere. At present, the Europeans dominate amateur sumo, but the Mongolians, with their long Mongolian sumo tradition, are always going to be a strong source of rikishi. But really, if someone truly wants to be a professional rikishi, nationality doesn’t matter at all. MB – What about competitors from this year’s event? KW – At the moment, with the “one foreigner per heya” rule, there is no room for new foreigners in professional sumo, so we probably need to look to junior competitors in future years for the next stars. Kokkai’s brother, Georgi, who competed strongly in the Juniors in August, 2004 wanted to turn pro, but had to wait until September, 2005 to find a spot in Irumagawa-beya. MB – Have you remained close to former amateurs you saw Next Home