Brothers in Sumo –
part two
Brian Lewin
Brothers still active on the dohyo get their turn

Yokozuna Comparisons
Joe Kuroda
SFM’s most eminent historian, JK, has a crack at the impossible and tries to see who was the greatest of the tsuna wearers

Rikishi of Old
John Gunning
Takanobori – former sekiwake, former NHK man and all ’round gent

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kitanoumi-beya, Kitazakura, mirrors & photo bonanza

SFM Interview
John Gunning
Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa (son of the late sekiwake Takanobori) on life in sumo way back when

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Behind every good man there stands a good woman – read and ye shall see. A departure from our regular 101 feature

Photo Bonanza
See the Hatsu Basho
plus much more through the lens of our photographers

Hatsu Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Hatsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division goings on in detail

Haru Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Haru Basho banzuke while Mark highlights the ones to look out for in Osaka

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko takes us on a tour of his chosen kimarite

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of sumo news from outside the dohyo and in the restaurants!

Online Gaming
Alexander Nitschke
SFM’s own Alexander Nitschke covers the long running Hoshitori Game

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

Fan Debate
Feb's debate sees
a pair of Kiwis exchanging opinions on the honbasho going on the road

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In the third of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy BL’s offerings and put a caption to ST’s pic to win yourselves a banzuke

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? A unique perspective from a sightless reader.

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

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

 
Shitatedashinage (Photo by John Gunning)

 left hand underarm grip when Kaio has the right hand outside. Of course, even with Tochinonada’s prowess in left underarm grip, he still also loses reasonably often to right overarm grips, which might be considered the ultimate proof that in general an overarm grip is significantly more advantageous than an underarm grip.

Imagine a hand towel hanging from a knob or a rack which is at about your waist level or a bit higher. Stand partly sideways to the towel and take a fistful of it into your hand. Then yank the towel with a half bent arm so that the towel moves across your stomach. That is an imitation of one quite typical version of a shitatedashinage. The difference between it and shitatenage is the pulling motion, which accompanies the throw. Usually the throw has a distinctive yanking move, which sends the opponent stumbling forward, or flat on his face. In the majority of the shitatedashinage seen in 2005 in makuuchi, the defender didn’t have a grip on the belt when he was thrown. It also seems prevalent that the attacker uses his free hand to assist the throw by applying pressure to the

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more often emphasizes the brute strength in addition to the technical ability. A third question that can be mulled over is, “How many sekitori are there who prefer underarm grips clearly to overarm grips in context of throws?” There are definitely some, and the prime example is Tochinonada whose left hand underarm grip is much more essential than having any overarm grip. Another one who prefers the shitate-grip is Tokitsuumi.

Mainoumi was the shitatenage expert with a hefty 70 shitatenage in makuuchi. Another small technician, Tomonohana, recorded 25 shitatenage within a 2 ½ -year timeframe. Both Kaiho (27) and Tokitsuumi (22) have more shitatenage wins than
uwatenage wins. Asashoryu has 28 wins with shitatenage including numerous morozashi-induced ones against big foes like Musashimaru and Kaio. The main simplified underarm sumo expert is Tochinonada. He neither goes for tricks nor exhibits any particularly refined overarm grip blocking moves or quick changes of posture. He just wants his left hand underarm grip, and once he has it, the power he generates is a major threat. Tochinonada has 23 wins with shitatenage with 7 of those executed in 2005. He has beaten Kaio and Wakanosato a few times with shitatenage despite allowing them their powerful right hand outside grips – especially against Kaio. It is quite an exception that someone can defeat him with a