SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo Chris Gould Chris sinks his teeth into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans - currently so noticeable by their absence. The first of a three-part series. Sumo World Championships Mark Buckton Mark Buckton reports from Sakai near Osaka, site of the latest Sumo World Championships. Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda finishes off his look at former yokozuna Minanogawa. Sumo 101 / Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric expains sumo fan terminology - with the inevitable twist - for those just getting into the sport and still subject to the know it alls. Age stands still for no man Joe Kuroda Former ozeki Kiyokuni will retire in November under the compulsory '65 and you are out' rule. JK takes a look at this quiet earth mover. Feel the Sumo Eduardo de Paz Read and feel the renowned Leonishiki's passion for all things sumo at his first live event. SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews Colin Carroll - again - Irish star of Sakai. Photo Bonanza See the Aki Basho bonanza as well as the largest collection of pics you are likely to see on the Sumo World Championships earlier in October. Aki Basho Summary   Lon Howard Lon wraps the September Aki Basho and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure. Lower Division Rikishi   Mikko Mattila The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eye of things 'beneath the curtain'. Kyushu Ones To Watch   Carolyn Todd Carolyn shares her thoughts on whom to keep an eye on in Fukuoka. Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest clarification of several of the sport's plethora of kimarite. Amateur Angles   Howard Gilbert Howard Gilbert - manager of New Zealand's amateur sumo team takes a look at the approaching Russians. Kokugi Konnections   Todd Lambert Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online. Fan Debate   Facilitator - Lon Howard Jesse Lake and Rich Pardoe hammer out their differences on a current furor - promotion criteria. SFM Cartoons    Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and enjoy Benny Loh's offerings and put a caption to Stephen Thompson's picture to win yourselves a banzuke. Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends    SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke! Lets Hear From You   What was it that made you a sumo fan? Kevin Murphy reveals all. Readers' Letters   See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens. Sumo Quiz    The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

Elevator Ride par Lon Howard

during the 1950s, when the makuuchi banzuke routinely went down to M23 or so.  I thought that with all that banzuke room to maneuver, we’d see some pretty big swings.  If I had considered my own elevator calculation scheme thoroughly, I should have known that the roomy banzuke  wouldn’t have puffed the numbers.  Take an M4 rikishi posting a 3-12 record, for example:  on average he goes down about 9 spots to M13, producing an 18 spot move on the banzuke.  For him to take full advantage of the large banzuke, he’d have to do something like a 3-12 all over again – highly unlikely in itself.  And even if he did that – going down to M22 – the 18 additional spots credited would be offset by the fact that he didn’t change direction.  A high Elevator Index (EI) is not only dependent on moving many banzuke spots (MOQ), but also on a change in direction (AFQ), since the MOQ is multiplied by the AFQ decimal number.  For example, Takanofuji achieved the all-time top spot by posting an astounding .9355 AFQ, meaning Next

The report from the Elevator front this time is like the weather report from inside the Tokyo Dome – not a lot has changed.  Only one name was added to the list of top 20 all-time elevator men, that being Shimanishiki, a 1950s rikishi whose top rank was maegashira 1 – he checked in at #17.  At this point in the study, the rikishi under scrutiny have Mid-Years as far back as 1954.  This means that the men we’re studying now were active during the 1940s, when there were usually only two basho per year.  As I mentioned last time, I don’t believe the elevator rikishi concept is valid when only two banzuke moves per year are made, and so the study will terminate at the point in time when there are no rikishi left who posted an average of at least four basho per year during

their careers.  Here is the updated top 20 all-time list, preceded by a recap of the terms used: MOQ (Move On Quotient):  Average number of banzuke spots moved per basho. AFQ (About Face Quotient):  Percentage of time rikishi changed direction on the banzuke. EI (Elevator Index) – MOQ x AFQ:  Actual measure of rikishi’s elevator factor. MY (Mid-Year):  Year in which the mid-point of rikishi’s qualifying string was reached.          All-time Elevator Rikishi       In August, I mentioned that I was surprised to find that no big elevator numbers were posted