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.

immediately taking a strong hold of his belt, easily lifting him up and rushing him out in an unusually effortless manner, in the blink of an eye. A strain to the back is a clear danger when performing tsuridashi. Lifting a 150 kg (330 lbs.) immobile and unresisting rikishi from a morozashi grip is easy for makuuchi level rikishi, but the situation changes fully when the opponent resists and continuously moves his centre of gravity. The rapid and unexpected shifting of the “mass center” of his opponent creates quite a stress on the lifter’s back. Some rikishi have even told of hurting their backs in tsuridashi. The grip is usually relatively far from one’s own torso and hence creates sub-optimal kinetics and lifting conditions, predisposing the lower back to unwanted stress. It would be a very rare and unlikely sight to see a rikishi suffering from lower back problems, and yet going for tsuridashi. One also needs to have a solid lower body and strong trapezius muscles to execute the art of  tsuridashi.

Tsuridashi is a power move, but not only the enormously powerful rikishi go for it. Some rikishi of the past 15 years that have developed a liking for the technique are the “king of tsuridashi”, Kirishima (29 tsuridashi since Hatsu 1990, and even more before then), Takanonami (19, many from a kime-hold), Kotoryu (14, mostly from morozashi) and Asashoryu, who has seven tsuridashi wins to date. Baruto shows promise in tsuridashi and Hakuho definitely has this technique in his repertoire. Tsuriotoshi is the extreme version of tsuridashi. It uses the same technique except that the attacker slams the opponent down on his back or side. Morozashi is basically a must in order to be able to go for this technique. It often has a clear “showing off” or “payback” aspect after a surprising or a bad earlier loss to the opponent. Only seven tsuriotoshi have been witnessed in makuuchi since Hatsu 1990. The last three bear Asashoryu’s signature. Twice in 2004 he found his way to an extremely deep morozashi against

Kotomitsuki and would have won easily with pretty much any technique available, but he decided to go for the impressive one. Okuritsuridashi and okuritsuriotoshi were added to the official kimarite list in 2001. The only difference from tsuridashi and tsuriotoshi is that the attacker is behind the opponent and performs the technique from there. Two official okuritsuridashi have been seen in makuuchi since its implementation in 2001, but Kyokushuzan had already beat Takatoriki in 1999: after spending a long time behind him in a certain winning position “Shuzan lifted Takatoriki high and placed him outside the dohyo, to the amusement of the audience. Back then it was registered as a tsuridashi. Okuritsuriotoshi is the ultimate ”piss off”-technique and  one could mistake it for a humiliation attempt. The defender is in a totally helpless position and yet the attacker puts extra effort in tilting the lift so that the defender lands on his back or side. Home Printable Version