Kotooushu speaks out

[Kintamayama 44,667]

After winning his 4th today at Makushita east 2 and getting his KK, it seems the Bulgarian giant (203 centimeters, 132 kilos) Kotooushu has clinched his promotion to Juryo.

He beat his opponent by yoritaoshi today. On his way back up the hanamichi, he was greeted by young female fans. But today, the handsome man's face was covered literally with blood, sweat and tears. His opponent was the promising Makushita 12 Katayama, and their bout was a very powerful one. At the tachiai, Sumo's tallest man was hit on the nose, which started to bleed. Katayama was hit on the forehead, which also started to bleed. When Koto used his left uwate and won by yoritaoshi, both rikishi were covered with blood.

As he made his way back up the hanamichi, blood and tears were flowing freely. " I am really happy with my kachikoshi. I remembered last basho's disappointment", he said. He was referring to his 6-1 record at Makushita 8, which many thought had earned him a promotion to Juryo, yet it did not happen. He needs another win to be completely sure of a promotion, but it seems 4 are enough. If he does make it, he will tie Tochiazuma's 9 basho from debut at the bottom to Juryo, 4th quickest in Sumo history. "I'll be phoning my mother in Bulgaria today!!", he said.

In Bulgaria, his favorite things were his 750 cc motorcycle and wrestling. He is a die-hard patriot, and is a great fan of the Bulgarian National soccer team. He watches their games on video a lot. He tapes the late night soccer matches on video and watches them in his spare time. He is an avid reader of Agatha Christie mysteries. He is the typical model all- round athlete nice guy in Japanese terms. When he makes Juryo, he is certain to become a celebrity.

"Japanese girls? Iidesune!! (Great..)", he said, lowering his 21 year old eyes bashfully. It seems that in May, the KKan will be filled with female fans of this rising new star.

BOUT!! (Courtesy of Doitsuyama, Winmedia format)

http://www.banzuke.com/~juryoika/200403/da...hu-Katayama.asf

Edited March 20, 2004 by Kintamayama

[Zenjimoto 40]

It really was a (Censored) outrage that Shigezakura got into Juryo over him (perhaps the powers that be felt that Kotooshu's technique was too sloppy, but (Censored) them!) (Blushing...) - this wrong decision will hopefully become even more clearly evident when Kotooshu finishes 7-0 or 6-1 to storm into Sekitorihood! Go, man! (Sign of approval)

Edited March 20, 2004 by Zenjimoto

[aderechelsea 124]

just saw the match and i have to admit that this guy is tough.....

He is so big that his opponent cannot escape by moving left or right.....

i fear the day he will gain some weight.....

[tominishiki 0]

I hope to see him in Mackuuchi very quick that he will fight Kotonowaka the tallest man in the major leagues

[Zenjimoto 40]

I hope to see him in Mackuuchi very quick that he will fight Kotonowaka the tallest man in the major leagues

Uh,... unfortunately for you, this will never happen (Applauding...)

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

Hmm, continued to fight and win with a strong hit on the nose. That's impressive, as those hits can be very disorienting. (Applauding...)

[Onnagumo 4]

I hope to see him in Mackuuchi very quick that he will fight Kotonowaka the tallest man in the major leagues

Uh,... unfortunately for you, this will never happen (Applauding...)

Not during the basho, but during training it happens all the time, I guess (Enjoying a beer...)

Eh, I think the tallest man in Makuuchi is still Takanonami (or did I miss something? I hope not :-S )

[Takanobaka 0]

Eh, I think the tallest man in Makuuchi is still Takanonami (or did I miss something? I hope not :-P )

Well, I still think he'd need to rise pretty quickly to face Takanonami before he retires...

[Asashosakari 19,029]

Hey, if you guys want to see tall rikishi, please root for Tamanoi-beya's Yoshiazuma (currently Ms9w and 4-1) to become sekitori. (Holiday feeling...) He's 197 cm tall, and from what I remember from the one time I saw him on the stream, he has somewhat of a Takanonami vibe about his appearance and sumo style.

[ilovesumo 12]

Do you really think he is that nice???? B-)

Please give me a better pic of his face!

I know what a girl likes B-)

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

So Kotooshoo is one cm shorter than Akebono. I hope he puts on some weight so we can get another highly competent giant! B-)

[Takanobaka 0]

Hmm....I remembered reading somewhere that Kotooshu was the second tallest rikishi ever, after that British guy who retired after 2 basho (and was 208 cm tall). Has Kotooshu's official height changed any? I could have sworn he was 204 cm when he first came in...

Plus, wasn't Akebono's official height 202 cm anyway?

The weight will come. He's not built like a beanpole by any means. He's very lean muscular for a kid his age, and in a couple years when his metabolism slows down some, he'll put on a ton of weight naturally and still maintain all that muscle mass underneath.

[Mark Buckton 1]

Hmm....I remembered reading somewhere that Kotooshu was the second tallest rikishi ever, after that British guy who retired after 2 basho (and was 208 cm tall). Has Kotooshu's official height changed any? I could have sworn he was 204 cm when he first came in...

There was a 214cm Makuuchi guy (Japanese) in the Showa era - when I next have a chance I'll let you have his name.

Also, I have seen it as 204 on TV but........a quick bow, a sumimasen and all is forgotten. The truth, I don't know.

[Yubiquitoyama 4]

Hmm....I remembered reading somewhere that Kotooshu was the second tallest rikishi ever, after that British guy who retired after 2 basho (and was 208 cm tall).  Has Kotooshu's official height changed any? I could have sworn he was 204 cm when he first came in...

There was a 214cm Makuuchi guy (Japanese) in the Showa era - when I next have a chance I'll let you have his name.

Fudoiwa.

[Doitsuyama 1,178]

Hmm....I remembered reading somewhere that Kotooshu was the second tallest rikishi ever, after that British guy who retired after 2 basho (and was 208 cm tall). Has Kotooshu's official height changed any? I could have sworn he was 204 cm when he first came in...

Plus, wasn't Akebono's official height 202 cm anyway?

I guess what you read was the heights when ENTERING Ozumo. Kotoōshū was taller than Akebono at hatsu dohyō, so to speak. I guess Akebono grew a bit after that.

[Mark Buckton 1]

Hmm....I remembered reading somewhere that Kotooshu was the second tallest rikishi ever, after that British guy who retired after 2 basho (and was 208 cm tall).  Has Kotooshu's official height changed any? I could have sworn he was 204 cm when he first came in...

There was a 214cm Makuuchi guy (Japanese) in the Showa era - when I next have a chance I'll let you have his name.

Fudoiwa.

Thank you Yubi-san. Saves me a job there.

Interestingly - Akebono is pictured in the Sumo (baseball mag version) mag of March 2004 as being 203cm and 175.5 kg (old pic) and Ko...sho is also featured (and photoed being checked) as being the same 203cm though the very same company (baseball mag) have him down as 202cm in the Jan released rikishi guide. The mysteries surrounding UFOs and yaocho pale in comparison. (and have less evidence perhaps)

Hmmmm?

PS - same Sumo mag has the lads gicing blood - Shoryu looks in pain, Kotomitsuki's forehead is closer than ever to his chin and Sakari is watching the needle go in.

Edited April 15, 2004 by Adachinoryu

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

A 1cm difference is no big deal, can easily be caused by minor fluctuations such as vibrations in the measuring person's hand (if it's a person). Players of various sports are routinely listed at different heights in team publications, web sites, newspaper articles, etc, sometimes with 3-5" (7.62-12.7cm) variations.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 206]

PS - same Sumo mag has the lads gicing blood - Shoryu looks in pain, Kotomitsuki's forehead is closer than ever to his chin and Sakari is watching the needle go in.

What is it with rikishi and needles? Is this a clever scheme to show that "Look! We are such cowards that we fear the needle, now nobody can imagine us using injections of steroids to muscle!!" or is it some kind of a habit that rikishi have developed throughout years and which had first started as a joke "We the big bad rikishi are deep inside very timid little boys hahah! so we will make a face now when needle comes and media reports!" which then became a habit in sumo world. Confusing. Needle phobia is not very common really.

vibrations in the measuring person's hand (if it's a person

;-) :-S :-)

Wonderful sentence and a bad coffee cup syndrome for measurers!

Maybe some newcomers are former extreme computer nerds who sit 15 hours per day in C-stature coding C++ or playing games ( I think playing games must be more entertaining than coding C++ in most humans' opinion) and hence their spine has become rigid and intervertebrae discs sticky! After all we all are shorter in the evening than in the morning. People who have big worries are even more shorter in the evening after day full of worry carrying.

Kotooshu is not worried I bet. He is probably as genki as a heathy goose in a clean pond where bread crums float due to benevolence of humans.

[Yubiquitoyama 4]

PS - same Sumo mag has the lads gicing blood - Shoryu looks in pain, Kotomitsuki's forehead is closer than ever to his chin and Sakari is watching the needle go in.

What is it with rikishi and needles? Is this a clever scheme to show that "Look! We are such cowards that we fear the needle, now nobody can imagine us using injections of steroids to muscle!!" or is it some kind of a habit that rikishi have developed throughout years and which had first started as a joke "We the big bad rikishi are deep inside very timid little boys hahah! so we will make a face now when needle comes and media reports!" which then became a habit in sumo world. Confusing. Needle phobia is not very common really.

As phobias go, is really needle phobia that uncommon? I would have thought it was rather high up on the list. However that might be, I doubt we would ever see a rikishi with needle phobia actually accepting a needle at all, so that is hardly what is at hand here. (Feeling guilty...)

I am sure I make a face when a needle is going to touch me, and I am not the least bit needle phobic. However, I have noticed that after having given blood plasma every two weeks for quite some time (not now for a while though, after they stopped asking for blood plasma) that it just got more and more unpleasant to get stung by a needle. I am sure someone with a camera could create a picture of me with the "right" face to go into a sumo magazine :-D

[Zenjimoto 40]

Takamisakari is able to look at the needle, because with his bad eyesight he doesn't see it going in anyways (Feeling guilty...)

[Datchayama 0]

Heh...didn't think about that Zenjimoto... (Feeling guilty...)

One thing I wondered however. I haven't seen the pic so can't say "when" in the blood-giving he's grimicing at. But as I've just recently gone thru blood giving for tests myself..most needle issues aren't too bad..but it can vary with the skill of the person that is actually doing the blood-drawing..

I know others that had to regularly go thru blood tests...most of the time there'd be no problem but others it's almost like the person couldn't find/hit a vein no matter what they did. So they end up causing more pain due to trying to reposition or in bad "handling" once the needle's in.

Myself, it "seemed" to be not too bad on my recent tests... but boy did it leave a bruise...been 9 days and still not fully cleared.

And the other thought.. would vein finding/needling be more "rough" to do on tougher,heavily muscled arms like they may have built up? More muscle content = maybe more chance to "poke" in the wrong place and cause pain...I dunno. just speculating...

Cameras would sure be quick though to be able to catch even the slightest thing like a brief grimace due to a neurvous nurse needle-nick.... (and probably be the picture of choice for sensationalizing the event ^^)

[Kintamayama 44,667]

I was thinking along the lines of a flu shot, not blood drawing, but contrary to the DR., I feel needle phobia of any kind exists in 80% or higher of the population. I asked around.. More like 92.7%. And that's the over- 40 adults.

[Manekineko 200]

I've developed needle-fobia in time - when I was li'l, I had no fear when giving my blood for tests... Now I have to turn away my head when the needle goes in... I don't mind the sight of blood, really, I never have any problems seeing it outside my body otherwise... so it must be the needle. (Feeling guilty...)

Seeing needles doing things to people on TV makes me go yuck, as well. :-D

[Zenjimoto 40]

I guess I'm a bit of a freak then, cause I always closely watch what's going on when some one pokes me (Feeling guilty...)

[Yubiquitoyama 4]

One thing I wondered however. I haven't seen the pic so can't say "when" in the blood-giving he's grimicing at. But as I've just recently gone thru blood giving for tests myself..most needle issues aren't too bad..but it can vary with the skill of the person that is actually doing the blood-drawing..

I know others that had to regularly go thru blood tests...most of the time there'd be no problem but others it's almost like the person couldn't find/hit a vein no matter what they did. So they end up causing more pain due to trying to reposition or in bad "handling" once the needle's in.

Yes I completely a agree. Once a nurse failed rather miserably when putting a needle in my arm so that it hurt some 20 minutes before it stopped hurting. After that I was almost panically afraid of getting that nurse again for a year or so, despite being fully aware that she had been unlucky that time, and that it didn't have anything to do with skill. It's the fact that it CAN hurt that makes for a bit of insecurity :-D

Btw, it might be worse for rikishi, since the problem can be as you say to actually find a correct place to put the neddle. I suspect many rikishi might have quite difficult to see veins, so the risk of having to poke around with the needle might be higher...

(Feeling guilty...)

Edited April 17, 2004 by Yubiquitoyama