Asashimaru

So for the 2nd straight day 'Shodai B' has entered the dohyo, as I see it. But who am I to judge ... Tomozuna Oyakata raises his right hand as he sits behind the cash register of the souvenir store and calls over Hiro to discuss the matter.

When Hakuho was asked what yokozuna means to him, he once said something like “to always be victorious”. And it is exactly this expected outstanding dominance in the makuuchi division and the undescribed rule of 2 consecutive triumphs in the rank of ozeki that is, in my opinion, the distinguishing feature of a worthy yokozuna contender. That's why I always considered Kakuryu to be a proper ozeki rather than a deserving representative of the elite grandmasters. Harumafuji wasn't the most dominant either, but in contrast he had the mental and physical strength to make two zensho-yusho follow each other and defeat the most victorious of all time in the process. With the current sanyaku rikishi and above, we still all too often see them buckle under the sheer overwhelming pressure to fulfill many hopes and expectations, which many are not yet up to.

We should mention that Kagayaki also had his fair share of “presentation” in the show. Not that one of his admirers is going to start talking about misappropriation of facts here. Thank you for the honor.

The same is true for me. While searching for a documentary about sumo, I found this haunting and rarely filmed work that goes deep behind the usual facades and perspectives. I was all the more delighted to rediscover Kyokutaisei, self-confident and with a positive aura, among the juryo newcomers one day. Alongside his supporters Asahisho and Kyokushuho, of course, who also received special admiration from me for understandable reasons. His special story shows us that similarly successful rikishi have also made a great achievement and can rightly be proud of having made it this far. Especially because of the really tough reality for a sumo wrestler, who also has to struggle with many health problems, as this short film empathically shows. And on the other hand, how few really get to enjoy the sunny side of their success in sumo that every rikishi dreams of at the beginning of their careers. I wish Kyokutaisei good luck and every success in his future endeavors.

My earliest memories of sumo go back to late 1995, followed by many wonderful evening broadcasts on Eurosport on German television. Until one day I came across a channel of a certain legend of this forum on the internet and have been a loyal viewer ever since. I've probably been a guest on sumoforum with its exceptional experts and enthusiastic members for just as long. Well, until now. My fondest sumo moment was when Moti-san has blurred Aoiyama. It was so spontaneous spot on and incredibly hilarious that other people ran into my room and asked me why I was laughing so hard. As I have not been able to see my all-time favourite rikishi live, I thought I would at least engage in a more personal exchange with all of you on this forum as you share your knowledge and deep love of sumo with us less linguistically gifted in Japanese and also share your private encounters with the rikishi. A versatile representative of the grandees was incredibly responsive to my simple comment and helped me to overcome the validation e-mail wall, that kept me from joining the forum for quite some time. Thank you once again Asashosakari. So now here i am and see you all later!

Ura is a true magician with many tricks in his magic box. It's always exciting to see what he comes up with. Sometimes all it takes is a movement of his head to defeat his opponents. He gives our beloved SUMO a refreshing breeze of acrobatics, which requires a high degree of body control and shows us again and again that there are many other admirable kimarite besides the classic winning techniques. Even his exits from the dohyo are often spectacular and with style. Not to mention his unrivaled pre-fight ritual. No wonder he is liked by many, including me. I am very grateful to be a contemporary witness of this exceptional finesse master with his way of sumo. It will not surprise you that for similar reasons my other favorite rikishi include Takanoyama, Tokitenku for his many leg trips victories alone and Kyokushuzan for his rarely used kimarite victories.