Kotooushuu and chicken

[Kintamayama 45,094]

This warrants a separate thread. Sadogatake Oyakata and Kotooushuu are taking the next basho very seriously and treating it as a legit tsunatori basho, even though everyone is hinting it isn't.. Sadogatake wants Osh to lower his hips at the tachi-ai, where he is most vulnerable to ploys by the shorter rikishi. He has devised a cunning yet not totally new scheme - running after live chicken as a form of training. Tsunatori by Niwatori , as the paper suggests. This style was used by ex- Yokozuna Asashio- hips low, and closing off both sides of the body ( kind of a double ottsuke)- as if you were running after a chicken to catch it. "In Nagoya, our lodgings are right next to a kindergarten. They have real chicken there. I'm tempted to use them.. If he can't catch them, maybe we'll have vegetable chanko only", said Sadogatake, half serious. The whole thing is a throwback to the Tochinishiki-Wakanohana era when the tall (1.89 meter) Asashio had to deal with the 1.79 meter Wakanohana and a 1.78 meter Tochinishiki, with whom he had a more or less equal head to head record, thanks to the "where's the chicken" technique.

So, first cheese, now chicken. Look out for another 14-1.

*special thanks to Makoto-san for verifying my educated guess..

Edited June 3, 2008 by Kintamayama

[Mark Buckton 1]

and when he catches it can we presume he'll go running through Philly at the head of a bunch of kids, will hurdle some park benches then run up some steps, sub his toe (oops wrong thread!) - to listen to a sqark / speech by Hillary 'don't know when to quit' Clinton make a speech comparing herself to Sylvester?

[Washuyama 641]

and when he catches it can we presume he'll go running through Philly at the head of a bunch of kids, will hurdle some park benches then run up some steps, sub his toe (oops wrong thread!) - to listen to a sqark / speech by Hillary 'don't know when to quit' Clinton make a speech comparing herself to Sylvester?

Don't forget the cheesy 70s/80s background music! (Jumping in ecstasy...)

[JAB 0]

Tsunotari means what exactly?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

[Kintamayama 45,094]

Tsunotari means what exactly?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

It means a run for Yokozuna promotion.

[JAB 0]

How does one "run" for promotion? I thought it was all based on performance in the main Basho?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

[Harry 67]

Yokozuna chicken? Tsunatori?　綱鳥？ LOL

[Asashosakari 19,309]

Yokozuna chicken? Tsunatori?　綱鳥？ LOL

Groan... (Jumping in ecstasy...)

How does one "run" for promotion? I thought it was all based on performance in the main Basho?

Being in a "run" is just jargon for being on course for some major event with a sufficiently strong performance. So in this case, yokozuna run = a chance to earn promotion to yokozuna in the next basho. And to play Harry for a moment (Clapping wildly...) - literally "tsunatori" = "taking/earning the rope", where tsuna/rope is the same character as in yokozuna, just pronounced differently because it's at the beginning of the word.

Edited June 3, 2008 by Asashosakari

[Harry 67]

Sorry to go so far off topic... but I couldn't resist. Am I wrong or is the chicken wearing a mawashi?

Edited June 3, 2008 by Harry

[madorosumaru 7]

Sorry to go so far off topic... but I couldn't resist. Am I wrong or is the chicken wearing a mawashi?

Yeah, but you know what happens to that sorry ass chicken--he gets deep-fried.

[Harry 67]

Yeah, but you know what happens to that sorry ass chicken--he gets deep-fried.

You bet:

Much easier to catch that way (Jumping in ecstasy...)

Here he is in the keiko where the chicken chasing comments were made:

[Kintamayama 45,094]

How does one "run" for promotion? I thought it was all based on performance in the main Basho?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

Actually, performance in two consecutive main bashos, back to back championships being the current criteria. He has one, now he needs the other. But some people are disputing this, saying he had a losing record the tournament before, so criteria notwithstanding, he wouldn't get the nod even if he won those back to back championships.

[JAB 0]

Thanks guys.

Sounds like lots of politcal BS, am I wrong?

Win's speak for themselves where I am from. So if it only takes two main basho victories to win, how many does it take to get demoted?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

[Harry 67]

Thanks guys.

Sounds like lots of politcal BS, am I wrong?

Win's speak for themselves where I am from. So if it only takes two main basho victories to win, how many does it take to get demoted?

Thanks

Jake (Jumping in ecstasy...)

Yokozuna cannot be demoted, they can only be 'forced' to retire if they don't perform well. For that reason I'm not even sure if it would be in Kotooshu's best interest to go ahead and get promoted right away. Sumo promotions are definitely a case of, "be careful what you wish for."

[Jonosuke 28]

If Kotooshu does workouts with chickens then he would be the first as Asashio never did. Asashio was taller than most rikishi so he had to get his lower back down while not letting his opponents grab his mawashi by slipping their arms between his arm and side. As far as I can recall he never equated his move to chicken but looking his move on the dohyo, others called it that way. Asashio was more than one move and style rikishi but he had ferocious oshi power as well as the set hidari yotsu which Kotooshu still lacks.

Edited June 3, 2008 by Jonosuke

[Kuroyama 715]

Sorry to go so far off topic... but I couldn't resist. Am I wrong or is the chicken wearing a mawashi?

More than that, I think it's performing a dohyo-iri, or at least a shiko.

Thanks guys.

Sounds like lots of politcal BS, am I wrong?

Maybe. I'm sure there are those who'd rather not see three foreign yokozuna. But in Kotooshu's case consistency of performance could easily be a genuine concern. He holds the record for earning promotion from jonokuchi (the lowest division) to makuuchi (the highest division) in the fewest basho. Before his ozeki promotion in 2005 he had the kind of performance that would lead many to expect a yusho (tournament win) every so often, and yokozuna promotion before very long. But until this last basho his performance as an ozeki was very lackluster. Often he'd just barely eke out a kachikoshi, and he relied too much on the henka, which is frowned upon at his rank. He had some knee problems, but I believe his problem was mostly psychological.

Personally, I think he has his problems solved, but if someone wanted a good case could be made for holding off on the tsuna until he showed it more clearly.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Manekineko
jonosuke is not a division ;)

[sekitori 492]

If the chicken has satisfied dietary requirements of Jewish law, I wonder if the technique for taking it down could be called "koshernage". Just a thought.

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

So, has Burgess Meredith become his new shisho?

And if so, when will he start chasing rabbits?

"Tell me about the rabbits, shisho." -a scene from "Of Mice and Yokozuna"

[Mikiro 0]

Thanks so much Satsu for that splendid shot of Lon Chaney, Jr. in his greatest role, best Lennie of all time.

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

Ya----ho------!!

I just read an article, prehaps "the" article, and it said Kotooshu was learning the fighting posture of former yokozuna Asashio, whose stance was referred to as "the chasing the chicken" style.

So, maybe no real chickens will be involved? (I dunno...)

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080603...00017-nks-fight

Edited June 4, 2008 by That-Satsu-Guy

[Harry 67]

Up to this point I believe you are right, no real chickens have been involved. Getting chicken doodoo off the dohyo would be a real bee-otch...

[Kintamayama 45,094]

I never wrote that "chicken were involved in the past" in the training. The whole article was written tongue in cheek, as was the translation. At least three of our readers seemed to have misread what I wrote. "This style was used by ex- Yokozuna Asashio- hips low, and closing off both sides of the body ( kind of a double ottsuke)- as if you were running after a chicken to catch it". Where does this imply that anyone actually ran after a chicken? "thanks to the "where's the chicken" technique. " Doesn't imply that either.

Banana split.

[Kintamayama 45,094]

Kotooushuu starts his new "children flinging " training that was invented by Futabayama, except he used a wooden rooster.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Kintamayama

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

Kotooushuu starts his new "children flinging " training that was invented by Futabayama, except he used a wooden rooster.

No, no... His stance is much too high.

Tell me 'bout the rabbits, George!

[JAB 0]

Is there a limit to how many Yokozuna their can be at one time?

Thanks

Jake (I dunno...)