How long have you been interested in sumo?

[Shatsume 118]

My dad worked in Japan in the late 80s and my mum discovered Chiyonofuji... Then Channel 4 started showing it in the UK and I would watch with my mother and brother. Chiyonofuji, Terao, Konishiki; hard not to get hooked watching those 3, especially against each other!

[Gurowake 4,100]

I've said this before elsewhere, but I might as well mention it again.

The front page of Wikipedia used to (and presumably still does, but I don't check it anymore) have important events from around the world in the headlines, regardless of how popular they might be with the English-speaking users.  One that caught my attention was when Kakuryu was promoted to Yokozuna.  I was interested in exactly what that meant, not knowing much of anything about the sport besides its Japanese heritage.  So after reading about it for awhile, I thought it was pretty interesting and eventually found this forum.

[Getayukata 119]

For me, my first basho was May 1990. My husband and I and our two children had just moved to Japan for a year. I had never even heard of sumo before arriving in the country, and I was just blown away by this strange sport which had so much ritual attached to it. It helped that this was the time of Chiyonofuji, Kirishima, and Terao, not to mention Konishiki.

[Binzuke-abura 0]

I got into sumo maybe when I was about five, my dad discussed it infront of my mom and I looked it up on my dads computer. Years later I'm still watching my favorite wrestlers! 

[Fujisan 533]

27 years since it was first shown on British tv.............

[RabidJohn 1,854]

I'm pretty sure Aki 1987 was the first basho shown on C4 in the UK, so almost 30 years, but with a big gap before I rediscovered it on YouTube.

[Bumpkin 438]

On 5/13/2017 at 13:20, Gurowake said:

I've said this before elsewhere, but I might as well mention it again.

The front page of Wikipedia used to (and presumably still does, but I don't check it anymore) have important events from around the world in the headlines, regardless of how popular they might be with the English-speaking users.  One that caught my attention was when Kakuryu was promoted to Yokozuna.  I was interested in exactly what that meant, not knowing much of anything about the sport besides its Japanese heritage.  So after reading about it for awhile, I thought it was pretty interesting and eventually found this forum.

That was exactly what got me back into Sumo. In late March 2014. I've been into sumo ever since. Thanks to Kintamayama, Jason and this forum.

[ryafuji 815]

20 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

That was exactly what got me back into Sumo. In late March 2014. I've been into sumo ever since. Thanks to Kintamayama, Jason and this forum.

And Wikipedia!

[ryafuji 815]

22 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

I'm pretty sure Aki 1987 was the first basho shown on C4 in the UK, so almost 30 years, but with a big gap before I rediscovered it on YouTube.

Yep, that was the first. They covered the Aki basho for the next three years after that, and then the Royal Albert Hall koen in 1991. The final series covered the January 1992 tournament.

[Fujisan 533]

On 29 May 2017 at 21:16, RabidJohn said:

I'm pretty sure Aki 1987 was the first basho shown on C4 in the UK, so almost 30 years, but with a big gap before I rediscovered it on YouTube.

I think I missed some of the early days but I had the same big gap after the c4 showing finished..........

 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Fujisan

[RabidJohn 1,854]

22 hours ago, ryafuji said:

... and then the Royal Albert Hall koen in 1991.

I was there! All five days. Wish they'd come back and do it again...

[Washuyama 641]

I was 7 when my father got stationed in Tokyo.  No English on TV (except Sesame Street).  Aki 1975 was the first basho I watched and saw the only American (and biggest rikishi at the time), Jesse, beat Yokozuna Wajima.  With the help of Sumo World magazine, I quickly learned all the rikishi, their weights, heights, heya, and other stats.  I became a fan of "the little guys" in a big man's world (Ozeki Asahikuni, Washuyama, Kitaseumi.)  

[Nekoyama 2]

I'm very much a newbie to sumo - the first basho I saw was Kyushu 2016 where I first discovered that I wasn't able to pronounce Kakuryu with any effectiveness.  I call him 'K-man' because I AM able to pronounce Kisenosato. :) I loved how the crowd just worshiped these guys for their strength and their skill.  Now, I have my favorites and am finding Juryo to be super-fascinating because it seems to be a causeway of up and comers mixed with the older dudes coming down. 

[Asameshimae 220]

On 5/2/2017 at 23:32, ryafuji said:

Almost 20 years. Channel 4 in the UK began their coverage with the Aki 1987 basho. I was ten years old and I was hooked.

Um, you realize that's more like 30 years?  Not trying to make you feel older or anything. :)

[ryafuji 815]

3 hours ago, Asameshimae said:

Um, you realize that's more like 30 years?  Not trying to make you feel older or anything. :)

I didn't realize until someone else pointed it out above  I honestly could not believe that 1987 was 30 years ago - my brain made it 20... 

[bettega 431]

I've been watching for almost 6 years, just after Natsu 2011 because of Kaisei's 10-5K and the press it got here in Brazil.

[Asameshimae 220]

On 5/31/2017 at 03:27, ryafuji said:

And Wikipedia!

Indeed, many unsung somebodies have to put all that stuff there on wikipedia to whet people's appetite.

[Tochinofuji 387]

Since September 2008, having moved there in August 2008 for a brief stay.  As a long time martial artist, I've always had an interest in all martial arts.  When I arrived in Japan, a large portion of the TV news coverage was dedicated to the Wakanoho marijuana scandal. Coming from a Canada, a country with a quite liberal take on marijuana, I found the whole debacle quite fascinating, and so I avidly followed the story.  This led to me watching the September 2008 basho on TV to see what Ozumo was all about, and I was hooked.

[sekitori 492]

Since around 1980.  Some friends were interested in Japanese culture and they told me that a form of sumo digest was being broadcast on a local Los Angeles Asian TV channel. They suggested that I watch it.  I did and the first thing I noticed was the lack of emotion shown by both winners and losers. I was tired of seeing extremes of celebration from winners and dejection from losers in other sports and that was very refreshing. 

The very first rikishi who impressed me was Yokozuna Wajima. Then I noticed someone who wasn't nearly as big as other rikishis but who made up for it by being very athletic. I thought he might have a pretty good future, so I became a fan and started to follow the career of that komusubi.  Although I had absolutely no knowledge of  sumo, I guess I still knew enough to recognize that Chiyonofuji could have a very successful career. His success far exceeded my expections--or everyone else's for that matter.

 

Edited June 19, 2017 by sekitori

[PawnSums 59]

On ‎5‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 18:01, Bumpkin said:

That was exactly what got me back into Sumo. In late March 2014. I've been into sumo ever since. Thanks to Kintamayama, Jason and this forum.

same for me but with hakuho

[Usagi 36]

Since the Jungyo 1995 in Paris on Eurosport - same as with many others here, I guess.

[Katooshu 3,325]

2 years....saw an article in a local paper about Homarenishiki and wanted to see what sumo was really like beyond the stereotypical media portrayals. I've been hooked ever since and it's supplanted boxing as my favourite sport. 

Edited July 26, 2017 by Katooshu

[Kaminariyuki 500]

My travel buddy and I walked into a tiny sports bar in Ueno, the Takoka, in May of 2015. There was not a word of English anywhere in the place. We'd asked a waitress the day before what time sumo was on, and rolled in there shortly after 4:00. An old guy shuffled up to me (wasn't quite sure if he was the custodian, bouncer or the owner) and asked, "Nihongo hanashimasu ka?" (Do you speak Japanese?), to which I replied in Japanese that we only spoke a little. He grunted and waved us over to the bar with the back of his hand. Figured if we'd answered in English we would not now be sumo fans now. We drank some nihonshu, watched the matches, ate a few snacks. We were hooked. The next year we got tickets for the May basho, and I went with a Japanese friend this past May again. We'll be trying to get tickets to the Kyushu basho this November.

[Yamanashi 3,903]

Alas!  I will never get to Japan, but I am a devoted fan of Japanese TV shows and movies, and keep up with the NHK Video on Demand (Journeys in Japan, Trails to Tsukiji, etc.)  Then the Grand Sumo Highlights showed up (early this year) and WOW that was cool!

[Ruziklao 34]

Around 2002, while sharing a flat with friends, one of them introduced me to Eurosport coverage of honbasho. It was soo weird, but so interesting... so I started to read a lot about sumo wherever I could. A few basho later I was hooked and enjoyed every one of basho digests. And rest is history...