Hatsu 2022 discussions (results)

[Seiyashi 4,072]

Hm. If it's only his head then it's somewhat plausible he might be back tomorrow. Really hope the knees are fine.

[Kaninoyama 1,718]

7 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

Hm. If it's only his head then it's somewhat plausible he might be back tomorrow. Really hope the knees are fine.

To be accurate, on the broadcast he confirmed he hit his head but said nothing about his legs. I was worried about the knees too but on the replay it looks like Shodai went over the knees and didn't crash into them directly, and that Ura's trouble walking was just a result of being woozy from the head smack, like a punch-drunk fighter.

[Jakusotsu 5,885]

1 hour ago, I am the Yokozuna said:

新入幕

shin-nyu-maku

so you need to hear/pronounce double n

Right, but not "shiny" (English pronounciation) like Morita and Pradhan always do.

[RabidJohn 1,729]

15 hours ago, BroadMeadow said:

What a joy it is to watch Terunofuji's sumo. Before his fall to injuries he was an explosion of fury and force. He seemed so angry I wasn't sure what he was more irritated at: his opponent, or the mere fact of being there. I loved hating him.

What is yokozuna sumo? Multiple yokozuna demurred to answer in NHK's recent Hakuho retirement video. Hakuho- even to the end- was a blast to watch. The way he got himself into and out of trouble was incredible. But his talent was so singular you knew it couldn't be matched. You couldn't characterize Hakuho's as "yokozuna sumo" because he seemed to transcend the rank itself.

Some might call Terunofuji's sumo passive, or patient. For me it is controlled. He seems to be controlling everything by being controlled. He is not imposing his will on the match. The match comes to him, and he responds to it. His opponent is charging, working, grabbing, straining against a mountain that absorbs all the effort and turns it whichever way he wishes. His two bad knees have made him twice the rikishi. His strength has been brought low and he is the better for it. He can no longer rely of the fury of brute force. But he can now take his opponent's strength and make it his own.

I am pretty sure I will never see a greater wrestler than Hakuho. But I am not sure I will ever see a better yokozuna than Terunofuji.

I commented last basho on how much Terunofuji's sumo has changed since he got the rope. 
I would liken him to a rock against which waves break, but waves don't make rocks dance about like Wakatakakage did today. 
Still, it makes for very entertaining sumo, which as star of the show is another yokozuna responsibility.

---

Really disheartening how Ura fights his way to the joi then gets injured as soon as he arrives.

[Eikokurai 3,437]

So much for the improved ringside medical protocols, eh? Ura should never have gone back up on the dohyo.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Eikokurai

[Karasukurai 166]

21 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

So much for the improved ringside medical protocols, eh? Ura should never have gone back up on the dohyo.

Maybe they could have stopped him. Generally I thought they did OK, especially compared to the previous 'leave them on the floor and stare' protocol. It was difficult to tell what exactly Ura had wrong with him in the few seconds after his fall. I thought he'd hurt his knee again when he was trying to get back on the dohyo, probably others did too. As soon as it was clear he was shaky and concussed, the judge nearest to Ura was indicating there was a problem and two guys were there supporting him quickly. I've been a massive critic of the non-existent injury protocols but I'm going to give a bit of credit to the staff today - not perfect but big strides forward in injury response IMO.

[Kintamayama 44,741]

Hakkaku says Ura's famous tenacity is commendable but he needs to let go at some point, as his stickiness can cause not only injury to himself, but to his opponent as well. Today, he tried to cling to Shoudai at the last minute as best as he could, bringing about that mishap, hinted the rijicho . I agree. He also pointed out that the intensity  at these ranks - totally different ballgame, so caution is required.

[Joaoiyama 307]

Nobody heard the sound of Ura's head hitting the ground? It looked like he was knocked out or at least knocked senseless.

[Kotogouryuu 128]

Just now, Joaoiyama said:

Nobody heard the sound of Ura's head hitting the ground? It looked like he was knocked out or at least knocked senseless.

Yeah I was wondering about that. There was a very distinct head-meets-hard surface -sound when Ura fell. Their attitude towards head injuries is still shamefully lax.

[Rocks 1,807]

1 hour ago, Joaoiyama said:

Nobody heard the sound of Ura's head hitting the ground? It looked like he was knocked out or at least knocked senseless.

I did. Clearly he hit his head and hard but it's weird. Isn't there tatami there? I can see it still doing damage if you go head first into it by why was it so loud? Almost sounded like he hit directly on a hard floor. 

[Seiyashi 4,072]

Didn't hear it at the time, but the sound is definitely obvious enough on the replay. One possibility is that the sound was piped in from the camera man who was barely 4 zabuton to the right, or some other sound device nearby (maybe the shimpan-cho's mic?).

As for the sound itself, well, it sounds exactly like how slapping a tatami mat hard would sound like. Which is probably good-ish news since it means Ura didn't take a sharp hit to a small location on his head, but also means it's prime concussion territory because he took a nice blow across the whole of wherever he hit. Natto cut out the immediate aftermath,, but Kinta's vids preserve it; Ura's hair in the lower left back quadrant of his head is flattened.

Or Ura could have also hit upper back first (safe), producing the sound, then his head whipped back onto the tatami when Shodai crashed into him or something. The bigger surface area of the upper back would definitely explain the relatively loud noise.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Jakusotsu 5,885]

There are no tatami, only cushions where the people are sitting.

See here:

Edited January 10, 2022 by Jakusotsu

[Seiyashi 4,072]

Hmm actually if Ura landed on that, then isn't that part of the mechanism that can retract to cover the dohyo, so it'll be a little bit hollow?

[lackmaker 434]

7 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Mitakeumi's sumo seems to have stepped up a notch. It's a good sign that Mitakeumi's bouts are looking this effortless....? 

It's going well, but it's week one Mitakeumi.

[Seiyashi 4,072]

Another comment on the NSK protocols: perhaps the rikishi need to be trained as well to recognise signs of concussion in their fellow rikishi. Rewatching the excerpt that Natto put up, Shodai offered Ura a hand up and actually got him somewhat moving, then it looked like he was waved off and he left Ura to recover alone, and it took the shimpan Ura's odd remounting to notice that something was up. Considering that the other rikishi is often the closest person to the casualty when the injury happens, they ought to be trained to at least recognise signs of injury so they too can activate the emergency response. 

[Godango 973]

11 hours ago, Eikokurai said:

So much for the improved ringside medical protocols, eh? Ura should never have gone back up on the dohyo.

Keyword improved. To echo others, it wasn't perfect but it was a vast improvement over doing literally nothing.

[TakanohanaFan 2]

Oho is 2-0. I love it.

[since_94 650]

Nishonoseki / Araisho / Kisenosato is a natural in that kids Pokémon video. How can you not love the guy?

[jsolo 106]

January (Hatsu) 2022 Basho--DAY 2 Links and Statistics Blog--videos, photos, match articles, quotes, results and standings, kimarite statistics, time of match statistics, top rank performance, Maegashira v san'yaku, Rookie performances and more.

[Masunofuji 36]

On 09/01/2022 at 10:59, Kaninoyama said:

On the NHK broadcast the announcer mentioned that the rules have been modified this year so that any grabbing of the mage will be immediate hansoku, even if accidental. 

First chance to apply the modified rule in Enho - Churanoumi bout has been blown.

[Joaoiyama 307]

Is it henka holiday today or what?

[since_94 650]

Kaisei with the perfect log roll dohyo exit to kick off Makuuchi on day 3. I was most surprised to see Ura participating in the dohyo iri. He looks out of it, not at all genki. Why doesn’t he take a rest?

Edited January 11, 2022 by since_94

[Seiyashi 4,072]

Because gaman. And he's likely to get his clock cleaned by Takakeisho today, too.

[Benihana 1,916]

1 hour ago, since_94 said:

Kaisei with the perfect log roll dohyo exit to kick off Makuuchi on day 3. I was most surprised to see Ura participating in the dohyo iri. He looks out of it, not at all genki. Why doesn’t he take a rest?

He is able to walk, none of his limbs stick out at an unnatural angle, he can do sumo.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Benihana

[since_94 650]

Hehe. Reads like a quote lifted from a NSK press release