What's so special about Hokuseiho?

[sumojoann 1,263]

Sumostew has just uploaded an interesting YT video, "What's so special about Hokuseiho?"  Not only does she delve into Hokuseiho's background, she also analyzes why Mongolian's have done so well in ozumo, going beyond the obvious -- that bokh is the reason.  Using height and weight charts, plus snippets of videos to illustrate, it's all well done.  I particularly enjoyed the photo of a very young Hokuseiho (who looked like he was 6 years old) meeting Hakuho, and having a sit-down chat. 

 

[Seiyashi 4,075]

Is bokh really a factor in Hokuseihō's development, though? He may have a Mongolian cultural backgrounding but the vid doesn't seem to present evidence that Hokuseihō took part in bokh unlike, say, Hōshōryū or other Mongolian sumotori. 

In fact I don't believe Hakuhō or Kakuryū took part in bokh that much either - the former was the son of a great bokh wrestler but played more basketball, and Kakuryū was the son of a university professor.

Also can I just say that photo of Hokuseihō when young is really very cute.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Seiyashi

[sumojoann 1,263]

18 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

Is bokh really a factor in Hokuseihō's development, though? He may have a Mongolian cultural backgrounding but the vid doesn't seem to present evidence that Hokuseihō took part in bokh unlike, say, Hōshōryū or other Mongolian sumotori. 

In fact I don't believe Hakuhō or Kakuryū took part in bokh that much either - the former was the son of a great bokh wrestler but played more basketball, and Kakuryū was the son of a university professor.

Also can I just say that photo of Hokuseihō when young is really very cute.

While I agree that bokh isn't a DIRECT factor in Hokuseiho's development, I think it is indirect.  He was quite inspired and influenced by Hakuho.  Bokh, as we know, is one of Mongolia's three national sports, and is deeply ingrained in virtually all native-born Mongolian men.  It's such a deep part of their culture, a culture that Mongolians are extremely proud of.  I think when it comes to Hakuho, you can take him out of Mongolia but you can't take Mongolia out of him.  Bokh is part of his heritage, even if he never participated in  it.  Whatever Mongolian cultural pride that Hokuseiho had before he met Hakuho is difficult to measure since he left Mongolia for Japan at the age of five.  However, once he met Hakuho, which occurred several times, I believe Hakuho would have emphasized the importance of his Mongolian heritage.

Yes, Hakuho, the son of a Mongolian Dai Yokozuna, was encouraged by his father to pursue other sports, which he did for a while (basketball).  His father was a great influence on him.  That being said,  even as a young child, he gravitated towards sumo and was still essentially a child himself (age 15) when he became a rikishi.  Even if he didn't participate in bokh, it was still a major part of his heritage.

Regarding Kakuryu, still a major part of his cultural heritage, even though to my knowledge, there is no ancestral history of involvement in bokh.

I think Sumostew presented a balanced view.  Perhaps I should have said in my original post that bokh was ONE reason for the Mongolian-born wrestlers' success, not THE reason.

[Doitsuyama 1,185]

Yeah, the Japanese surely don't have such a national sport with long heritage to draw inspiration from. /s

[Swami 245]

I think he is hugely overrated, even taking into account how low the overall quality of sumo is at present.  He may well get to the lower sanyaku ranks on this basis - I think even sandanme/jonokuchi rikishi would be better ozeki than the current crop- but with greater quality he is mid-to-lower maegashira at best.

 

Swami

[junsan 179]

He stand up straight and is very very tall. Thats about it.

[Yamanashi 3,829]

"You can't teach height" - NBA coach Frank Layden, on why he thought 7'6" (2.29m) Shawn Bradley should be drafted over several other highly touted college players.

Bradley ended up as a role player during his pro career.

[Kintamayama 45,081]

Really? Over-rated?.  He hasn't had a real makekoshi since he entered sumo in 11 bashos he took part in. . 74-21 career? Prettty good. Yusho in every single of the non-salaried divisions. Pretty awesome. All his kachikoshi were at least by two wins. No 8-7, no 4-3. That's no over-rating in my book. It's downright awesome.

[Chartorenji 235]

1 hour ago, Kintamayama said:

Really? Over-rated?.  He hasn't had a real makekoshi since he entered sumo in 11 bashos he took part in. . 74-21 career? Prettty good. Yusho in every single of the non-salaried divisions. Pretty awesome. All his kachikoshi were at least by two wins. No 8-7, no 4-3. That's no over-rating in my book. It's downright awesome.

I think people see his sumo style and think he is "Overrated" off of it, but really he is just using his genetics to dominate lower divisions and now Juryo. Of course, the style can be seen as low effort/boring, and a big part of the video was him being caught off guard or "sleepy." But he still got 9 wins even when he looked at his "worse." Dude's potential rises with a different type of sumo from the norm, being under the GOAT of the sport, and still be 20. Those are the reasons I consider him a real threat for the top tier of the sport. Plus to add on to that, he would be Hakuho's first big test as a coach, something Hak would hopefully want extremely badly to be successful.  Only drawback is the knee injuries, something Hakuho can help him with but Hoku's height makes it worse. 

[Akinomaki 40,328]

29 minutes ago, Chartorenji said:

he would be Hakuho's first big test as a coach, something Hak would hopefully want extremely badly to be successful

4th sekitori as a coach for Hakuho, first big test as a shisho

[Katooshu 3,219]

If sumo matches were won based on how pretty a rikishi's sumo is, he would be 0-95. Our current yokozuna wouldn't be a sekitori either.

So far, his results are excellent, and have been every step of the way. His sumo is hard on the eyes, but when he gets a belt grip, which he usually does, he becomes twice as heavy as his opponent and is able to move most of them around like they weigh nothing. How far will it get him? My guess is pretty far, though we'll get a much better idea when he faces tests in makuuchi.

Remember, he's only 20 and 2 years into his career. It's highly probably he'll keep getting better.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Katooshu

[Kaitetsu 292]

1 hour ago, Akinomaki said:

4th sekitori as a coach for Hakuho, first big test as a shisho

I get Ishiura, Enho and Hokuseiho, but who was the other one?

[Kamitsuumi 398]

Daikihō/Yamaguchi, the forgotten one.

[Kaitetsu 292]

56 minutes ago, Kamitsuumi said:

Daikihō/Yamaguchi, the forgotten one.

Oh wow, just finished reading about him, what a interesting trajectory, he seems like a fun guy.

[Hankegami 526]

Considering that a good part of the argument made in favor of Hokuseiho in the video gravitates around his exceptional height, I ran a query and checked how well the tallest-ever rikishi fared in Ozumo. I put a lower limit of 195 cm of height, otherwise we could have entered a "very-tall-but-not-that-tall" area including 192 cm Hakuho and Terunofuji.

Rikishi are down here put in order of successful career (from Yokozuna to Jonokuchi) with extra data like their yushos.

Spoiler

 

1. Akebono (active 1988-2001) Yokozuna (11 M yusho) 204 cm (7th highest measurement) 200 kg

2. Ozutsu (acive 1887-1908) Yokozuna (2 M yusho) 197 cm (13th) 134 kg

3. Futahaguro (active 1979-1988) Yokozuna (1 J, 1 Jk yusho) 199 cm (11th) 151 kg

4. Raiden (active 1790-1811) Ozeki (26 M yusho*) 197 cm* (13th) 169 kg

5. Tamagaki (active 1778-1797) Ozeki (3 M yusho*) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

6. Takanonami (active 1987-2004) Ozeki (2 M yusho) 195 cm (15th) 157 kg

7. Baruto (active 2004-2013) Ozeki (1 M, 3 J, 1 Ms, 1 Jd, 1 Jk yusho) 197 cm (13th) 186 kg

8. Kotooshu (active 2002-2014) Ozeki (1 M, 1 J, 1 Ms, 1 Jd yusho) 204 cm (7th) 140 kg

9. Ouchiyama (active 1944-1959) Ozeki (1 Ms yusho) 202 cm (9th) 152 kg

10a. Shakagatake (active 1770-1774) Ozeki (no record) 223 cm* (2nd) 169 kg

10b. Kumonryu (active 1787-1798) Ozeki (no record) 206 cm* (6th) 150 kg

10c. Eshimagata (active 1778-1780) Ozeki (no record) 206 cm* (6th) 180 kg

11. Musashigata (active 1863-1885) Sekiwake (2 M yusho*) 209 cm (4th) 140 kg

12. Kaisei (active 2006-2022) Sekiwake (1 J yusho) 195 cm (15th) 187 kg

13. Fudoiwa (active 1940-1954) Sekiwake (1 Ms yusho) 213 cm (3rd, tallest confirmed) 130 kg

14. Dewagatake (active 1917-1939) Sekiwake (no yusho) 203 cm (8th) 180 kg

14a. Hiregatake (active 1794-1795) Sekiwake (no record) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

14b. Miyagino (active 1814-1835) Sekiwake (no record) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

15. Wakanoho (active 2005-2008) M1 (1 Jd yusho) 195 cm (15th) 156 kg

16a. Urakaze (active 1853-1868) M1 (no yusho) 208 cm* (5th) 150 kg

16b. Tochinowaka (active 2007-2015) M1 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 179 kg

17. Kotowaka (active 1971-1985) M2 (1 Ms yusho) 197 cm (13th) 134 kg

18. Ikuzuki (active 1844-1850) M7 (no record) 227 cm* (1st) 169 kg

19. Miyateyama (active 1843-1849) M8 (no record) 197 cm* (13th) 131 kg

20. Daihisho (active 1992-2001) M10 (1 Jk yusho) 195 cm (15th) 175 kg

21. Yoshiazuma (1996-active!) M12 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 166 kg

22. Tachihikari (active 1982-1994) M15 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 152 kg

23. Banjo (aka Harukaze, active 1929-1941) J2 (1 Ms, 1 Jd yusho) 197 cm (13th) 113 kg

24. Chiinoyama (active 1940-1945) J3 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 146 kg

25. Hokuseiho (2020-active) J9 [possibly abt. J6 for Kyushu] (1 Ms, 1 Sd, 1 Jd, 1 Jk yusho) 200 cm (10th) 164 kg

26. Daishoryu (active 1980-1991) Ms3 (2 Sd yusho) 195 cm (15th) 146 kg

27. Kaishoryu (active 1987-2004) Ms6 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 149 kg

28. Daisho (active 1964-1977) Ms13 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 107 kg

29. Yamanami (active 1985-1993) Ms14 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 126 kg

30. Kyokushozan (active 1990-1993) Ms22 (no yusho) 200 cm (10th) 166 kg

31. Kawaguchi (active 1992-2002) Ms26 (1 Sd yusho) 196 cm (14th) 163 kg

32. Tendoriki (active 1990-1996) Ms28 (no yusho) 199 cm (11th) 182 kg

33. Oazuma (active 2006-2022) Ms30 (1 Jd, 1 JK yusho) 197 cm (13th) 151 kg

34. Hokutoo (active 2008-2022) Ms41 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 135 kg

35. Fujigatake (active 1976-1984) Ms56 (1 Sd yusho) 200 cm (10th) 120 kg

36. Oishibashi (active 1986-1990) Ms58 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 128 kg

37. Raiun (active 1987-1992) Sd21 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 117 kg

38. Homarenishiki (active 2015-2016) Sd46 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 153 kg

39. Daiketsu (active 1984-1987) Jd24 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 107 kg

40. Isomusashi (active 1994-1999) Jd30 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 101 kg

41. Ozaki (active 1998-2001) Jd94 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 99 kg

42. Kotoosako (active 1991-1994) Jd106 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 100 kg

43. Kitaoji (active 2004) Jd114 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 137 kg

44. Hokukimura (active 2000) Jk1 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 138 kg

45. Muta (active 1982-1985) Jk5 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 92 kg

46. Tamahosato (active 1978-1979) Jk9 (no yusho) 199 cm (11th) 110 kg

47. Narita (active 2001) Jk29 (no yusho) 200 cm (10th) 133 kg

48. Yata (active 2017) Jk30 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 203 kg

 

As you all can see, Hokuseiho is placed on spot 25 of this particular query, about half the ladder (but notice that heights of 18th-19th century rikishi cannot be trusted, see asterisks). However, it becomes immediately clear that very few rikishi can equate his palmarès, most closely #7 Baruto and #8 Kotooshu, that is two darn Ozeki. Second closest comes #3 Futahaguro, a - well - somewhat a Yokozuna. Anyway, no small fry apparently managed to collect lower division titles without breaking big. Moreover, although some very tall guys had their careers clearly cut short by (knee?) injuries, it is remarkable that no rikishi taller than Hokuseisho himself failed to enter Maakuchi. The tallest confirmed rikishi, Fudoiwa, even made it to Sekiwake while being 213 cm.

In conclusion, extreme height is definitively an advantage in Sumo, and Hokuseiho can dream big for three simple reasons 1) he's tally tally tall 2) he has a taste for winning 3) he already passed over the lower divisions, proving himself. It's just up to him to decide whther to land soft and be content to get a ticket for Maakuchi, or fulfill his potential and get at least to Ozeki. On the downside, the only Yokozuna taller than Hokuseiho is Akebono, that is a 204 cm, 200 kg behemoth. Futahaguro (but we can count him as a Yokozuna?) was slightly shorter than him, and Ozutsu (again not a particularly strong Yokozuna) was 3 cm shorter. All the other Yokozuna were much shorter, the next tallest being the 192 cm gang (Musashimaru, Hakuho, Terunofuji). This datum could suggest that being too tall is actually bad to get the very top job Hokuseiho is aiming at.

[Gurowake 4,046]

Based on his performance so far, my rating system suggests he'd fit in pretty well in the mid maegshira with occasional joi appearances and maybe sanyaku promotion.  That's a lot better than most rikishi his age.  He's doing quite well so far, and has a potentially long career over which he can improve.

[Yamanashi 3,829]

56 minutes ago, Gurowake said:

Based on his performance so far, my rating system suggests he'd fit in pretty well in the mid maegshira with occasional joi appearances and maybe sanyaku promotion.  That's a lot better than most rikishi his age.  He's doing quite well so far, and has a potentially long career over which he can improve.

Yes, he can definitely improve, and he's young, but I can't believe ex-Hakuho is telling him to stand up at the Tachiai.  I also can't believe he'll do very well against attacking pushers like Tamawashi or Daieisho or Abi.

[rzombie1988 157]

18 hours ago, Hankegami said:

Considering that a good part of the argument made in favor of Hokuseiho in the video gravitates around his exceptional height, I ran a query and checked how well the tallest-ever rikishi fared in Ozumo. I put a lower limit of 195 cm of height, otherwise we could have entered a "very-tall-but-not-that-tall" area including 192 cm Hakuho and Terunofuji.

Rikishi are down here put in order of successful career (from Yokozuna to Jonokuchi) with extra data like their yushos.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

1. Akebono (active 1988-2001) Yokozuna (11 M yusho) 204 cm (7th highest measurement) 200 kg

2. Ozutsu (acive 1887-1908) Yokozuna (2 M yusho) 197 cm (13th) 134 kg

3. Futahaguro (active 1979-1988) Yokozuna (1 J, 1 Jk yusho) 199 cm (11th) 151 kg

4. Raiden (active 1790-1811) Ozeki (26 M yusho*) 197 cm* (13th) 169 kg

5. Tamagaki (active 1778-1797) Ozeki (3 M yusho*) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

6. Takanonami (active 1987-2004) Ozeki (2 M yusho) 195 cm (15th) 157 kg

7. Baruto (active 2004-2013) Ozeki (1 M, 3 J, 1 Ms, 1 Jd, 1 Jk yusho) 197 cm (13th) 186 kg

8. Kotooshu (active 2002-2014) Ozeki (1 M, 1 J, 1 Ms, 1 Jd yusho) 204 cm (7th) 140 kg

9. Ouchiyama (active 1944-1959) Ozeki (1 Ms yusho) 202 cm (9th) 152 kg

10a. Shakagatake (active 1770-1774) Ozeki (no record) 223 cm* (2nd) 169 kg

10b. Kumonryu (active 1787-1798) Ozeki (no record) 206 cm* (6th) 150 kg

10c. Eshimagata (active 1778-1780) Ozeki (no record) 206 cm* (6th) 180 kg

11. Musashigata (active 1863-1885) Sekiwake (2 M yusho*) 209 cm (4th) 140 kg

12. Kaisei (active 2006-2022) Sekiwake (1 J yusho) 195 cm (15th) 187 kg

13. Fudoiwa (active 1940-1954) Sekiwake (1 Ms yusho) 213 cm (3rd, tallest confirmed) 130 kg

14. Dewagatake (active 1917-1939) Sekiwake (no yusho) 203 cm (8th) 180 kg

14a. Hiregatake (active 1794-1795) Sekiwake (no record) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

14b. Miyagino (active 1814-1835) Sekiwake (no record) 197 cm* (13th) unknown weight

15. Wakanoho (active 2005-2008) M1 (1 Jd yusho) 195 cm (15th) 156 kg

16a. Urakaze (active 1853-1868) M1 (no yusho) 208 cm* (5th) 150 kg

16b. Tochinowaka (active 2007-2015) M1 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 179 kg

17. Kotowaka (active 1971-1985) M2 (1 Ms yusho) 197 cm (13th) 134 kg

18. Ikuzuki (active 1844-1850) M7 (no record) 227 cm* (1st) 169 kg

19. Miyateyama (active 1843-1849) M8 (no record) 197 cm* (13th) 131 kg

20. Daihisho (active 1992-2001) M10 (1 Jk yusho) 195 cm (15th) 175 kg

21. Yoshiazuma (1996-active!) M12 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 166 kg

22. Tachihikari (active 1982-1994) M15 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 152 kg

23. Banjo (aka Harukaze, active 1929-1941) J2 (1 Ms, 1 Jd yusho) 197 cm (13th) 113 kg

24. Chiinoyama (active 1940-1945) J3 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 146 kg

25. Hokuseiho (2020-active) J9 [possibly abt. J6 for Kyushu] (1 Ms, 1 Sd, 1 Jd, 1 Jk yusho) 200 cm (10th) 164 kg

26. Daishoryu (active 1980-1991) Ms3 (2 Sd yusho) 195 cm (15th) 146 kg

27. Kaishoryu (active 1987-2004) Ms6 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 149 kg

28. Daisho (active 1964-1977) Ms13 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 107 kg

29. Yamanami (active 1985-1993) Ms14 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 126 kg

30. Kyokushozan (active 1990-1993) Ms22 (no yusho) 200 cm (10th) 166 kg

31. Kawaguchi (active 1992-2002) Ms26 (1 Sd yusho) 196 cm (14th) 163 kg

32. Tendoriki (active 1990-1996) Ms28 (no yusho) 199 cm (11th) 182 kg

33. Oazuma (active 2006-2022) Ms30 (1 Jd, 1 JK yusho) 197 cm (13th) 151 kg

34. Hokutoo (active 2008-2022) Ms41 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 135 kg

35. Fujigatake (active 1976-1984) Ms56 (1 Sd yusho) 200 cm (10th) 120 kg

36. Oishibashi (active 1986-1990) Ms58 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 128 kg

37. Raiun (active 1987-1992) Sd21 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 117 kg

38. Homarenishiki (active 2015-2016) Sd46 (no yusho) 196 cm (14th) 153 kg

39. Daiketsu (active 1984-1987) Jd24 (no yusho) 197 cm (13th) 107 kg

40. Isomusashi (active 1994-1999) Jd30 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 101 kg

41. Ozaki (active 1998-2001) Jd94 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 99 kg

42. Kotoosako (active 1991-1994) Jd106 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 100 kg

43. Kitaoji (active 2004) Jd114 (no yusho) 198 cm (12th) 137 kg

44. Hokukimura (active 2000) Jk1 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 138 kg

45. Muta (active 1982-1985) Jk5 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 92 kg

46. Tamahosato (active 1978-1979) Jk9 (no yusho) 199 cm (11th) 110 kg

47. Narita (active 2001) Jk29 (no yusho) 200 cm (10th) 133 kg

48. Yata (active 2017) Jk30 (no yusho) 195 cm (15th) 203 kg

 

As you all can see, Hokuseiho is placed on spot 25 of this particular query, about half the ladder (but notice that heights of 18th-19th century rikishi cannot be trusted, see asterisks). However, it becomes immediately clear that very few rikishi can equate his palmarès, most closely #7 Baruto and #8 Kotooshu, that is two darn Ozeki. Second closest comes #3 Futahaguro, a - well - somewhat a Yokozuna. Anyway, no small fry apparently managed to collect lower division titles without breaking big. Moreover, although some very tall guys had their careers clearly cut short by (knee?) injuries, it is remarkable that no rikishi taller than Hokuseisho himself failed to enter Maakuchi. The tallest confirmed rikishi, Fudoiwa, even made it to Sekiwake while being 213 cm.

In conclusion, extreme height is definitively an advantage in Sumo, and Hokuseiho can dream big for three simple reasons 1) he's tally tally tall 2) he has a taste for winning 3) he already passed over the lower divisions, proving himself. It's just up to him to decide whther to land soft and be content to get a ticket for Maakuchi, or fulfill his potential and get at least to Ozeki. On the downside, the only Yokozuna taller than Hokuseiho is Akebono, that is a 204 cm, 200 kg behemoth. Futahaguro (but we can count him as a Yokozuna?) was slightly shorter than him, and Ozutsu (again not a particularly strong Yokozuna) was 3 cm shorter. All the other Yokozuna were much shorter, the next tallest being the 192 cm gang (Musashimaru, Hakuho, Terunofuji). This datum could suggest that being too tall is actually bad to get the very top job Hokuseiho is aiming at.

I did some similar research here about bigger guys doing well in sumo a while back since there seemed to be a large correlation, though I got very different and mostly negative responses:

Hokuseiho is getting a lot of talk because he's tall and young. As I've said before, if I ran a stable, I'd probably not even bother with guys under 6 foot. It's not that they can't be great wrestlers, but people like Ura and Ishiura have to be so much more technically proficient and work so much harder than big guys like Gagamaru, Aoiyama and Kaisei did to get the similar results. I legitimately think you can get to Makuuchi mostly on size alone.

Height is advantageous in sumo because:

- You can pack on more weight and muscle on without affecting performance and at the end of the day, the heavier a wrestler is, the harder they are to move. Smaller wrestlers can only pack so much weight on before performance is affected.

- The taller wrestlers have a major reach advantage (which should be talked about more in sumo) and someone like Hokuseiho could push someone like Ura without Ura being able to touch him

- Taller wrestlers have a longer distance from their head to their mawashi than shorter wrestlers do and if Ura and Hokuseiho were both bent over against each other, I doubt Ura could even touch Hoku's mawashi without going to the side.

- Hokuseiho can also push down on smaller wrestlers and reach their mawashi's by going down the back, which they can't do to him. I don't know how much the pushing down helps but certainly being able to grab their mawashi's from above is a nice advantage.

Edited September 29, 2022 by rzombie1988

[Yarimotsu 572]

40 minutes ago, rzombie1988 said:

Hokuseiho is getting a lot of talk because he's big.

- You can pack on more weight and muscle without affecting performance and at the end of the day, the heavier a wrestler is, the harder they are to move

- The taller wrestlers have a major reach advantage (which should be talked about more in sumo) and Hokuseiho could push someone like Ura without Ura being able to touch him

- Taller wrestlers have a longer distance from their head to their mawashi than shorter wrestlers do and Ura would probably have to go to the side to grab Hokuseiho's belt

- Hokuseiho can also push down on smaller wrestlers, which they can't do to him.

While you're completely right about this, Hokuseiho currently is not using any of these things to keep opponents away from his belt. Rather he seems focused on staying upright so his weight does not help his opponent build throwing momentum. As a strategy it certainly doesn't look like it should work, but I've seen enough of his bouts now against guys I know can bulldoze opponents that I realised Hokuseiho standing straight up is immensely hard to push. If anyone wants to go back and watch his bouts this time around, you can see what I mean - guys who just mash into him at the tachiai and stop. He doesn't really parry, he just accepts the push and holds ground for the most part. That's an insane advantage and if he can just develop his limb strength as expected, it's probably enough to get him consistent sanyaku even with otherwise poor technique. 

[Yarimotsu 572]

The one (Obvious?) caveat to my post above is that it takes a long time to build serious limb strength as a taller guy. It will surely be a few years before any consistency develops as a result, and he has to avoid injury in the meantime.