Terrible call at the Sumo tournament

[happybird]

Was just catching up on the Day 13 matches and I am pissed! Tochinoshin was robbed! His heel clearly did not touch down in the sand. What a bad call.

I've been rooting for him to get 10 wins and regain his Ozeki rank. Had he won the match (which he did, dammit!) he'd not only be re-promoted, he'd also be in position to win the tournament. The whole thing stinks.

[KayF]

1. obvious question about sumo...

probably the most obvious question, sorry, but why do they have that physique? If someone with the body of an NFL lineman went into sumo, wouldn't they beat all these guys?

[happybird]

2. I asked the same thing when I first started watching

To win you have to force your opponent out of the ring. The bigger you are, the harder you are to move. When you do get a big guy moving, he tends to stay in motion, and then you can slap him down or disturb his balance. I've also noticed wrestlers have a hard time getting ahold of their opponent's belt if they are particularly rotund, lol!

The thing that drew my attention to Tochinoshin is he's more muscular than flabby. He often just picks his opponent up by the belt and shuffle-walks them out of the ring.

There is a little guy named Enho I've been rooting for. He's (comparatively) tiny, fast, and crafty with technique. It's great watching him get the best of guys nearly twice his size.

[KayF]

4. interesting, thanks!

Enho's a little bitty guy! (comparatively) i love the crowd's reaction!

[Angleae]

8. Unfortunately for Enho, the others seem to have figured him out (4 straight losses)

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Some recent sumo wrestlers use 'modern' techniques like weight lifting and rely less on sheer bulk

but the rules of the sport favor really heavy guys with low centers of gravity.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Where are you watching these ? nt

[happybird]

6. NHK shows a good highlight reel every evening

Can't remember the time, though. They also have a website with live coverage and highlights: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/

Their Sumopedia is super helpful, as well.

I also watch a couple different YouTube channels: Jason's All-Sumo Channel and Chris Gould.

[Angleae]

7. NattoSumo has been putting these up every morning on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzZ8v5JF3IyxLWOCGKpcP0g