Yeah the still image doesn’t tell the tale. Ura was dead to rights on the bales but side-stepped Takakeisho at the last second and did a crazy hop to keep himself upright while Taka’s momentum carried himself out of the ring.
Unfortunately Ura suffered an ankle injury after that and missed the last two days with a great chance to get double-digit wins.
In other words, a typical Ura performance.
Thanks. This sounded interesting enough that I tracked down the video. Did not disappoint.
There are some other videos out there as well. Hakuho can hoop.
Haven’t had a chance to catch this basho yet but oh man I heard that my man Sleepynojo is crushing it like a boss.
When he first burst onto the scene, Ichi just steamrolled everyone and we all thought he was going to dominate sumo for years to come. Didn’t work out that way, but this basho feels like that time.
And… Ichinojo turns right back into a pumpkin.
Hoshoryu such a boss, goddamn.
https://twitter.com/TheSumoSoul/status/1549683391800709120?s=20&t=UESwvg3GDL-Fn8rD4y6wkA
USA sumo fandom is rowdy af.
https://twitter.com/OfSumo/status/1550556859320467456?s=20&t=ZcfK4BB3dRDqqYMjJZpXbw
The big oaf actually did it!
Oh man, I’m very excited, been a fan since I started watching sumo, never thought I’d see my big Mongolian guy go all the way and get the macaron.
Interesting development. Is the JSA looking to attract more international viewers to sumo?
https://twitter.com/insidesportjp/status/1553039865448923138?s=21&t=BV6o1LEQ53j5GNCM7t3oUg
Ex-Kisenosato gets fit for a new set of clubs. Impressive swing.
Says his average score is around 82. Not bad for an ex-Yokozuna!
Just watching some sumo that I dvr’d. One thing I have always wondered about. Why is there like a four foot drop right outside the edge of the circle. Can’t they give the sumo bros a bit more space. Or at least don’t have a giant drop right outside the ring.
Don’t have a good answer other than that the dohyo has been elevated since sumo’s beginnings hundreds of years ago, and as the sport is steeped in unchanging tradition, it’s not likely to change any time soon, safety concerns be damned.
But a couple additional reasons the dohyo was originally raised:
-As the sport is steeped in Shinto tradition, the dohyo was built underneath a shinto shrine. The shrine still remains even today, though the posts were removed so people could have a better view.
-The practical reason of being an elevated stage so spectators could see (in an age where there likely wasn’t a set of stands or stadium).
Sumo commentator John Gunning insists that the raised dohyo doesn’t actually increase risk of injury. I personally don’t see how that could be, but it’s a matter of some debate among international fans.
I wasn’t really able to follow the last two tournaments due to a series of real life crises but now I’m looking forward to seeing this one. Hoping Ichi can pull off back to back wins.
Kinda sad to see Kaisei retiring but good to see he seems to have landed a solid job as a coach. He was mostly a schlub for all the time I’ve been following sumo but I always cheered for him anyway.
