Sumo: All confrontation is based on deception!
In Sumo a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force the other wrestler out of a raised circular ring, or into touching the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet.
The word Sumo means “striking one another,” and open hand strikes are permitted.
However, pushing and pulling are the most common means to accomplish the rikishi’s aims. They are not, however, the only only way to win.
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There is also what Bruce Lee called “the art of fighting without fighting.”
Takanoyama Shuntarō is a former sumo wrestler from Prague, Czech Republic. He is the first man from the Czech Republic to join the professional sport in Japan.
He reached the third highest makushita division in 2004, but due to his light weight he had difficulty in regularly beating his opponents, despite his skill.
After becoming only the third new sekitori since 1958 to pass through jūryō division in just one tournament, he made his debut in the top makuuchi division in September 2011. He retired on July 24, 2014.
Due to his exceptionally light frame, Takanoyama relies heavily on throws to defeat his much heavier opponents. His most common winning kimarite is uwate nage, or overarm throw, followed by shitatenage (underarm throw) and kakenage (hooking inner thigh throw).
He has knowledge of a wide variety of techniques, having used 37 different winning kimarite in his career.
The winner of a sumo bout is either:
• The first to force his opponent to step out of the ring.
• The first to force his opponent to touch the ground with any part of his body other than the bottom of his feet.
There are also a number of other less common rules that can be used to determine the winner.
There are six divisions in sumo. These are:
• Makuuchi
• Juryo
• Makushita
• Sandanme
• Jonidan
• Jonokuchi
The top division is makuuchi, and they fall in favor from there respectively. Wrestlers initially enter into the beginning division or jonokuchi and attempt to work their way up.
