The lean sumo wrestler

My Favourite Sumo wrestler

Hey, this is the second and the last part of my two part series; and as promised before this is about a sumo wrestler called Ama (aka Harumafuji Kōhei ), the 'lean Sumo wrestler' from Mongolia.

For starters, he weighs 126 kg (280 lb) which makes him 'not so lean'. But hey, that still quite low by sumo standards. Most guys weigh 150+ and look much much bulkier than Ama.

But here's the part I like about him - While quite a few sumo wrestlers use their brutal body weight to push the opponent out of the ring, he almost never does this. He's got two really quick feet and really rapid moves and great technique which he uses to throw bulkier sumo wrestlers out of the ring.

(As seen here throwing out the Russian Wakanoho after being completely cornered and in the brink of defeat.)



He has been promoted to the second highest rank in sumo (Ozeki, immediately below Yokozuna). Wishing him a quick promotion and greater success in sumo.

Sumo fans will till you that sumo is much more than 'fat guys in diapers' and guys like Ama contribute much to the grandeur of sumo.

A Typical Sumo day - A Gaijin in ryougoku

I finally (siigh siiigh) managed to go to Sumo stadium (Ryougoku) in Tokyo to see the September 2008 Sumo Tournament last week.
Twas a really wonderful experience.
It has even managed to awaken me from the blogless slumber of six months :-)

The Tickets:
Well before getting to the Sumo day, I had purchased my tickets a month in advance.
Thanks to the official website and the helpful Lawson convenience store employees*.

I entered the Ryougoku just in time for the Ring entering ceremony 'Makuchi dohyō-iri' (3:30 PM approx) which is the ring entering ceremony for the 'Elite Sumo' wrestlers.



And btw this was my diiiiiiistant view from my 'B-Arena' ticket seat.

Far Far away in Ryougoku

The Makuchi ring entering ceremony was immediately followed by 'Yokozuna dohyou iri'.
This was supposed to be the high point of the day, but all i got to see was the big butt of the Yokozuna.

Yokozuna Asashoryu performing 'dohyou iri,' flanked by two junior wrestlers.
Shots of his okii butt.




The matches began from 4:00 PM. A typical sumo lasts less than a minute and is preceded by brief rituals. More info here

The 150 Kilo sumo wrestler (giving me a complex ;-) by lifting his feet this hiiiigh, and stomping the ground) is picture below during one of the rituals.


The day ended with a 'Bow dance ceremony' (Yumitori-shiki).

All in all it was a good experience.

Some facts which I thought might interest you:

a) English commentary for Sumo matches is available inside the stadium.
I can already see you relieved and similing :-)
Make sure you purchase radio and earphones at the entrance.

b) The best matches of the day are near the end of the day. 6:00 PM roughly.
So plan your day accordingly.

c) Purchase Ring tickets if you want a very close view of the Sumo wrestlers/match.
Arena tickets give you a really good view (but not a close one). Refer the second picture in this blog; it was taken from my Arena B seat - without zoom.

d) Ring Tickets are costlier and also get sold out very fast. Esp on weekends.

e) A visit to Sumo is a must watch especially if you love Japan/Japanese culture.

f) Keep visiting my blog :-) (LOL). This has got nothing to do with Sumo, but you will find more stuff about Japan and may be a post about my favourite Sumo wrestler Ama in the near future. (LOL)

P.S:
My second post on Sumo will follow in a weeks time.