- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
Hello Kiwis,
While I was living in Japan I really got into Sumo wrestling. I got to attend some tournaments and it was something else. I'll cover the basics of Sumo and its modern iteration to keep the thread relevant.
Here are a few channels where you can watch Sumo tournaments, compilations, historical pieces, and some behind the scenes videos -
Jason's All-Sumo Channel
www.youtube.com
He has been a fan of Sumo since around 2004 I believe. He has tournament footage going back to Osaka 2009. He does his own Sumo fantasy league where proceeds go to a good cause. You can also win some stuff too so it's a win-win.
Chris Sumo
I don't know how long Chris has been a fan of Sumo, but he knows a lot about it. His videos vary between tournament matches, live or on TV, behind the scenes interviews and footage, as well as historical pieces. Great channel.
NattoSumo
www.youtube.com
SumoNatto
Currently no Sumo videos are on his channel. He has something planned so subscribe if you'd like to know when that happens. SumoNatto is where he plans on uploading the Haru Basho matches.
Goro Love
www.youtube.com
Just a bunch of Sumo match compilations of individual Rikishi. Also some newer matches get uploaded every once in a while. There's some old gold on this channel if you go digging.
Hopefully this gets more people interested in this sport. HAKKEYOI!!!
While I was living in Japan I really got into Sumo wrestling. I got to attend some tournaments and it was something else. I'll cover the basics of Sumo and its modern iteration to keep the thread relevant.
- There are six divisions (from highest to lowest):
- Makuuchi - Max. 42 Rikishi (term for Sumo wrestler in general) and there are 5 ranks within Makuuchi.
- Yokozuna - There are currently two. Hakuho, the most winning and longest reigning Yokozuna in history. And Kakuryu, a Rikishi who made it to Yokozuna 13 years into his career.
- Ozeki
- Sekiwake
- Komusubi
- Maegashira
- Juryo - Always 28 Rikishi
- Makushita - Always 120 Rikishi
- Sandanme - Always 200 Rikishi
- Jonidan - Usually 200 Rikishi
- Jonokuchi - Only 50 or so Rikishi
- Makuuchi - Max. 42 Rikishi (term for Sumo wrestler in general) and there are 5 ranks within Makuuchi.
- The minimum height is said to be 5'8" but the shortest Rikishi at the moment is Enho (Maegashira 5) who stands at 5'6". This guy is a beast and is my personal favorite alongside Terutsuyoshi, Ishiura (get your head out of your ass dude), and the gatekeeper Shohozan. Also Ura is coming back!
- There are six tournaments called Honbasho in a year. They are:
- January - The Hatsu Basho/The Opening Tournament - held in Tokyo (this is a hype one if you can make it next year).
- March - The Haru Basho/The Spring Tournament - held in Osaka (Japan in general is gorgeous this time of year with the cherry blossoms).
- May - The Natsu Basho/The Summer Tournament - held in Tokyo (again. Miss me w/ dat humidity AND THE CROWS).
- July - Nagoya Basho - held in Nagoya (I've always enjoyed Nagoya. It's a little bit of Tokyo/Yoko metro without all the people. Really nice.).
- September - The Aki Basho/The Autumn Tournament - held in Tokyo (again. This time the weather is perfect!).
- November - Kyushu Basho - held in Fukuoka (this tournament is held closest to Nagasaki and Hiroshima if you'd like to visit the memorials. It is very likely to be rainy, windy, and quite cold so pack and dress accordingly.).
- There are 15 days per tournament. Naturally, a winning score is anything above 8 wins and a losing score is anything above 7 losses.
- Ring purification rituals are performed throughout the tournaments (opening, before matches, closing the tournament).
- If anything other than their feet touch the dohyo (the ring) after the tachiai, they lose. If they touch outside the dohyo's straw rolls, they lose.
- Instant replay has made judging almost perfect (save for some real bullshit that caused an Ozeki named Tochinoshin to drop 3 ranks. His career is looking grim.)
- Companies and sponsors may place money on matches. Make of that what you will. Also keep in mind how Japanese prisons operate. Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Here are a few channels where you can watch Sumo tournaments, compilations, historical pieces, and some behind the scenes videos -
Jason's All-Sumo Channel
Jason's All-Sumo channel
Welcome to my Sumo-only channel here on YouTube. I am a huge Sumo fan and and I love watching and talking about Sumo. Every tournament, I try to watch each d...
www.youtube.com
He has been a fan of Sumo since around 2004 I believe. He has tournament footage going back to Osaka 2009. He does his own Sumo fantasy league where proceeds go to a good cause. You can also win some stuff too so it's a win-win.
Chris Sumo
I don't know how long Chris has been a fan of Sumo, but he knows a lot about it. His videos vary between tournament matches, live or on TV, behind the scenes interviews and footage, as well as historical pieces. Great channel.
NattoSumo
NattoSumo
www.youtube.com
SumoNatto
Currently no Sumo videos are on his channel. He has something planned so subscribe if you'd like to know when that happens. SumoNatto is where he plans on uploading the Haru Basho matches.
Goro Love
goro love
I put it up mainly on a Grand Sumo Tournament-related thing. In the generation, it is scattered. Please register a channel if you like it.
www.youtube.com
Just a bunch of Sumo match compilations of individual Rikishi. Also some newer matches get uploaded every once in a while. There's some old gold on this channel if you go digging.
Hopefully this gets more people interested in this sport. HAKKEYOI!!!
