February 2002

Tochiazuma Completes String with Hatsu Yusho

Tochiazuma Completes String with Hatsu Yusho
Adds Makunouchi Championship to Yusho in Lower Divisions
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

equal rensho to make it a three-way race.  Ozeki #2-East CHIYOTAIKAI, coming off Public Injury, was the second member of the hot trio while sekiwake-East KOTOMITSUKI was the third.  TOCHI’s day 4 match with sekiwake-West ASASHORYU was noteworthy, thanks to a palm strike to the shin-ozeki’s nose:  the resulting blood pool on the dohyo brought on a stoppage of the action to clean up the surface.  When the action was resumed TOCHIAZUMA had both nostrils packed with tissue to stanch the bleeding while ASASHORYU had blood all over the tape on his shoulder.  As soon as the match resumed, TOCHIAZUMA grabbed the Mongolian’s mawashi and used a pulling overarm throw to take the win.

It wasn’t until day 10 that a separation occurred, with the son of Tamanoi Oyakata defeating maegashira #4-West DEJIMA while CHIYOTAIKAI was twisted down by maegashira #3-East KAIHO and KOTOMITSUKI was flattened by maegashira #6-East TOCHINONADA.  Losses to KOTOMITSUKI and ozeki #1-East KAIO not only pulled TOCHIAZUMA back, but put him behind CHIYOTAIKAI in the race by 13 wins to 12.  It came down to the final torikumi on senshuraku for the yusho.  And TOCHIAZUMA rose to the occasion by pushing the Kokonoe heyagashira over the bales, then coming back to win the playoff by hatakikomi to take his first Emperor’s Cup.  With the triumph TOCHIAZUMA joins a very, very small group of sumotori:  he is the first rikishi since the “Greater East Asia War” to win a yusho in every division of professional sumo from the depths of the Jonokuchi to the ‘bright lights’ of the Makunouchi.  It also removes one rap that had dogged him – that he didn’t have enough ‘game’ to win it all at the top – and places him in the front of the line for possible yokozuna promotion.

Neither current yokozuna had an impact in the 2002 Hatsu race.  As expected, yokozuna-West TAKANOHANA was still on the Public Injury list, working at getting his knee back in shape.  As the winner in Fukuoka, yokozuna-East MUSASHIMARU had to be the prime favorite as the action returned to the Kokugikan.  But a shonichi loss to komusubi-East WAKANOSATO did not bode well for the huge Hawaiian.  Two days later, with his record even at 1-1, he ran afoul of a well-executed hikkake by maegashira #1-East KYOKUSHUZAN and aggravated an already-troublesome wrist injury.  He withdrew the next day, handing a fusensho win to KAIHO.

While TOCHIAZUMA and CHIYOTAIKAI were pulling away, the other two ozeki struggled to make satisfactory numbers.  KAIO helped himself after a 2-2 start by winning 6 of his next eight.  He bested TOCHIAZUMA, but lost to CHIYOTAIKAI and #1-West MUSOYAMA to cross the wire with a 9-6.  Meanwhile, with MUSASHIMARU out, the #2 rikishi on the Musashigawa depth chart started poorly with a 3-3 record after six days.  He then caught fire and won his next six torikumi, but failed to halt either TOCHIAZUMA or CHIYOTAIKAI’s charge to their showdown for the Tenno-Hai.  MUSOYAMA finished at 10-5.  None of the ozeki on the 2002 Haru banzuke will be under kadoban – for the first time in over a year.

KOTOMITSUKI was the big story in the lower sanyaku.  Although CHIYOTAIKAI and TOCHINONADA slowed him a bit, the winner of the 2001 Aki yusho looked sharp in toppling TOCHIAZUMA and maegashira #7-East TOSANOUMI.  It fell to up-and-coming maegashira #8-East BUYUZAN to take the Sadogatake collegian out of the running; but his fine 12-3 outing netted him a share of the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize).  As had been expected, ASASHORYU had been ranked at sekiwake for this tournament, becoming the first Mongolian sumotori to reach this rank.  His sekiwake debut was a tough one:  after ten days he was treading water at 5-5.  He won his next three to get his majority (posting a win over fellow Mongolian KYOKUSHUZAN in the process) but lost his final two matches for an 8-7.  MIYABIYAMA did not answer the bell:  it now appears that he will follow do-beya rikishi DEJIMA down into the maegashira ranks.  WAKANOSATO’s latest stint in the ‘killer rank’ started well enough with five wins in his first 7 torikumi, including a yorikiri defeat of MUSASHIMARU.  Naruto Beya’s top man then struggled with five losses in his next 7, but managed a senshuraku win over maegashira #5-West KOTONOWAKA to make his kachi-koshi.  Komusubi-West KYOKUTENHO did not fare well in his first sanyaku basho.  The third Mongolian to make it to the top division went down to defeat in his first five combats, was make-koshi after day 10, and finished at 6-9 to become the only sanyaku rikishi to post a losing record in this tournament.

When the joi-jin do well, the upper maegashira take a beating.  There were only two kachi records among the men ranked from maegashira #1 down to #5.  BUYUZAN grabbed the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) on the strength of his 11-4 record.  The new Musashigawa Beya star shared top hiramaku honors with #11-East TOKITSUUMI, who rebounded from a 2-13 effort in November to go 11-4 and share the Gino-Sho.  TOSANOUMI, #10-East AMINISHIKI and #14-East TOCHISAKAE all finished at 9-6.  The only kinboshi win was posted by KYOKUSHUZAN:  since he did not go kachi-koshi, there was no award of the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize).

In the Juryo division, the action on senshuraku ended with #3-East SHIMOTORI and #5-West TAKAMISAKARI tied with identical 12-3 records.  TAKAMISAKARI won the ensuing playoff to take the second division championship.  It was a good basho for Azumazeki Beya:  in addition to TAKAMISAKARI’s victory, new Juryo rikishi USHIOMARU posted a strong 11-4 at #11-East (see related article).  #3-West TOWANOYAMA also went 11-4.  #9-East KASUGANISHIKI and #10-West HOKUTORIKI put up 10-5 efforts.  #2-East TAKATORIKI may have earned a return to the ‘bright lights’ with a 9-6.  #6-East TOCHINOHANA matched that 9-6 effort but will probably be listed in the ‘contender’ ranks when the action resumes in Osaka two months from now.

Two gaijin rikishi had championship outings in the lower divisions.  South Korea’s KASUGAO took the Makushita yusho from the #19-West position with a 7-0 record, placing him in position to earn a ticket to the sekitori ranks with six wins or more at the upcoming Haru Basho.  And powerful Georgian KOKKAI won his second junior-division championship in as many basho, grabbing the Sandanme title from the #14-West position:  he will be in the Makushita in March.  (In the four basho he has been in since his debut last May, KOKKAI’s career record is 26-2:  his last two outings were zensho yusho.)

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Ushiomaru Makes Juryo
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

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Results of the December 2002 Southern California Tournament
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

We were originally going to hold what was being called the LAPD Open at the Los Angeles Police Academy gym.  But this fell through due to unforeseen snags (primarily issues of liability – “Y”).

Rather than cancel the contest, it was decided to press the "Dohyo of Dreams" into service.  Of course, a tournament held out of doors in the first week in December runs the risk of getting rained out.  And there was indeed a prediction of rain for that weekend.  That, plus a ruling from Yukikaze’s okamisan that we couldn't wrestle if it rained, had us praying for the rain to hold off.

It was a brisk and overcast day, but the rain did wait until ten competitors had contested two junior and three open divisions.  The results were:

Junior Lt./Mid. Wt. Three-man round robin
1. Michael Chartrand, South Torrance H. S.
2. Steve Harrison, South Torrance H. S.
3. Alex Trenchard-Smith, CSA

Junior Open, Four-man round robin
1. Steve Harrison, South Torrance H. S.
2. Michael Chartrand, South Torrance H. S.
3. Alex Trenchard-Smith, CSA
4. Paul Ruhl, SCSK

Senior Lightweight, Five-man round robin
1.  Steve Harrison, South Torrance H. S.
2. Trent Sabo, SCSK
3.  Kevin Yonemoto, CSA
4.  Eric Trenchard-Smith, CSA
5.  Alex Trenchard-Smith, CSA

Senior Mid/Hvy. Wt. Five-man round robin
1.  Andy Issacson, CSA
2.  Michael Chartrand, South Torrance H. S.
3.  Paul Ruhl, SCSK
4.  Harry Dudrow, SCSK
5.  Jim Lowerre, SCSK

Senior Open, eight-man single elimination with repechage
1.  Andy Issacson, CSA
2.  Trent Sabo, SCSK
3.  Mike Chartrand, South Torrance H. S.
4.  Steve Harrison, South Torrance H. S.

This was the first tournament for Steve Harrison, Michael Chartrand, Paul Ruhl and Kevin Yonemoto.  Steve was the lightest wrestler at 120lbs.  Ernie Hunt drove down to do the refereeing, accompanied by his cousin Eddie from Oxnard.

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Results of Goltz Sumo V
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

Last summer the Goltz Judo Club moved from its old fire station headquarters to a new home in the Alexander Hughes Community Center in Claremont, California.  On Saturday, January 19th, sumo came to the Hughes Center with the fifth annual Goltz Sumo Tournament.  Thirty-six competitors from seven to 61 years of age contested ten divisions for the best Goltz Sumo outing yet.

The junior divisions were set in the time-tested Goltz method, whereby host Sensei Gary Goltz “lined ‘em up and looked ‘em over”.  These were run as round robins, in which each competitor wrestled all the other competitors in their division.  The results were as follows:

Little kids
1. Weston Towner, Goltz
2. Scott Nichols, Goltz
3. Ashwin Naiy, Goltz

Slightly bigger little kids
1. Michael Mendoza, Goltz
2. Brandon Gallal, Goltz
3. Zach Atherton, Goltz

Bigger little kids
1. Zach Towner, Goltz
2. Brennan Biewener, Goltz
3. Timothy Diaz, Goltz

Big Kids
1. Ashley Wong, Goltz
2. Luis Guzman, Goltz
3. Julie Chen, Goltz

More Bigger Kids
1. Omar Alwan, Goltz
2. Hannah Diaz, Goltz
3. Jack Elenbas, Goltz

Teens
1. Nate Vall, Goltz
2. Joshua Straus, Goltz
3. Sharif Ali, Goltz

Bigger teens
1. Chris Oshima, Goltz
2. Brandon Wong, Goltz
3. Christina Smith, UCR

Biggest teens
1. Mike Nicholes, Goltz
2. Andrew Watson, Goltz
3. Sharif Ali, Goltz

The senior divisions were set by the scale.  Five men were under the 187-pound lightweight cutoff.  Since there were only two men in the heavyweight (253+ pounds) classification, it was decided to combine them with the six middleweight men into a single competition.  These were pure double-elimination tournaments, not repechage:  a man could (in theory) lose once and still come through to take the gold medal.  The results were an awesome demonstration of ‘blue power’:

Senior Lightweight
1. Fernando Mora, LAPD
2. Kevin Yonemoto, CSA
3. Jerry Tambe, Goltz

Senior Middle-Heavyweight
1. Troy Collins (M), LAPD
2. Mark Mireles (M), LAPD
3. Peter Panagiotis (M), CSA

This year’s prize for the longest distance traveled to compete went to senior middleweight Matt Moore, who came down from Fresno with his wife.  Matt made his sumo debut with a win over this writer.  We hope to see him at future competitions.

There was excellent coverage by the local newspaper.

Thanks to Sensei Goltz for all his help and support, and to Sensei John Watson and Sensei Amin Ali for running the scoring table.  We enjoyed the new venue very much, and look forward to Goltz Sumo VI next year.

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“A bon chat, bon rat”
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

According to the foreign words and phrases section in the back of Tonkatsu's 1923 Funk & Wagnell's dictionary, "A bon chat, bon rat" is a French phrase, meaning, "To good cat, good rat: well-matched."

Tonkatsu thinks it is an apt description of the rivalry that has grown between his good friend Yukikaze and himself over the years.  Tonkatsu wants to make it clear that he is not inviting reader speculation as to who might be the cat or the rat.  He would only point out that one is a cat lover and the other isn't!

In addition to countless practice matches since November of 1997, Yukikaze and Tonkatsu have clashed in tournaments nineteen times since they first met at Japan Expo in November of that year.  As of this writing, the record stands at Yukikaze 11 wins Tonkatsu 8.

The year by year record is:
1997:  Yukikaze 1, Tonkatsu 1
1998:  Yukikaze 2, Tonkatsu 0
1999:  Tonkatsu 1, Yukikaze 0
2000:  Yukikaze 4, Tonkatsu 0
2001:  Tonkatsu 6, Yukikaze 3

In addition to more tournaments, the primary reason for so many more matches last year was the number of times Yukikaze and Tonkatsu were the only contestants (mostly in ‘old boys’ action) thus requiring a best two-out-of-three matchup.

After last year, Tonkatsu thought it would be appropriate to have a perpetual trophy for the winner of the annual series to keep until next year.  He decided that a large bottle of "Ozeki" sake would be the perfect choice.  The "Bottle" will be decorated with the SCSK logo and carry the record for each year.  The survivor gets to drink the sake.

Oh, yes:  Yukikaze won the first match of 2002 at the Goltz tournament.

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Sumo Events Latest Casualties of 9-11
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

Oahu is a popular destination for sumo clubs from Japan.  For the past four years the Oahu Sumo Kyokai has hosted a club from Aichi Prefecture each March.  Plans were underway for this year’s event, plus one with a team from Kochi, when 9-11 struck.  After 9-11, the Japanese government sent out a recommendation to all large groups not to travel.  As a result, both events have been canceled.

We might add that 9-11 plus the general poor state of the Japanese economy, has had a serious impact on the Hawaii tourist trade.  This also hurts Hawaiian sumo, because many of the local sumotori work in that industry.

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

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SEKITORI BIRTHDAYS for February and March

Data from SUMO WORLD magazine.

   
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Local Tournament Update

WHAT:      The February Fun Tournament

WHEN:      Sunday, February 24, 2002
                    Check-in begins at 1:30PM; matches at 2:00PM
WHERE:    “Dohyo of Dreams”
                    12291 Meade Street, Garden Grove, CA 92841
WHO:        Amateur sumotori of both genders, in all ages
                    and weight classifications from anywhere in the world
COST:       Spectators and competitors admitted FREE
NOTES:     No entry fee, no medals, just FUN!

WHAT:      Quarterly Cal Sumo Open Tournament

WHEN:      Sunday, March 10, 2002
                    Start time:  1:30PM.
WHERE:    “Blue Room”
                    Wooden Center, UCLA
WHO:        Amateur sumotori of both genders, in all ages
                    and weight classifications from anywhere in the world
COST:       There is no entry fee; but there is a $5.00 charge for any person not affiliated with UCLA to enter the Wooden Center, unless you get your name on a special guest list (see NOTES).

NOTES:     For further information, or to get on the guest list, E-mail Andrew Freund at afreund@ucla.edu  

WHAT:      The 2002 California Sumo Championship

WHEN:      TBA
WHERE:    TBA
WHO:        TBA
COST:       TBA

WHAT:      US Sumo Open

WHEN:      Saturday and Sunday, August 24-25, 2002
                    Start times TBA
WHERE:    TBA
WHO:        TBA
COST:        TBA

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FLASH REPORT: 
SCSK Rikishi Make Long-Awaited Television Appearances
From SUMO SHIMPO news services 

In April of 2001, current California masters’ division champion Jim “Yukikaze” Lowerre taped a segment of the TV game show “To Tell The Truth”.  The segment finally aired on February 11, 2002 at 0800 on Channel 9, and was taped by “Yukikaze” and his okamisan for the SCSK archives.

In the summer of 2001, a video crew from Fuji TV arrived at the “Dohyo of Dreams” to tape a segment about amateur sumo in southern California.  SCSK president Harry “Tonkatsu” Dudrow, Marcus “Hokkyokuguma” Barber and “Yukikaze” were present to give them a show.  It wasn’t known what happened until just recently, when a tape arrived from Fuji TV with the segment as it actually aired in Japan (complete with Japanese subtitles).  They made special note of “Tonkatsu’s” competitive status at 60+ years young.

OZUMO BANZAI!  SCSK BANZAI!

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GAIJIN RIKISHI RESULTS as of Hatsu 2002