October 2002

Maru Makes Own Mark With 12th Cup

Junior Division Yusho Winners

   
Maru Makes Own Mark With 12th Cup
Taka Returns with 12-3, Shares Jun-Yusho
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

As senshuraku drew near, the sensation of déjà vu seemed thick as the humidity in the air of downtown Tokyo as TAKANOHANA prepared to fight a Hawaiian yokozuna, with the Emperor’s Cup going to the winner.  But then you had to realize that:  a) this was the 2002 Aki Basho; b) Akebono had been retired from competition for a year and a half; and c) TAKANOHANA was back on the dohyo for the first time since May of 2001.

With two championships earlier in the year, and three of the last five Tenno-Hai in his creel, yokozuna-East MUSASHIMARU was in position to finally emerge from beneath the shadows of the great Hawaiian pioneers who had preceded him in the sport.  The effort didn’t start smoothly, as komusubi-West TAKANONAMI ran him out by okuridashi on opening day.  But his win over maegashira #3-West KOTORYU the very next day was number 684 in his Makunouchi career, pushing him past retired sekiwake Takamiyama (now Azumazeki Oyakata) as the winningest gaijin rikishi in sumo history.  When he defeated komusubi-East TAKAMISAKARI on day 5 he trailed TAKA by only one career win.  This lasted until day 13, when ozeki #2-East KAIO bested him by sotogake to set up the tie with the other grand champion - and lead to the showdown on the final day.  And it was settled in classic fashion, as MARU forced the younger Hanada sibling over the bales for his 12th yusho.  This moves him past Akebono into sixth place on the list of yusho winners, with a real chance to catch and pass Wajima’s mark of fourteen Cups.  His 13-2 gives him 696 top-division wins for his career.   MUSASHIMARU can now be called the greatest of the kurofune – and, most likely, the last.

THE WORD from on high had been delivered to TAKANOHANA in no uncertain terms:  compete in September or quit.  And when the time came he was there and finally ready to fight.  For a short while the #1 man on the banzuke’s West side looked a bit rusty, giving up kinboshi to maegashira #3-East KYOKUTENHO and KOTORYU to stand at 3-2 after day 5.  But then the TAKA of old broke through the rust and powered through, with nine straight wins against a strong sanyaku lineup - until he ran into a quarter-ton of powerful, motivated MARU.  His 12-3 jun-yusho effort should be classed as excellent considering the long layoff; the knee that had sidelined him for 7 basho (a total of 105 torikumi) seems to be completely healed and at full strength.  He now has 697 Makunouchi victories to his credit, and Taiho’s mark of 746 wins is definitely in range for both yokozuna.

The performances by the ozeki spanned the spectrum from great through mediocre to non-existent.  KAIO bounced back from his miserable Nagoya performance by forging a strong 12-3 to lead the quintet and share the jun-yusho.  His win over MARU was the only ozeki victory over either yokozuna.  #1-East CHIYOTAIKAI was fresh off his yusho in Nagoya, looking for the second consecutive Cup which would mean promotion.  But sekiwake-West TOSANOUMI derailed those dreams right out of the gate:  while Kokonoe’s sole top-division deshi would win his next 8 matches, a day 10 loss to the ‘new kid’, #3-East ASASHORYU, would all but end his hopes for a tsuna and gohei this time as he finished at 10-5.  ASASHORYU ran off eight straight wins against the lower-sanyaku and hiramaku men they gave him to fight in the early going.  Then he found out how tough it was going to be to function in the rarefied atmosphere:  he lost 5 of his next 6 to fall out of the Cup race and end matters with an acceptable 10-5.  #2-West MUSOYAMA was probably not fully genki after sitting out the Nagoya festivities with the shoulder he had injured at the Natsu Basho in May.  The other members of the joi-jin (except MARU, of course) made this contest tough for him, saddling him with 6 losses and making him struggle to scrape out an 8-7 that resets his kadoban status:  he can now sit out the Kyushu tourney two months from now without being demoted.  #1-West TOCHIAZUMA was on the Public Injury shelf.

With TAKANOHANA back in the wars, and four ozeki trying to make points toward yokozuna promotion, the lower sanyaku were dragged through hell.  The only one of the quartet to make kachi-koshi was sekiwake-East WAKANOSATO:  he won 5 of his first 6 before losing 6 of his last 9, to jury-rig an 8-7 that will keep him in the higher pay grade.  TOSANOUMI never settled into a consistent groove:  losing three bouts to hiramaku in the late stages of the festivities brought him a 6-9 and a ticket back to the maegashira ranks.  TAKAMISAKARI fared even worse, losing his first 7 torikumi and being make-koshi on day 9 to end up with a 4-11.  For a while there it looked as if TAKANONAMI had regained some of his former power, with his shonichi win over MARU and a day 6 win over KAIO.  But ‘the human derrick’ fell onto the wrong side of a win one-lose one pattern  which dropped him on senshuraku with a 7-8 record, to send him back down.

In the maegashira ranks, #7-East KOTOMITSUKI rolled out a 12-3 to post the top hiramaku score, take a share of jun-yusho, and grab the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize).  His outing included wins over ASASHORYU and WAKANOSATO.  #8-West TAMAKASUGA went 10-5.  The following maegashira had 9-6 efforts:  #6-East HOKUTORIKI, #11-West KYOKUSHUZAN, and #15-East USHIOMARU in his shin-nyumaku basho.  The Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) and Gino-Sho (Technique Prize) were not awarded this basho (?).

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	<<FOR ALL THE MARBLES –  It came down to the final bout on the final day, and yokozuna-East MUSASHIMARU (right) showed yokozuna-West TAKANOHANA the difference a year makes, shoving him off the Kokugikan dohyo to take the Aki yusho with a 13-2 record.  TAKA finished at 12-3.   (Photo:  KYODO PHOTO.)
>>SUMO VETERAN GOES “PROFESSIONAL”  – The pro wrestling world is shaking in their boots as a legend in the world of sumo decides to enter the ‘squared circle’.   (Photo from parts unknown.)

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Junior Division Yusho Winners

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Legendary Yokozuna (10+ yusho)
(updated after Aki 2002)

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The 600-Win Club (updated after Aki 2002)

(Info from SUMO WORLD magazine, the 1998 VAN VAN ‘face book’  
and the Nihon Sumo Kyokai web site)

* Non-Japanese

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Is There Skulduggery Afoot?
Commentary by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

As a general rule, the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) is given to any top-division rikishi 
below the rank of ozeki who manages both to defeat a yokozuna during the 15 days of action and go 
kachi-koshi (8-7 or better) for the tournament.

In the just-completed 2002 Aki Basho, maegashira #3-East KYOKUTENHO defeated yokozuna-West TAKANOHANA on  the second day.  The #2 Mongolian on the banzuke managed to win his final two 
matches to pull out an 8-7 for the contest.  This should have earned him the Shukun-Sho and the 
accompanying cash prize of $20,000 (dollars, not yen).  However, KYOKUTENHO was snubbed:  
no Shukun-Sho was awarded this time out.

Is this an inadvertent mistake on the part of the sansho committee?  Or is there something deeper at 
work here?

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Dunlop Tires 6th North American Amateur Sumo Championships




Report by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

The 6th NASC, sponsored by Dunlop Tires of Canada, was held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center in 
Toronto on Saturday, August 3rd.  This was the first time the NASC has been held in Canada.

Thirty-six men and six women contested four men's and three women's divisions in the individual competitions.  
Teams representing host Canada, Puerto Rico and the United States clashed in the closed team competition.  
Six teams, including a guest team from Japan, contested the open team competition.  All men's divisions were 
single elimination with repechage.  The women's divisions were either round robin or best two out of three.  
The team competitions were single elimination. 

The largest division this year was the men’s lightweight with thirteen competitors.  Semi-finalists from last year 
were seeded so as not to meet before the semi-finals as in the World Championships.  Only two of last year’s 
semi-finalists, silver medalist Trent Sabo and bronze medalist Jason Maron competed and they met for the 
championship.  Trent Sabo's win made him the first male member of the SCSK to qualify for the World 
Championship.  The top four were:

1.        Trent Sabo, USA/SCSK

2.        Jason Maron, USA/UCLA

3.        John Gonzales, USA/JKC

4.        Peter Panayotopoulos, USA/UCLA

Eleven men (including this writer, who made weight by three-tenths of a kilogram) lined up for the middle-
weight division.  Notable in this division was the return of 1999 Champion Kena Heffernan of the Oahu 
Sumo Kyokai.  This was Kena's first competition since breaking his elbow in Japan last year.  It was also 
the first appearance by any Hawaiian since 1999.  Perhaps Kena was a little rusty, because he lost to Jack 
Keener in the first round.  Jack went on to lose the championship match to defending champion Rene Marte.  
The top four were:

1.        Rene Marte, USA/JKC

2.        Jack Keener, USA/UCLA

3.        Kena Heffernan, USA/OSK

4.        Troy Collins, USA/LAPD

There were also eleven competitors in the men's heavyweight division.  The first round saw 2000 bronze 
medalist Carl Pappalardo facing 2001 bronze medalist Marcus Barber.  Carl prevailed by yoritaoshi and 
went on to face two-time champion James Perry for the title. The top four were:

1.        James Perry, USA

2.        Carl Pappalardo, USA

3.        Marcus Barber, USA/SCSK

4.        Alan Gneiting, USA/SRSA.

The men's open division competition was conspicuous for the absence of defending champion Manny 
Yarbrough.  Manny came to Toronto two days early to appear in a promotional event in downtown 
Toronto, but had to go back to New York on Saturday for a personal appearance.  Taking his place, 
so to speak, was his friend Jerry Sharp, who plays for the Buffalo team in the Arena Football League.  
Jerry made an impressive sumo debut by placing second to Kena Heffernan, who more than made up 
for his first-round loss in the middleweight division to take the top prize.  The top four were:

1.        Kena Heffernan (M), USA/OSK

2.        Jerry Sharp (H), USA/JKC

3.        Leonard Thomas (M), USA/JKC

4.        Marcus Barber (H), USA/SCSK.

The women contested medals in lightweight, middleweight and open divisions.  The results of a three-
woman round robin in the lightweight division were:

1.  Telitha Ellis, USA/JKC

2.  Elisabeth Santos, Canada

3.  Aja Tsuji, Canada

In the middleweight division, Fraser Bowslaugh of Canada came back from a first-match loss to defending 
champion Jaclyn Feurschwenger to win two in a row for the title.  In the four-woman round robin for the 
open crown, Jaclyn reversed the results to take the top prize.  The final standings were:

1.  Jaclyn Feurschwenger, USA/JKC

2.  Fraser Bowslaugh, Canada

3.  Mashid Tarazi, USA/UCLA

4.  Telitha Ellis, USA/JKC

 

The closed team tournament went as follows:

1.  Team USA (Kena Heffernan (M), Jerry Sharp (H) and James Perry (H)) defeated Team Jamaica 
(Leonard Thomas (M), Rene Marte (M) and Charles Parks (H)).

2.  Team Canada (Tony Walby (M), Theo Dierdorf (L) and Elmer Gale (H)) defeated Team Puerto Rico 
(John Gonzales (L), Efrain Ortiz (M) and Kevin Carter (H)).

3.  Team USA defeated Team Canada for the championship.

The last event of the day, and always a lot of fun, was the open team competition.  In addition to Japan, 
there were two teams from UCLA, South of the Border (Canadian border), the SCSK, and the International 
Police team of Peter Faulhaber (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), Rene Marte (Plainfield, NJ Police Dept.) 
and Troy Collins (LAPD).  Medals were awarded to the top two teams, which were:  Japan (Yoshihiku Yanagida, 
Masatoshi Miyamoto and Masamichi Shimoda) 2-1 over UCLA B, (Kevin Yonemoto, Peter Debelak and Jack 
Keener, who beat Shimoda for the final match of the tournament).

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2nd US Sumo Open




Report by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

The small but enthusiastic crowd that gathered at UCLA's Wooden Center on August 25th didn't see 80 of 
the world's strongest sumo wrestlers.  No World Sumo Champions smashed heads and it was by no measure 
the most massive international sumo event ever in the US.  What they did see was a very exciting tournament 
that gave Southern California sumotori a chance to test their mettle against world-class competition - a test they 
were more than up to.

For various reasons, ranging from injuries to visa problems, a number of the foreign competitors listed in the 
program were not present.  Actually coming from abroad were men and women from Estonia, and men from 
Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria.  One member of the Bulgarian team was a Mongolian who lives in Bulgaria.  
Representing Southern California were members of the host UCLA Sumo Club, the LAPD, the Southern 
California Sumo Kyokai, the Snake River Sumo Association and some non-affiliated people.  The experience 
level of the locals ranged from newly-crowned North American lightweight champion Trent Sabo, to people 
making their sumo debut.

 

While the Europeans took most of the top medals, the locals acquitted themselves well.  This was especially true 
in the lightweight division where all the Europeans were eliminated by the semi-finals.  Notable performances 
included Snake River Sumo Association member Trevor Roberts and LAPD member Troy Collins.  Trevor, who 
just made his sumo debut at Sushi, Sake and Sumo in April and had only competed in one other tournament, won 
the lightweight division.  Troy Collins, a middleweight who has competed in more tournaments then he has practices, 
took third in the Men's Open, beating a 340-pound Hungarian heavyweight by yorikiri.

 

Last year we were extremely critical (and properly so, we believe) of the organizers’ decision to spend thousands 
of dollars bringing moto-ozeki Konishiki instead of wrestlers.  This year, we commend them for bringing world-
class wrestlers to Southern California, and the sumo in this region is stronger for it.  We had a lot of fun at this 
year’s event, and we look forward to the 3rd US Sumo Open.

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	<<TUNE-UP FOR WROCLAW  – North American lightweight champ Trent Sabo lifts Mongolian Tumur Baatar during the 2002 USA Open, on his way to the bronze medal.   (Photo by Mitos Rightmyer for SUMO SHIMPO.)
>>POLICE POWER  – Middleweight Troy Collins gives Hungarian heavyweight Bujtas Gjula the yorikiri treatment to take the bronze medal in the Open competition at the 2002 USA Open.   (Photo by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO.)

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RESULTS of the 2nd US Sumo Open

WOMEN’S LIGHT/MIDDLEWEIGHTS

1.              Erge Nugis (Estonia)

2.              May Chung (UCLA Sumo Club)

3.              Ashlee Irish (USA)

WOMEN’S HEAVYWEIGHTS

1.              Millie Sang (Estonia)

2.              Viktoria Kuzetsnova (Estonia)

3.              Mahshid Tarazi (UCLA Sumo Club)

WOMEN’S OPEN

1.              Viktoria Kuzetsnova (Estonia)

2.              Millie Sang (Estonia)

3.              Erge Nugis (Estonia)

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHTS

1.              Trevor Roberts (Snake River Sumo Association)

2.              Jason Maron (UCLA Sumo Club)

3.              Trent Sabo (Southern California Sumo Kyokai)

MEN’S MIDDLEWEIGHTS

1.              Aap Uspenski (Estonia)

2.              Marek Paczkow (Poland)

3.              Asi Faoa (UCLA Sumo Club)

MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHTS  

1.              Peter Stoyanov (Bulgaria)

2.              Madis Ounapuu (Estonia)

3.              Barnabas Toth (Hungary)

MEN’S OPEN

1.              Aap Uspenski (Estonia)

2.              Barnabas Toth (Hungary)

3.              Troy Collins (LAPD)

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SHŪBUN




by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

One of the keys to the recent success of California sumotori at the NASC is the fact that both the Southern 
California Sumo Kyokai and the UCLA Sumo Club have a number of small tournaments in between big ones 
each year.

The most recent of these was the Shūbun (which means “autumnal equinox” in Japanese) tournament held 
by the SCSK at the "Dohyo of Dreams" on Saturday, September 21st.  This event was subtitled "The Fall 
Housecleaning/Surplus Medal Close-out Tournament” because its secondary purpose was to dispose of an 
assortment of unawarded medals left over from previous years.  We also had an assortment of posters from 
the Nihon Sumo Kyokai, donated by Ernie Hunt.

The entry fee was one buck, cash only.  Taking advantage of this bargain were eight men and nine boys 
ranging in age from four-and-a-half to sixty-two.  Awards were given in the following divisions:

 

Small brothers (best two of three)


1. Alexander Enriquez 


2. Dominic Enriquez

Kids (10 & 11) Round robin


1. Joey Barna


2. Cody Williams


3. Matt Kirkpatrick

 

Bigger Kids (12 & 13) Round robin


1. Sean Williams


2. Beau Donahue


3. Mike Dunn

The primary event was the men's open contest.  Eight hardy competitors fought a round robin, with 
the top four going to a semifinal.  They were (in hoshitori-hyo order):

 

1. Robert Smith (L)(age 15), 2-5


2. Kurt Rightmyer (M), 6-1


3. Jeff Riddle (M), 2-5


4. Harry Dudrow (H), 1-6


5. Jack Keener (M), 6-1


6. Bear St. Clair (L), 2-5


7. Richard Hopp (H), 6-1


8. James Hernandez (H), 6-1

In the semifinal, Jack Keener defeated Richard Hopp and James Hernandez defeated Kurt 
Rightmyer:  Hopp and Rightmyer received bronze medals.  Jack Keener defeated James 
Hernandez for the gold medal.

All of the juniors (except the Enriquez brothers, who are the sons of beloved webmistress 
‘Shirabara’) were from Renshi Clarke Dailey's karate dojo.  Clarke, whom we hadn't had 
contact with for some time, has recently relocated from north San Diego County to Lake 
Los Angeles, in the high desert near Palmdale.

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	<<I WANT MY MONEY, NOW!  – Jeff Riddle demonstrates astounding joint flexibility in what has to be a ridiculous position under eventual bout winner James Hernandez.   (Photo by “Shirabara” for SUMO SHIMPO.)
>>POWER IS ALWAYS IN SEASON  – The winners in the men’s competition at the 2002 SHŪBUN Fall Housecleaning/Surplus Medal Close-Out Tournament relax after their exertions on the “Dohyo of Dreams”.  From left:  Kurt Rightmyer (bronze), Jack Keener (gold), James Hernandez (silver) and Richard Hopp (bronze). (Photo by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO.)

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Sumo Shimpo & ASASHORYU


by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

We recently had the first two volumes of SUMO SHIMPO bound for posterity.  In looking through the early 
articles we discovered that ASASHORYU, the newest ozeki (and the first rikishi from Mongolia to reach this 
rank) appeared in the pages of this publication in our June 1999 premiere issue, when he won the Jonidan 
division with a 7-0 record.  He appeared in print again two months later when he took the Sandanme yusho, 
also with a 7-0.

That first issue of SUMO SHIMPO comprised only two pages.  Both we and ozeki ASASHORYU have 
come a long way since.

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End of the Line for Two “Iron Horses”
“Marshmallow Man” Also Retires
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO