Current Issue -- October 2005

Six Straight for Shoryu

"Legendary" Yokozuna

   
Six Straight for Shoryu
Wins Playoff Over Kotooshu:  “Grand Slam” Within Reach
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

For some reason or other, September seemed to have a destabilizing effect on yokozuna-East ASASHORYU.  The “Mongolian Express” had been cruising toward a record-setting year in 2004, but the wheels fell off at last year’s Aki Basho:  he finished with a very poor (for a yokozuna) 9-6 record and allowed KAIO to grab the Tenno-Hai.  In the five tournaments since then, SHORYU had only allowed the other contenders a sniff at the Cup before whisking it away.  In two of those basho (Hatsu 2005 and Natsu 2005) he’d rolled out zensho efforts.  What would happen at the 2005 Aki Basho was anyone’s guess.

But no sooner had the tournament begun, than SHORYU went down at the hands of komusubi-West FUTENO.  This put him in the draft of sekiwake-East KOTOOSHU, who chewed through his opponents as if they were not only soft, but edible.  Then came day 11, when maegashira #5-West AMINISHIKI downed SHORYU by sotogake to significantly dim his prospects.  However, the current grand champion had been in this position before and knew exactly what to do:  reach even deeper, fight even harder, and play for a break.  Part of that break came on day 13, when he rolled out OSHU by the rarely-seen kubihineri kimarite.  When maegashira #16-West KISENOSATO felled the “Sofia Skyscraper” the next day, and SHORYU bested ozeki #2-West CHIYOTAIKAI not long after, both leaders held their individual destinies in their own hands.  They both won their senshuraku matches, finished at 13-2 and moved into a highly-anticipated playoff.  SHORYU took full advantage of the chance he’d earned, went hard at OSHU and pushed him over the tawara for his fifth Cup of the 2005 sumo year.

ASASHORYU becomes only the second man in the six basho/year era (1958-present) to run a six-yusho rensho (48th yokozuna Taiho had done it twice).  His 14th Tenno-Hai pulls him even with 54th yokozuna Wajima for fifth place on the “Legends” list.  His 2005 win-loss record now stands at 70-5, which places him in range of 55th yokozuna Kitanoumi’s 82-8 record set in 1978.  (For the record:  over his last six tournament victories, SHORYU has a record of 83 wins and seven defeats.)  And there’s an even more tantalizing possibility:  in November, SHORYU has a chance to notch the first true “Grand Slam” in modern sumo history.  (For further discussion, refer to the “Grand Slam” article in the August 2004 issue.)

Of the three current ozeki, two posted efforts that justified their paychecks but did nothing more.  #1-West TOCHIAZUMA took six of his first 7 torikumi, then batted .500 the rest of the way for a 10-5.  TAIKAI was under kadoban coming into the Kokugikan.  It didn’t look good when he lost his first two matches, but then he launched into a 10‑for‑11 rocket ride for a 10-5 that puts a lock on his banzuke position for at least four more months.  As for the ‘third man’:  the difference between the version of KAIO that won the Cup last year and the one that showed up this year at the #1-East position was so great, it could almost make you wonder whether the ‘evil twin’ had escaped yet again.  The “Human Juicer” lost his first 3 bouts, withdrew on day 4, and now has another kadoban situation to deal with.

When KOTOOSHU first entered the sumo world in November of 2002, there likely were many fans and pundits who could not take him seriously.  In a sport where a low center of gravity is desirable, a man even taller than the 6’7” of 64th yokozuna Akebono had to be considered a freak who would be handicapped by that height.  And on top of that – he was a European in the bargain!  Had Sadogatake Oyakata been hitting the sake a bit hard?  But after a 12-3 at komusubi-East in Nagoya followed by his jun-yusho performance this time, the “Bulgarian Blastwave” is very close to becoming the first non-Asian since 67th yokozuna Musashimaru to earn ozeki promotion (which would make him the first “Eurozeki” – Ed.).  Winning the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) certainly didn’t hurt, either.  To make things even headier for Sadogatake Beya:  komusubi-East KOTOMITSUKI held his own and more, finishing his latest turn in the ‘killer rank’ barrel with a 9-6 score that should push him upwards into the sekiwake-West slot.  WAKANOSATO, who was in that slot this tourney, went 4-3 before withdrawing from the festivities due to injury.  The day 1 win over the yokozuna was the high point in FUTENO’s performance.  He was rolled out in nine consecutive torikumi and finished at 5-10 for another ride on the ‘down’ erebeta.

At one point KISENOSATO was alongside ASASHORYU pursuing KOTOOSHU:  his win over the Bulgarian opened the door for SHORYU’s victory.  His 12-3 score topped the maegashira leaderboard and garnered him the Kanto-Sho as well.  Other superb efforts from the hiramaku ranks:

#1-West HAKUHO (Mongolia) (9-6)
#3-West KYOKUTENHO (Mongolia) (10-5)
#8-West TAMANOSHIMA (11-4)
#11-East AMA (Mongolia) (9-6)
#15-East TAKANOWAKA (9-6)

#13-East KOTONOWAKA’s day 7 win over #16-East KASUGAO (South Korea) made him the 13th rikishi of the modern era to win 600 Makunouchi torikumi.  AMINISHIKI was the only kinboshi winner.  The Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) and Gino-Sho (Technique Prize) were not awarded.

In Juryo, #1-West TOYONOSHIMA used KOTOOSHU’s performance as a template for his own effort, winning his first twelve matches on his way to an astounding 14-1 effort.  Look for him to be ranked around maegashira #10 on the Kyushu banzuke.  The only black blot on his record was put there by #14-West BARUTO (Estonia) who had an auspicious shin-juryo with a 12-3 record for runner-up honors.  Other noteworthy scores from the ‘ten-ryo’ crew:

#2-West KASUGANISHIKI (9-6)
#3-West TOCHINOHANA (10-5)
#6-East KITAZAKURA (9-6)
#7-East DAISHODAI (9-6)
#8-West TAMAKASUGA (11-4)
#14-East DAIRAIDO (9-6)

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“Legendary” Yokozuna (10+ Yusho)

(updated after Aki 2005)

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The 600-Win Club   (updated after Aki 2005)

* Non-Japanese

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List Of Officially-Chartered USSF Sumo Clubs

(as of October, 2005)

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California Open Sumo Championships
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

The weekend of August 13-14 saw a rare sumo double-header in Southern California:  the California Open Sumo Championships on Saturday, and the Grand Sumo Open on Sunday.

The action kicked off Saturday morning at the Alexander Hughes Recreation Center in Claremont, where thirty-six competitors ranging in age from three years old to fifty-three answered the bell.  The double-barrel weekend of action made it possible for four competitors to come in from out-of-town:  Carl Pappalardo and Ford Lyon from New York, and Kelly Gneiting and Matt Anderson from Idaho.

Defending middleweight champion Troy Collins was nursing a pulled muscle.  So he made his debut as a referee and shared the responsibilities with this writer, alternating between referee and line judge with Matsuzaki-san covering the other corner.  Sensei Gary Goltz doubled as head scorer and announcer.

The day’s action commenced with the youngest and the oldest; three kids’ divisions and the Masters’ division.  In the “Cute Little Kids” division, sumo veteran, four-year old Hannah Crosby took two in a row from three-year old Kenneth Christiansen, winning both matches by oshitaoshi.  Madeline Neuman repeated her performance at Goltz Sumo in January by winning the “Little Girls” division.  Shannon Cochran was second and Hannah Crosby third.  In the “Ten Year Old Kids” division, Stephen Simpson came back from a preliminary loss to Bradley Christiansen to win a rematch for the championship.  Rachel Crosby finished third and Ashley Sypherd fourth.  The five-man 40+ Masters division saw the SCSK’s Kurt Rightmyer emerge as the winner, with Jeff Riddle (Golden State Sumo) second and former champion Jim Lowerre (SCSK) third.

After the US Nationals, which saw only four competitors in the women’s divisions, it was very encouraging to see five girls in the junior girls’ division, two of whom also competed in the women’s lightweight and open divisions, for a total of nine female competitors.  Newcomers Christina Hernandez and Leah Sherman (both from the Oceanside Sumo Kyokai) finished first and second in the junior girls with Laura Neuman third.  They then finished in the same order in the women’s lightweights, this time with Kimberly Neuman third.  Kimberly also won the special Neuman family championship by beating her sisters, Laura and Katie.

As the only women’s heavyweight, LaRae Crite (nee Sherman) accepted the medal for that division.  She then faced off against six lightweights for the Open title.  LaRae emerged from the modified double elimination with the gold medal.  Christina took the silver for her third medal of the day and Michelle Pike finished third.

Action then turned to the senior men’s divisions.  A six-man lightweight division saw US lightweight champion Trent Sabo of the OSK defeat his brother Chris for the gold medal.  Chris then beat the surprise of the division, fifteen-year old Steven Welling of the Goltz Judo Club, for the silver medal.

The five-man middleweight division saw Dan Kalbfleisch take advantage of the absence of his CSA teammate to win the gold.  James Harris (OSK) took second place, while Mat Anderson (Gem State Sumo) won a spirited playoff with Golden State’s Doug Cochran for the last podium spot.

With defending COSC champion Casey Burns at home in Idaho, it was up to new US heavyweight champion Kelly Gneiting to uphold the honor of Idaho and the Snake River Sumo Association in the six-man heavyweight division.  Kelly’s road to the championship led through Marcus Barber and Kurt Rightmyer’s surprising find, fifteen-year old 340-pound Steve Jimenez.  Marcus beat US Nationals bronze medalist Justin Crite for the second time to work back through the modified double elimination and take the silver from Steve.

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2005 CALIFORNIA OPEN (Hughes Center, Claremont, CA) - OFFICIAL RESULTS

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<<OPEN WIDE AND SAY “OW!!”…Middleweight Kurt Rightmyer makes a strong debut in Masters’ competition by crushing out ‘old boy’ veteran Jeff Riddle on his way to the gold medal at the 2005 California Open Sumo Championships.  Riddle finished second in the round robin:  Jim Lowerre took the bronze.   (Photo:  “Yukikaze”)

>> BOINGY, BOINGY, BOINGY…James Harris is about to receive a hard bounce off the dohyo from Dan Kalbfleisch in a very spirited middleweight bout at the 2005 California Open.  Kalbfleisch eventually won the gold medal while Harris finished second.  (Photo:  “Yukikaze”)

<< TIM-BERRRRRR!!!    (Photo:  “Yukikaze”)

>> A VERY TOUGH CREW…Some of the members of the United States team to the 2005 World Championships (clockwise from top left):  Troy Collins (middleweight), Carl Pappalardo (openweight), Trent Sabo (lightweight) and Kelly Gneiting (heavyweight).   (Photo:  “Yukikaze”)

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS