April 2007

Haru Cup In Hakuho's Hands

Kinboshi: Receivers and Givers

    
Haru Cup in Hakuho’s Hands
Goes 13-2, Wins Playoff with Shoryu:  Kaio Achieves Milestone
by “Yukikaze for SUMO SHIMPO

In 2006, at the Osaka Prefectural Taiikukan, yokozuna-East ASASHORYU (Mongolia) came looking to get back on track after losing for the first time in over a year’s worth of action.  “The Express” did get himself back on the rails and rode to another yusho.

But that was then.  2007 saw a different SHORYU step onto the dohyo for the year’s first chiho basho – and the roof seemed to fall in on him as he lost his two first torikumi.  One of those defeats was at the hands of a hiramaku:  the 18th kinboshi of his career went to maegashira #1-West MIYABIYAMA.  These unexpected setbacks opened up the yusho race to a host of contenders; but by day 13 it was ozeki #1-West HAKUHO (Mongolia) who had bounced back from a shonichi loss with 12 consecutive shiroboshi to pull into the lead.  A day 14 loss to the sole yokozuna made it a two-way tie, and both men won on senshuraku to finish at 13-2.  “Sleeping Thunder” derailed “The Express” for the second yusho of his career, and (with a second consecutive yusho) a chance of ascending to Grand Sumo’s pinnacle in May in Tokyo.

With the notable exception of HAKUHO, the ozeki contingent’s performance could be described with “p” adjectives:  puny, punk, and downright poor. #3-West TOCHIAZUMA came into the basho vulnerable to demotion, but won his first 7 matches to briefly figure in the race for the Cup.  He lost his next two, made his kachi on day 10 – and promptly withdrew from the contest, citing health issues.  #2-#East KOTOOSHU (Bulgaria) and #2-West KAIO both finished with pokey 8-7’s.  The Tomozuna heyagashira did make sumo history with his day 11 win over #1-East CHIYOTAIKAI:  it was his 684th Makunouchi Division victory, which moved him past Takamiyama into sixth place on the career wins list.  He now has more Makunouchi wins (687) than any other rikishi who did not eventually put on a tsuna (refer to the “600-Win Club” list in this issue).  TAIKAI recovered from that loss and stood in good position at 7‑5 after day 12, but simply couldn’t close the deal:  he lost his focus along with his last three matches, finished at 7‑8, and is the latest ozeki to be stuck with a kadoban situation.

In the lower sanyaku, it was a ‘good news/bad news’ situation for Sadogatake Beya, since both sekiwake slots were occupied by rikishi who bear the proprietary KOTO prefix in their shikona.  On the East side, KOTOMITSUKI had his best performance in a while:  the former collegian fought a strong and consistent tournament and finished at 10-5  The story was quite different for west-sider KOTOSHOGIKU:  he lost his first three torikumi, was make-koshi on day 9, and only then was he able to pull out of freefall with six wins to finish at 7-8.  Komusubi-East AMA (Mongolia), all 124 kg (273 lbs.) of him, fought well in the ‘killer slot’ and actually had his 8th win on day 13, but may have relaxed a bit too much and lost his last pair for an 8-7.  Komusubi-West TOKITENKU (Mongolia) spiked SHORYU on shonichi, and managed to hold balance at 5-5 going into day 11; but 3 losses saddled him with a 7-8 and a ticket onto the erebeta back down to the maegashira rank-and-file.

The race for top maegashira honors ended in a three-way tie at 11-4 between #5-East HOMASHO (who garnered the Gino-Sho), #14‑East TOCHIOZAN (who earned the Kanto-Sho in his shin-nyumaku performance) and veteran #16-East WAKANOSATO.  Other hiramaku efforts earning mention in these despatches:

#7-East KOKKAI (Georgia Republic) (10-5)

#8-West TAMANOSHIMA (10-5)

#9-East AMINISHIKI (9-6)

#11-West KAKURYU (Mongolia) (9-6)

#15-East SHIMOTORI (9-6)

MIYABIYAMA garnered the first kinboshi of his career, but did not qualify for the Shukun-Sho.

In Juryo:  #4-East SATOYAMA won the championship, and a ticket to the top row of the banzuke, with a strong 12-3 posting.  Other worthy efforts from the “ten-ryo” ranks:

#1-East OTSUKASA (11-4)

#3-East RYUO (Mongolia) (9-6)

#4-West HOKUTORIKI (9-6)

#5-West KITAZAKURA (9-6)

#6-East TOCHISAKAE (9-6)

#9-West GOEIDO (11-4)

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Kinboshi:  Receivers and Givers

(updated after Haru 2007)

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

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The 600-Win Club

(updated after Haru 2007)

* Non-Japanese

The ASASHORYU Watch

(updated after Haru 2007)

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IF YOU REALLY LOVE SUMO, AND WANT TO STAY CLOSE TO IT FOR MANY YEARS TO COME…

MAKE THE COMMITMENT!!

Become a United States Sumo Federation LIFE MEMBER

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SHUNBUN 2007:  No Mongolian Spice, But Some Great Stories

Report by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

To be really honest, SHUNBUN 2006 was going to be a very hard act to follow:  There was only a slim chance (at best) that we would have anywhere near the same number of competitors for the 2007 version.  When Troy Collins announced he would not be coming, the chances of having any Mongolian sumotori joining us became slimmer still.  The Oceanside Sumo Kyokai, which had made such a strong showing the previous year, was represented solely by Michelle Pike and new recruits Lindsey Hood and Jimmy Calas.  Golden State Sumo’s Doug Cochran brought Steve Moore, a former high school/college football player, as well as his own children Sawyer and Shannon.  Dan Kalbfleisch and Bradley Sutton carried the California Sumo Association colors.  Southern California Sumo Kyokai members Kurt Rightmyer, Art Morrow and Mike Simpson drove in with kids Cory, Judy and Steve respectively, to take part with SCSK founders Hiroshi Matsuzaki and this correspondent.  Juvenile males Brandon Freel (Goltz) and Zachary Clark (SCSK) filled out the lists.

The field may have been smaller than last year, but the fighting spirit was there in abundance.  It was a great outing for the Cochran children:  son Sawyer won a best-two-of-three against Cory Rightmyer, while daughter Shannon’s hard work paid off with victory over Judy Morrow.  The big boys’ division saw rookie sumotori and judo student Zachary Clark take the gold medal in surprising fashion, with Steve Simpson taking the silver and Brandon Freel the bronze.

With Trent Sabo and Jason Gilbert not present, the men’s lightweights came down to a best-two-of-three between Art Morrow and Hiroshi Matsuzaki.  Our most-esteemed patron and research editor fought very hard, but the coach from Palm Desert won out for the top honors.  There was no Masters’ competition this time out.

Only two women came to the “DoD” to compete – but did they ever!  Michelle Pike had her hands more than full with football player/powerlifter/rookie sumotori Lindsey Hood, who had driven up from San Diego to try her hand at this.  In probably the most inspiring story to come out of this tournament, Lindsey won out in the best-two-of-three match battle –despite the minor handicap of an artificial leg.  (Why should Heather Mills have all the fun on Dancing With the Stars? – Ed.)

The middleweights were (in the opinion of this correspondent, anyway) the most exciting competition in this year’s edition.  Kurt, Doug, Brad and Jimmy threw themselves headlong into a round-robin bursting with energy.  When all the official bouts were done, a three-way tie at 2-1 existed between Brad, Doug and Jimmy.  It then went to a playoff, where the first man who could win two bouts in succession would get the gold medal.  When the dust and salt finally settled, Jimmy had the top honors with Doug holding the silver and Brad the bronze.  The middleweight medal presentation was done right afterwards – because Jimmy, a newly-ordained minister, had to head back home to perform a wedding!  This action helps make the case that amateur sumotori are better-conditioned athletes than the professionals.  In his remarks after the tournament, organizer and referee Harry “Tonkatsu” Dudrow stated that, in the future, round robins would be used to seed a bracket for the finals.

2006 California Amateur Sumotori of the Year Dan Kalbfleisch claimed he would be under the 253-pound middleweight threshold for the US Sumo Open in April.  (He did make it, with good results:  see article in this issue – Ed.).  But for SHUNBUN he was still in the heavyweight category along with rookie sumotori Steve Moore, Mike Simpson and this writer.  Unlike the middles, the four-man round robin yielded a clear 1-2-3 finish:  Dan, Steve, and Mike.  These three, with Brad joining in, formed the field for the Open competition.  And once again, the round robin action resulted in an unambiguous result:  Dan, Steve, and Brad.

Dan now has four medals (all gold) for the 2007 season.  Jimmy and Steve both established strong chops for SUMO SHIMPO’s Rookie-of-the-Year honors, while Lindsey has a ‘leg up’ (no offense intended – Ed.) on being named Female Sumotori of the Year.  Full tournament results are located elsewhere on this page.

Together with its autumnal counterpart, SHUNBUN represents sumo in its natural state, on natural surface under the open sky.  It is here, however, that a somber event must be reported.  A large Brazilian pepper tree (also known as the ‘monkey puzzle’ tree) had been in the backyard of what would eventually be called “Meade Station” when Lorinda’s family moved into the house in the mid-50’s.  Over the years it had grown to provide a large section of shade in that otherwise-open yard.  And many sumo fans had utilized that shade when they came to the “Dohyo of Dreams” for tournaments.  Sadly, they will no longer be able to hide from the sun under those tangled branches:  the fierce winds that came through the area the week after SHUNBUN pushed the tree over, ripping its roots from the ground.  In pace requiescat!

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<< HEATHER WHO??… Rookie sumotori Lindsey Hood (in blue singlet) did not let her minor handicap get in the way, as she overpowered Michelle Pike for the gold medal in Women’s Open action at SHUNBUN 2007 on the “Dohyo of Dreams” in Garden Grove, CA.  (Photo:  “Yukikaze”)

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Winds of Change Sweep “Dohyo of Dreams”
By