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One year ago, the 2006
grand sumo season dawned with a mix of anticipation and apprehension as
yokozuna-East ASASHORYU (Mongolia) rode into the Kokugikan on the front
edge of a historic rensho that saw him become the first modern-era rikishi
to pull off a true “Grand Slam”.
He fell short in the Hatsu Basho, but still won four Cups for the
year including the last three in succession. So it came to pass in
January 2007, that SHORYU stepped onto the dohyo to once again show
everyone exactly who loomed large and was in charge.
There was a bump in the early stages as he gave up the 17th
kinboshi of his career to maegashira #1-West DEJIMA by oshitaoshi on day
3. But the fleeting hope that
loss may have given the field gradually diminished as the “Mongolian
Express” pulled away through the rest of the tournament to clinch on day
14 and finish with a 14-1 record. This
made him the fifth member of one of sumo’s most exclusive fraternities:
those who have won the Tenno-Hai 20 times or more.
And in SHORYU’s case, there is little reason to doubt he will
hold the Cup many times more. While most of the
five-member ozeki contingent were able to slam out worthy efforts, none of
them showed themselves ready or capable of dealing with the powerful
yokozuna at this time. #2-West
CHIYOTAIKAI had some possibilities in the early going with SHORYU’s
loss, but gradually fell out of the yusho race and finished 10-5.
#3-West HAKUHO (Mongolia) was kadoban coming into the January
action, but showed no sign of injury once in the fray:
the Natsu 2006 winner did not lose two torikumi in succession
during the fortnight-plus-one, and re-secured his Kokugikan parking slot
with a strong 10-5. #1-East
KOTOOSHU (Bulgaria) started slow at 1‑2, but then won 7 of his next
8 for kachi and wound up with a 9-6.
#2-East KAIO mixed wins and losses through day 13 and appeared to
be in danger of going kadoban yet again; but Tomozuna’s strongman won
his last two torikumi to scrape by at 8‑7.
With the same number of top-division basho under his mawashi as Konishiki
(81) KAIO has 679 career wins to 649 for the huge Hawaiian.
#1-West TOCHIAZUMA won at this time last year to break SHORYU’s
yusho streak. But this time
out, things went 180 degrees out-of-phase.
Tamanoi’s top deshi and heir apparent started 4-3, but then
melted down with 7 losses in his final 8 torikumi to finish at 5-10 and
get saddled with a new demotion threat. The lower sanyaku will see
some serious shuffling for the Haru festivities in March.
Sekiwake-East KOTOMITSUKI will be the only member of the class to
hold his position. The former
college champ won 5 of his first 6 torikumi and posted his 8th win on day
13, but then got unfocused and lost his final two for an 8-7.
The power surge put on last year by sekiwake-West MIYABIYAMA sadly
proved to be but a flash-in-the-pan.
The former ozeki showed that the committee had been right to deny
him re-promotion: he lost 6
of his first 7 matches and slid to a 5-10 that will send him back down to
the hiramaku ranks. Komusubi-East
KISENOSATO fought hard and managed to balance his books at 7-7.
His loss on senshuraku placed him at 7-8, where he has an outside
chance to keep the heavier paycheck.
Komusubi-West ROHO (Russia) will definitely have to adjust his
household budget downward: he
collapsed as spectacularly as the Iron Curtain to a so-sorry 3-12. #9-West TOYONOSHIMA won top
maegashira honors on the strength of a 12-3 outing which also put the
Kanto-Sho and Gino-Sho in his hands.
Other notable performances from the hiramaku ranks: #1-East
KOTOSHOGIKU (9-6) #4-East
AMA (Mongolia) (10-5) #6-East
ASASEKIRYU (Mongolia) (10-5) #11-East
TAMAKASUGA (9-6) #13-East
KASUGANISHIKI (9-6) #14-East
TAMANOSHIMA (10-5) #15-West
USHIOMARU (9-6) DEJIMA
won career kinboshi #6, but did not qualify for the Shukun-Sho. In
Juryo: #2-West
TOCHIOZAN, #3-West SHIMOTORI
and #14-East TOYOHIBIKI all
finished regulation at 10-5. HIBIKI
won the subsequent playoff for the yusho.
Other second-division efforts worth mention in these despatches: #4-West WAKANOSATO (9-6) #6-West KAIHO (9-6) #12-East
KOBO (9-6) Kinboshi:
Receivers and Givers (updated
after Hatsu 2007)
Y
= number of basho ranked at yokozuna [back to top] [back to Sumo Shimpo home] (updated after
Hatsu 2007)
The
ASASHORYU Watch (updated after
Hatsu 2007)
“Legendary”
Yokozuna (10+ Yusho) (updated after Hatsu 2007)
Condolences
California
Sumo Association president Andrew Freund's father passed away recently
after a long illness. Prior
to May of 2000, Andrew was a frequent visitor to the "Dohyo of
Dreams." On one such occasion, he brought his father, one on
his sisters and I think one of his brothers. We had some very
spirited competition that day. I remember losing a hard fought match
to Andrew's dad who remarked afterwards that I was "a load." We
at SUMO SHIMPO and the SCSK offer our condolences to Andrew
and his family. Real
Life: Sumo on MTV It
started with Kurt Rightmyer – and with Steve Jimenez, his young giant of
a neighbor (16 years, 400+ pounds at the time). From there it went to an MTV segment producer with a 24/7
entertainment cycle to fill. Steve
and Kurt came out to the “Dohyo of Dreams” with an MTV film crew. The big guy worked out with Kurt and myself in a rather
aggressive keiko session, while Harry gave Steve pointers on how to
sharpen his game. At the same
time, the producer was working with long-time sumo fan and new
middleweight competitor Bradley Sutton.
Finally they went to Japan and profiled MINAMINOSHIMA, a young
Tongan sumotori at Musashigawa Beya who was battling to move up from
Sandanme into Makushita at his next basho. If
I have problems with any of this, they are as follows.
I watched the credits at the end and saw absolutely no mention of
the “Dohyo of Dreams” or the Southern California Sumo Kyokai (as
Steve’s member club). But
there was a “thank you” to Andrew Freund and the CSA (which is
Bradley’s club of record). I
would point out that no money or other consideration changed hands for the
use of the “DoD”: a
screen credit would have been more than enough thanks. “Tonkatsu”
adds the following: I
thought that MTV's True Life: I'm A Sumo Wrestler, was one of the better
pieces that's been done about sumo on American TV. They played it
straight and didn't try to mock or put down our sport. Obviously,
with only an hour they had to leave a lot of footage on the cutting room
floor. It would have been nice to have seen Steve Jimenez's win over
Odd Magnus Severinsen in the open division at the US Sumo Open, or
Bradley's win over Steve in the open division at the California Sumo
Championships, Like
Jim, I don't appreciate the fact that neither the DoD, the SCSK or
any of our members who gave a lot of help to make this project happen
didn't receive any mention in the credits. Kind of tacky, I think. US
Sumo Open Moves to Sports Arena After
two years at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the 2007 edition of the US
Sumo Open is moving to the LA Sports Arena, part of the Memorial Colosseum
complex at Exposition Park. The
Sports Arena, which over the years has been eclipsed by newer and larger
arenas, is perhaps best known as the site of the 1960 Democratic National
Convention that nominated JFK. This writer attended several indoor
track meets there in the early sixties. The last time we went there
was in 1973, when we attended several sessions of the last six-day bike
race ever held in the United States. In recent years, the University
of Southern California basketball team has been the venue’s only major
tenant: that ended last year
when a new facility, the Galen Center, opened on the USC campus. Sumo
fans who attend this year’s Open should be able to look forward to
better views and less trouble parking since they won't have to compete
with people attending other events, as has happened at the Convention
Center. The
2007 US Sumo Open is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, 2007. For more
information, check the California Sumo Association web site at www.usasumo.com. [back to top] [back to Sumo Shimpo home]
Current
Holders of USSF Dan Rank
* eligible for
promotion in May 2007 Current
USSF Life Members 1. Harry Dudrow 2. Yoshisada Yonezuka 3. Jim Lowerre 4. Andrew Freund 5. Troy Collins 6. Hiroshi Matsuzaki 7. Manny Yarbrough (honorary) 8. Trent Sabo 9. Packy Bannevans 10. Doug Cochran 11. Tom Zabel 12. Dan Kalbfleisch 13. Kelly Bannevans 14. Richard Hopp 15. Gary Goltz (honorary)
[back to top] [back to Sumo Shimpo home]
In
January of 1998, amateur sumo in southern California was just coming out
of a “Rip Van Winkle” slumber that had started all the way back in the
early 1950’s. The first
Goltz Sumo event was primarily programmed for the kids and younger judoka
in the Goltz Judo Club (GJC), of which there were 17 that year. This writer’s part in the event was limited to
demonstration work with Dr. Greg “Kaminishiki” Wheeler, the first man
to hold the Southern California heavyweight sumo title in 45 years.
The venue was Claremont’s Baseline Recreation Centre, an old
cinder-block fire station. The
dohyo was a circle of tape laid out upon the judo mats in what had been
the fire engine bay (see picture elsewhere on this page).
To maximize the viewing experience for the families and other
spectators, the layout was across the bay’s narrow axis:
this left precious little room between the dohyo boundary and the
bay’s hard walls. The
following year Sensei Gary announced that Goltz Sumo II
would have competition for adults who were not members of the GJC,
or even judo students. By
this time the Southern California Sumo Kyokai had taken possession of a
portable dohyo setup, which was laid out upon the BRC’s mats.
Doug Ballard, a powerlifter and gym owner from Indiana, came out
West that year and plowed ruthlessly through the field. For
all the BRC’s faults, it held one good memory for this writer.
It was there in 2000 (GS III) that he defeated Mike Peru, Andrew
Freund and “Tonkatsu” for his first (and only) openweight gold medal.
But the City of Claremont was building a modern facility for
community athletics, meetings, classes and whatnot.
(I personally love whatnots – Ed.)
It was with a great deal of delight that the Goltz Judo Club (along
with many other groups and activities) moved to the Alexander Hughes
Community Center. Not only
did the Goltz Tournament continue: it
has become the kickoff event for the Southern California amateur sumo
season. (The Hughes Center
has also come to host the California Open Sumo Championships in cool,
air-conditioned comfort during the mid-summer.) First,
last and foremost, the Goltz Tournament has been an event for the judo
students, to give them a break from worrying about proper technique and
just letting them knock someone else down or push others out of a ring.
Thirty-nine
competitors stepped forward for a chance at Goltz gold and glory, ranging
in age from 4-year old Sawyer Cochran to 60-something Jerry Tambe.
In size, they ran the gamut from Sawyer (39 lbs.) to Steve Jimenez
(400+ lbs). As
in years past, the juvenile competitors were sorted into separate
divisions based on Sensei Gary’s “line ‘em up and look ‘em over”
philosophy. The older
competitors were aligned by weight, gender and age. When
the 1998 tournament was held, Mr. Ernie Hunt was the only experienced sumo
referee in the western United States.
For the 2007 edition, Mr. Hunt was joined by Harry Dudrow and Troy
Collins as qualified officials. They shared the referee and line judge duties skillfully and
flawlessly. Sensei
Gary, Ashton Farrah and Kala Crosby ran the scoring table until the
Men’s open, at which time Jim Lowerre took over.
Sensei John Moe of Discover Judo brought his digital camcorder and
recorded the action. Once
the ring was set up and everyone had checked in, the day’s activities
started with USSF trustee Harry Dudrow presenting Sensei Gary Goltz with a
certificate naming him an honorary life member of the USSF in recognition
of his years of support for amateur sumo. Harry also presented Gary with a card signed by all the
sumotori present thanking him for his support. The
action started with the kids, who put on some of the best matches of the
day. In
one of these matches, Sensei Gary interrupted matters by coming onto the
dohyo. He gave one competitor
a cursory search, pulled a (fake) gun out of her mawashi, dropped it on
the ring surface, and proceeded to upbraid her for sneaking a weapon into
the match. He then searched
the other contestant and found a (fake) knife on him. He made some sniffy comments about cheaters, then took both
training props off the dohyo with him as the match was allowed to proceed. Some
of the senior wrestlers showed a little rust, allowing newcomers such as
Christie Smirl and Robert Ashworth (both of Discover Judo) to break onto
the podium and take the silver medals in their divisions.
Goltz Sumo X had several family teams.
They included: Glenn, Kala, Rachel and Hannah Crosby; Mike and Steven
Simpson; Robert, Zachary and Summer Ashworth;
brothers Raymond and Johnny Rocky Escalante; and Jerry Tambe and his
nephew Jeremy Beck, who took silver in the men’s lightweight division. The
competition drew a distinguished guest:
Steve Shuji Nakada, managing director of the Japan Conference
Center in Riverside, attended in traditional dress.
Together with his wife Maggie he took many photos, was photographed
in turn, and had an enjoyable time watching the action. When
the competition was over and the medals had been handed out, it was time
for the presentation of the SUMO SHIMPO Awards for 2006.
Michelle Pike’s strong efforts throughout the US and in Japan
earned her a second consecutive citation as Outstanding Female Sumotori.
Judy Morrow won the Outstanding Junior Award while last year’s
Junior winner, Steven Simpson, was named the Most Improved.
Rookie of the Year went to Wes Jones.
And finally: last
year’s ROY, Dan Kalbfleisch, was heralded as California’s Amateur
Sumotori of the Year on the strength of winning 15 medals (9 gold) in
2006. As
a showpiece of strength and power, the Goltz Tournament has gone a long
way towards illustrating why “Nan-Ka” – Southern California – has
become the crossroads of the American amateur sumo community. Full
tournament results are located elsewhere on this page.
California Sumo
Calendar for 2007 CLASSES/TRAINING SESSIONS
Fees may be charged for training session attendance. Contact the listed STAGING ORGANIZATION for the latest information. COMPETITIONS
(T) = Tentative All information on this calendar is subject to change. Contact the listed STAGING ORGANIZATION for latest information. |
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