The Sumo Brotherhood : Help those around you!

 One of the things that strikes you when you join the sumo community is the warm reception you get as a newcomer and the willingness of the more experienced to give you a helping hand. This is apparent at every tournament you go to. I remember my first tournament, fellow lightweight Justin Kizzart coached me before and after some of my matches. Even though I represented a potential threat as I was unknown to him, he was more than willing to help the new guy. 

I think this spirit is one that we must hang on to in the sport as long as we can. Many other sports seem to be driven by people with giant egos and bad attitudes. We are lucky in that most people in Sumo are here for the camaraderie as much as the competition. I think this helps us in the long run because the only way we are going to be competitive Internationally is to stand together as American Sumo Wrestlers and make everyone around us better. Because if you can't cut it as an individual, maybe you can help someone else cut it. And maybe that person goes on to win a medal at worlds. 

 Now I'm not suggesting we all lose our competitive edge. Do whatever you need to do. But never be so into your own ego that you can't lend a helping hand to those around you. 

I had the privilege of practicing with Dark Circle Sumo in Austin Texas after a dismal performance at the tournament. I was pretty discouraged but at practice, Justin was able to refocus my attention on the details and helped me realize that I can do it. I have the tools, I just need to sharpen them. His excitement for me to do well is something we could all learn from. 

Ohayo Sumo : A No Frills Practice Approach

  Today I thought I would write a basic overview of Ohayo Sumo practices to maybe help other clubs get a sense of what, for us, makes a solid practice. I feel I can say without pretension that Ohayo Sumo has gained somewhat of a reputation for our style of sumo and the intensity of our practices. 

 So what goes in to a practice. 

 Here is the basic layout and then I'll expound on some philosophy. 

 - 40-50 Shiko

 - 5 Minutes Surashi

 - 5 Minutes Surashi variations 

 - Matches 

 - Matches 

 - More Matches 

 - Butsukari 

We try to keep instruction limited to the individual needing the instruction, meaning that we don't stop the entire practice to give a 5 minute dissertation. Everyone keeps practicing and moving their bodies. 

 We try to limit chatter during practice and just stay as focused as we can. This isn't always the case, but it's an ideal. 

 If a person has a specific thing he wants to work on, he can grab a partner and do so, but again, it doesn't interrupt the flow of the rest of the practice. Nobody should be standing around unless they're waiting for another chance to get in the ring. 

 Our practice philosophy is pretty basic : Get as many matches in as you can. 

 Something Darius said early on when we started the club was that for those years he trained by himself he felt deprived of matches. We try to do as much of our practice like the pros, but unlike the pros, we don't practice every day for 8 hours. You can weight train and work on conditioning stuff at home, but you usually only get one chance a week to go against another opponent and this is the most valuable training there is. 

 Our practices are pretty intense, and usually by the end everybody is completely exhausted. We joke that it isn't a good practice unless Austin Goode is laying on the floor gasping for air. 

 I hope this helps to give a basic overview of what it is Ohayo Sumo values in a practice session and maybe will help you structure your own practice sessions! 

 

Dreams Coming True and History Remembered

 On February 6th, a long time dream of mine became a reality. Ohayo Sumo had it's first Youth Sumo practice. 

The kids began filing in as the adult practice was finishing up. I greeted them at the door, and began to tie their mawashi's. I was really impressed with how little hesitation there was on their part. It's hard enough to get an adult to put in the dreaded "diaper", but these kids were unflinching. 

 We started them off with the basics, shiko, surashi and butsukari. They were good listeners and followed the instructions well. Towards the end we let them get in a few matches. All in all, an incredible day. 

 What does this all mean to me? It's hard to put it into words. As I stood there watching the kids I became emotional and misty eyed as I thought about what has preceded this moment. It began for me as a boy in the late 90s seeing Musashimaru and Akebono on ESPN at my grandparents house. But as I have made friends and learned from others, this love affair with sumo began in America long ago.

Sumo Club in Sacramento California, 1920s 

 It began with the Japanese immigrants to Hawaii working in the sugar mills and holding weekend tournaments. The lumber mill workers in the Pacific Northwest and immigrants into California. It began with US service members stationed in Japan, bringing the sport home. With men like Ernie Hunt who revived the Hawaii Sumo tradition. With Jesse, the first Foreigner and American to hoist the Emperors Cup. It began with a "broken down haole" school teacher who would get the chance of a lifetime and later would give amateur sumo a shot in the arm both nationally and internationally. With a Hawaiian boy with Samoan roots who rose to the top division in just 12 basho and became one of the biggest sumo stars the sport had ever seen. 

Henry "Sentoyru" Miller, the first successful Rikishi from the Mainland

With a kid from Ferguson Missouri who, despite a career riddled with injuries, posted winning records against future Yokozuna Asashoryu and Ozeki Kotomitsuki. With another pair of Hawaii boys who would finally do what no foreigner had done before, reach the pinnacle of the mountain and wear the white rope of a Yokozuna. 

Yokozuna Musashimaru, Ozeki Konishiki and Yokozuna Akebono 

 Hawaii has had strong youth sumo for many years. And several attempts have been made to try youth sumo here on the mainland. I hope we can lean on this rich history we have of sumo in the United States and that it helps us be the first on the mainland to grow a strong youth program and inspire others to try it themselves. And who knows, maybe we can train a future World Champion, maybe even send a kid to Japan. Wouldn't that be something? 

Thanks for all your support. 

 

So Proud

Ohayo Sumo's Team for the Queen City Sumo Open 

 2020 has been a hard year. A terrible year some might say. As Covid and civil unrest has taken it's toll, one has to look for bright spots wherever one can. 

 For Ohayo sumo the year did not start off the way we would have wanted. The pandemic shut us down for a few months. There were no tournaments to train for, no events to attend so we waited and reemerged in June. However, our club founder and coach, Darius Campbell was unable to come out of lockdown. His job has kept him close to home as he works for a company that is packaging the Covid vaccine. It was recommended that he not do anything extra. As frustrating as it was for him and for us, his character shined its brightest. Being a giant in the ring as well as a giant of a human being, he remains the foundation block of this club and the model of its wrestlers. 

 The task of keeping us together and moving forward fell to me. We kept working and continued to grind out our practices with the intensity that we have become known for. Our no frills practice approach is based on our appreciation for the Japanese approach, but also in our dedication to the fundamentals. Keep your head down, elbows in, keep your base and drive forward. Again. Again. Again. 

 Every practice sees our members driving from distances as far as 5 hours just to get in 2 hours practice and then hauling back home. A feature of our club that amazes me to this day. Never once a complaint out of them, but rather a deep sense of friendship and appreciation for the opportunity to gather together and grow as a club. A club that isn't merely a sports organization, but a family, a phrase that can be overused but that in this case is the most appropriate way to describe it. 

 For many of our wrestlers this has been a year of financial stress, lay offs and personal struggle. For them and I know for me, Ohayo Sumo has been the only bright spot in a year of darkness. 

 I watched all of this dedication culminate in a five medal performance by our club members, totaling 20 wins by 6 rikishi. To say that I'm proud would be an understatement. I watched them battle like the warriors they are. I am simply proud just to be able to stand beside them and call them my brothers. 

 With 2020 almost behind us, I look forward to a 2021 Sumo Season that will be nothing short of magical. 

 Hakkeyoi 

Why Sumo Should Stay Traditional in the Amateur Ranks

 I love a good football game, or a good basketball game. I love the athleticism, the heart and passion of a game well played. What I don't like is end zone celebrations, show boating, trash talking and the over the top spectacle that is American sports. 

 I remember my dad telling me once that when he scored a touchdown, he was taught to simply hand the ball to the referee and walk back to his sideline. No celebrations, no emotional outburst. Just plain ol' sportsmanship. Don't rub your success into another persons face. That seems to have fallen out of fashion. 

Sumo offers something different to the sports enthusiast. A window into a different time and place where honor and respect are some of the highest ideals. Where it is shameful to celebrate a win or sulk openly at defeat. As sumo becomes more popular on the international amateur level, questions of how far we take things come up. How traditional do we keep the sport as it leaves the shores of Japan. 

 My answer : As traditional as possible 

 But why? I think the reasons are pretty obvious but I will try to elaborate on them. 

 The American sports world is full of  ripped athletes, driving cool cars and playing videos games of themselves, wearing all the bling and the latest trendy fashion designs and signing huge contracts and getting paid more money than I'll ever make in my lifetime before they even set foot on a professional field. In contrast to this, the sumo wrestler begins his sumo career essentially as a man servant, waiting on the upper rankers hand and foot, getting up early to prepare for the day, cooking all the food, drawing the baths for the upper rankers and not getting a rest until the late hours of the evening. The only way out is to win or quit. The Sumo wrestler in Japan is expected to endure all of this with a sense of gratitude, with a spirit of humble obedience to his seniors until one day he can earn his place amongst them and demand that same respect. 

A young Takamiyama enduring the pains of practice early in his career

 Would an American athlete endure this kind of life? I think you'd be hard pressed to find one that would. 

 Now, I'm not saying that amateur sumo needs to adopt every single aspect of sumo as it is practiced in Japan. (Although, I wouldn't mind in many ways.) But I think what Sumo has to offer even on the amateur level is deeper than anything currently available on the American sports market. Even other forms of martial arts appear to me at least to have undergone sporterization. That is, stripping the art of any spiritual or traditional aspects and making it purely sport. I could be wrong, but it's just what I see. 

 When I see a Sumo Wrestler, I see a person that I would want my children to look up to, probably more than any other athlete I've encountered. Of course there are exceptions in every sport, but in sumo, it's not just one guy here and one guy there. Nearly every sumo wrestler exemplifies all the qualities I would want my children to have, and I think that makes the sport unique. 

 So what am I trying to say? 

 Simply this. Let's not be quick to water sumo down. Let's not be motivated by dollar signs or spectacle. Let's allow character and virtue be the order of the day. 

 Hakkeyoi! 

John Jacques : The Way of the Warrior

John and Jesse (Takamiyama)        

    

        When John Jacques arrived in Honolulu to watch a professional Sumo Exhibition, he could never have imagined the journey in Sumo that he was about to embark on. In a very short time he found himself making his first trip to Japan as part of the Hawaii team. He did poorly but the sumo bug had bitten him hard and his passion for the sport was becoming very strong. While in Japan he had dinner with Jesse, the great Hawaiian known in Japan as Takamiyama. That conversation would make it's way back to former Yokozuna, Yoshibayama who was then the Oyakata at Miyagino Beya. When John returned to Hawaii, he received a call. The former Yokozuna wanted to offer him the chance of a lifetime, to come to Japan and train for 3 months at the stable. To learn the ways of sumo and bring his knowledge back to Hawaii to raise a new crop of sumo wrestles. What they saw in John, and what I saw in him still during a recent interview was a well stoked fire in his belly for the sport. 

    John received his training in the summer of 1976. When he arrived he was told that he wouldn't become a great wrestler in only 3 months, but what they hoped to do is give him a good overview that would help the Hawaiians back home. 

 First Month : John was treated like a new recruit, enduring all the hardships that come with it. The lowest of the low, he was expected to be up early, helping the senior wrestlers, cooking food, scrubbing floors and toilets and eating from the Chanko pot last. He received blows from the bamboo stick (shinai) as he strained to do the 300 shiko asked of him. It was a brutal first month, but John was dedicated. 

 Second Month: Now he would be promoted to the upper ranks of Makushita, being able to take things a little easier. With this came a little more free time and some better selections at the dinner table. 

 Third Month : In the final month, he was treated like a top division wrestler, going to dinner with sponsors and eating the choice pieces of meat. While he didn't win very often, he had gained the knowledge he would need to make Hawaii a Sumo powerhouse for years to come. 

    When I interview John, I was captivated by his exuberance for this sport. But one thing stands out to me form the interview. When asked about how Sumo changed his life John said that "Sumo made me a much better man. Sumo stripped me down to the core and built me back up again. I was a much better husband when I returned than the day I left for Tokyo." It's this aspect of Sumo that I think has made John so successful as a coach and ambassador for this sport. 

    Sumo as a way of life has captivated my experience over the last year as I've been fortunate to be part of building a club, and not just building a club physically. Our clubs values have sought to reflect the values of Budo, the way of the Warrior. Caring for those around us and being upstanding members of our society. These are values that every parent should want for their children and I think sumo embodies those values better than any sport out there available to young people. 

    I'll leave you with John's own words : 

“I soon came to realize that the Japanese amateur and professional sumo organizations wanted to give me a complete overview of the world of sumo and sumo-do, the way of sumo. Whether a wrestler remains an amateur or turns professional he chooses to live by a strict code of conduct. 

He must show allegiance and obedience to those above him in seniority and or rank and always respect the sport and his opponents. Honesty dedication, hard work and guts are the mainstays of all sumotori and those not willing to walk the straight and narrow path are quickly steered out of the sport. The sumo wrestlers strong clean body focused mind, fighting spirit

and humble attitude make him a worthy hero among his countrymen. The concept of sumo-do goes far beyond the requirements to participate in an American sport. It is a combination of religious avocation and a dedication to sports intertwined with a sense of nationalism.”

 

Ikioi : Sumo's Iron Man

   In sports, names like Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripkin Jr. , Mickey Mantle are synonymous with playing through injury. Dick Butkus, the linebacking legend played through serious knee injuries, never letting it kill his fire, despite doctor recommendations to retire. 

 Since 2005, Ikioi has never been absent. Never missed a bout. Never missed a tournament, unless it was canceled. His body, wracked with injuries to his ankles and legs has made it nearly impossible to withstand frontal attacks, his acute ring sense being his only saving grace, but often not enough to get the win. 

 After two solid Juryo performances last fall including his second Yusho at sumos second tier, he managed to just make kachi-koshi at Maegashira 15 and 12. Then came more suffering. A 3-12 mark in July sent him hurdling back to Juryo. His woes didn't end there. The ankles just couldn't take the beating and he struggled again only getting 3 wins. 

 The November basho saw a similar story. Two wins in a row gave us hope that the Ikioi we all know and love was going to give us something great. What followed was 7 losses in a row as he struggled to keep up with the attacks of his opponents. Two wins would come in the middle against Fujiazuma who turned in a dismal 0-15 performance surely sending him back to Makushita in January, and another against veteran Shohozan. Three more losses and a surprise win against Ura gave him a 5-10 end to the year. 

 What makes Ikioi so likable is his love of the game. His drive to keep going and to never disappoint his fans. His spirit is something that I myself as an amateur wrestler admires and hopes I can live up to. 

 As Joe DiMaggio said to the Sporting News in April of 1951, "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best." This is the way Ikioi wrestlers. He gives us his best, even when it's not enough. His spirit, always willing, tells him to keep going, but his flesh  tells him it might be time to hang up his mawashi and take his final bow.