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. 

 

Let's Try this Again

  Hey everyone, 

 The grand sumo zine has been silent these many years, but I just might try to give it another go. 

 So what's been going on? 

 Well, since this blog started, I've started a Sumo club with Darius Campbell, an amateur sumo wrestler from Cincinnati Ohio and we've grown quite a bit! I'm really excited for the future of Sumo in the USA. We also have a podcast that you can listen to on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and pretty much anywhere else you take in your podcasts from. 

 I hope I can right some thoughtful articles here in the future. 

 I'm also considering starting a Grand Sumo Zine youtube channel and having some fun with that as well! 

Stay tuned and Hakkeyoi!