Sport of Sumo
To many people unfamiliar with sumo wrestling, it is just a sport where two large men charge into 🛡 each other.
However, this could not be further from the truth.
Being a sumo wrestler requires long hours of training, technique, a 🛡 strong sense of discipline, and a total commitment to the lifestyle.
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Sumo is a very competitive and physical sport that originated 🛡 around 1,500 years ago.
The basic idea is to force the other wrestler to either step outside of the "dohyo"(circular ring) 🛡 or touch the floor with something else besides the wrestler's feet.
A majority of the time the matches only last a 🛡 few seconds, however, matches can last longer depending on the technique, strength, and skill of the two wrestlers competing.
This seems 🛡 like a simple task, but a lot of training and proficiency is required to become a successful wrestler.
Life as a 🛡 sumo wrestler is highly structured, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association.
Professional sumo wrestlers are required to live in 🛡 dormitory-type residences known as sumo training stables.
Everything is controlled from who eats first, wears what clothes, and performs the more 🛡 mundane tasks to maintain the "heya"(stable).
While I had a brief stay at Chuo University, I was able to join the 🛡 sumo team for practice and observe them train.
When we first walked into the heya, it was warm and humid.
We sat 🛡 down off to the side on a hardwood floor and began to observe the team practice.
The sensei (instructor) sat on 🛡 a pad, drinking cold ice tea in which you could see the condensation on the outside of the glass.
As the 🛡 wrestlers trained, they would not speak unless the sensei shouted a brief message to correct their technique.
However, there were times 🛡 when an individual wrestler seemed to be summoned to the sensei and almost reprimanded for making a mistake.
During practice, three 🛡 main training techniques are used; challenge matches, "sanban-geiko", and "butsukari-geiko".
Challenge matches: These matches take place after warming up.
They are very 🛡 similar to the way wrestlers fight in a tournament which is often regarded as the best form of training.
This also 🛡 serves as an opportunity for less experienced wrestlers to challenge the highly skilled wrestlers.
Sanban-geiko: This type of training stretches a 🛡 wrestler's stamina to the limit.
In this training, two wrestlers fight each other over and over to wear each other down.
This 🛡 allows the wrestlers to hone their techniques against different styles of wrestlers as well.
Butsukari-geiko: In this style of training, two 🛡 wrestlers pair up and take turns pushing one another from one end of the dohyo to the other.
The wrestler being 🛡 pushed plants his feet as the other wrestler pushes him across the floor.
This is done until most of the dirt 🛡 from the dohyo is pushed from the center of the ring to the outside.
When the exercise is done, the dirt 🛡 is moved back towards the center of the ring and spread back out evenly.
Watching sumo wrestlers practice is a very 🛡 intense experience.
The picture I had painted in my head of sumo was very bland and only involved two overweight men 🛡 running into each other.
However, after seeing how intense the training and practice matches are, I have a new found respect 🛡 for the sport.
The intensity of sumo can be compared to American football or rugby.
As the wrestlers train, they receive cuts, 🛡 bloody noses, and oddly shaped injuries that swell up at the point of impact on their shoulders.
Regardless of any injuries, 🛡 they continue to train to make themselves better.
Wrestlers train from the early morning, normally around 6:00 a.m.
, and even earlier 🛡 if it's a lower ranking wrestler, until lunchtime.
Normally the wrestlers train six days a week.
After the practice was over, the 🛡 sumo team treated us to a "Chankonabe" (a type of hot pot) dinner.
The wrestlers showered, then began setting up the 🛡 meal within five minutes of the practice ending.
I eventually sat down at one of four tables which seated about eight 🛡 to nine people.
On each table, there was a big pot sitting over a gas fire, filled with some sort of 🛡 broth.
As appetizers, we ate white rice, fried eggs and ham, salad, tofu, and octopus.
Meanwhile, the lower-ranking wrestlers began to add 🛡 all of the other ingredients into the pot.
This included cabbage, beef, noodles, chicken, and a few other vegetables.
It was very 🛡 delicious and I ate so much that all I wanted to do is go to sleep, which is also a 🛡 common sumo "training" technique to gain weight.
It is common for the wrestlers to sleep directly after eating such a large 🛡 meal to amplify their weight gain.
The meal is often prepared and served by the lower-ranking wrestlers and they only get 🛡 to eat when everyone is taken care of, even guests of the heya.
Regular nabe (hot pot) dishes are cooked commonly 🛡 throughout Japan.
However, chankonabe is normally a special sumo dish.
Chankonabe restaurants can be found all around Japan.
They are more common in 🛡 Tokyo's Ryogoku district, which is known as the center of the sumo world.
The restaurants are normally owned by former sumo 🛡 wrestlers and are packed with sumo memorabilia.
The food will be in smaller portions and have more refined ingredients, so it 🛡 will be very delicious.
Six tournaments are held every year.
Each one lasts 15 days and starts and ends on a Sunday.
Three 🛡 tournaments are held in Tokyo in the months of January, May, and September.
Then there is one each in Osaka, Nagoya, 🛡 and Fukuoka with the tournaments taking place in March, July, and November respectively.
A great web-site to buy tickets from outside 🛡 Japan and to see when and where the events are scheduled is BuySumotTickets.com.
Sumo is a great sport with many traditions.
The 🛡 wrestlers that dedicate their lives to sumo are committed to the history and traditions infused in the sport.
Every day of 🛡 their lives is lived in a way to make them a better wrestler in anticipation of the day that they 🛡 can become a professional sumo wrestler.
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