Someone recently showed this to me: on NHK's website, you can watch free 20-minute highlights of sumo tournaments. And by "highlights," I mean you get to watch every match since the bouts are only like six seconds long. Tournaments last two weeks and are held every other month I think.

I'm addicted to the sport now. Very easy to get into since I don't think there are any rules to speak of, and it's the only sport I know of where slapping the **** out of your opponent is a valid tactic. Just crack open a beer and watch two enormous fat guys shove each other around. Good times.

Check out Jason's All-Sumo Youtube channel. He has videos from most of the major tournaments and provides his own usually excellent commentary as well. Also, I think the Shinto element of Sumo is really fascinating, worth checking out as well. It is interesting to see the religious element of sports fandom more integrated with more typical religious practice.

Feel like the whole sport would be better if they all wore some kind of crazy hat. Like a toque blanche or a coxcomb or something. I know it's not traditional, just thinking out loud a bit.

There's actually a lot more depth and technique then would appear at a glance. The guys you see on the highlights are at the very top of the sumo heirarchy. Wrestlers start at the bottom and work their way through several divisions, rising and falling based on whether they earn a winning record each tournament.

Another fun fact: Japanese sumo has been dominated in recent years by foreign wrestlers, mainly Mongolians. The current top Yokozuna, Hakuho (also Mongolian), has won more tournaments (37) than any wrestler in history. In fact, foreign wrestlers had won every tournament over a 10-year span until a Japanese wrestler finally broke through and won a tourney last year.

Have you ever tried one of those Suomi simulation suits?

Western sports also have a kind of ritual nature to them, but with sumo there seems to be a seamless integration of athleticism, ritual traditions, and commercialism. The referee, dressed as a Shinto priest, hands the victor an envelope of money. Maybe if football is played for a few hundred years it will develop the same aesthetic.

I still love the fact that you get to see the winner ceremonially collect his paycheck. Other than poker, I don't know of any game where you get to see the victor scoop the pot. Sports fans follow salary negotiations and contracts and such, but it's all hidden from the game itself in lieu of a ceremonial cup. It's kind of refreshing to see a game openly acknowledge that the athletes are motivated by money in addition to the thrill of competition.

Even as a casual observer, it's clear that there's a lot of technique going on. There's one bout where a much lighter opponent sort of sidesteps the bigger guy like a matador and uses his momentum against him. There's one at the beginning of Day 3 where a dude slaps the **** out of his opponent right out the gate and it causes the other guy to lose concentration and balance. Good stuff.

No, and I think that would defeat the purpose. Sumo is like the ultimate spectator sport; I feel like I'm much healthier than any of the athletes if I just stay away from playing the game.

I don't need no friggin' suit!

Trolly,

Prior to some matches you might see ad banners paraded around the ring. The money (called kensho) that you see the winning wrestlers scoop the pot with is actually money paid by those sponsors, and varies from match to match. There is often no kensho for matches against lower-ranked wrestlers, while those featuring a yokozuna will often have 30 envelopes or more, each with the equivalent of about $300 inside.

The top-ranked wrestlers receive salaries on top of the kensho, but yeah, it's certainly a nice extra incentive.

That's interesting.

One of the things that's striking is the weight disparity between wrestlers, and the bigger guy doesn't always win. First match of Day 4 has a guy who's 20kg (44lb) lighter than his opponent but still wins. Lot of sidestepping/pivoting moves that can use an opponent's momentum against them.

You might enjoy this David Vs. Goliath match from the past (Mainoumi, the small guy, vs. Akebono, the first-ever foreign Yokozuna, from Hawaii).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTJR_7f_fHs

My parents are both watching grand sumo highlights now; this is an addictive sport, and very easy for casual fans to get in to.

I used to watch Sumo on ESPN years ago. Back then the champ was huge fat dude.

Never understood why this sport wasn't huge in the US. I mean, you guys invented monster trucks.

What's unusual is that the new champ is a big fat guy from Japan. It's the first time that's happened in 19 years, apparently.

Japan gets first sumo champion in 19 years

It must have been 19 years ago that I was watching it. I remember that the emergent guy at the time was from Hawaii and sumo fans were horrified that a non-Japanese wrestler might become champ. The way I figure it, if you don't want any Americans to style all over you, maybe don't pick a national sport where the fattest dude pretty much wins all the time.

What's interesting is that it's actually Mongolia that has been styling on Japan for a while, which has been a great blow to Japan's national pride. It sort of reminds me of the early days of boxing when African-Americans displaced white guys as champion boxers.

How Mongolia Conquered Japanese Sumo

Anyone know who the sumo guy from John Wick 2 is? Looked awfully familiar.