Sumo Wrestling

Dan Breen

Takamiya Sensei

AS150

Sumo Wrestling

            When people in the United States think of a sumo wrestler, they often think of an overweight, unathletic, bowling ball of a human being who just pushes another person out of a small arena for a living.  However, they fail to realize how much determination, sacrifice, and dedication these athletes put in in order to become great at their sport. 

            Around the age of fifteen, boys in Japan serious about becoming sumo wrestlers enter one of the fifty-four stables located around Japan in order to begin their training.  Besides housing the trainees, the stables also house hairdressers, ushers, referees, the oyakata (a retired sumo wrestler who leads the training) and the okamisan (the wife of the oyakata).  The main job of the latter two people is to pass on the traditions, teachings, and disciplines of sumo wrestling to the newcomers. 

            There are six different ranks a sumo wrestler can be.  Starting from the lowest, the ranks are jonokuchi, jonidan, sandanme, makushita, juryo, and makuuchi.  Wrestlers only receive a small allowance per match until they reach the rank of juryo, in which they receive a significant pay boost.  Once a wrestler becomes a sekitori, they are allowed to wear keshomawashi before matches, which is a long apron-like cloth that goes down to about their ankles.  They may also choose the color mawashi they get to wear during fights, rather than always having to wear black in the lower ranks.  As sekitori, they are granted people who basically take care of any needs that the wrestler has, such as forming his top bun, which is supposed to represent a leaf from a ginkgo tree. 

            A regular day of training starts at 5 A.M. in the stables.  They start by doing ritual stomping, or shiko, in order to improve their leg strength.  Afterwards, the lowest ranked wrestlers start practicing first.  The wrestlers may also practice teppo, which teaches them to move their hands and feet in rhythm, or matawari, which involves the wrestler to open his legs 180 degrees on the ground and have his stomach pushed against the floor.  This develops excellent leg flexibility which is key if you want to be a good sumo.  Wrestlers then begin to engage in moshiai, which are practice matches.  The winner keeps going until he loses.  The wrestlers eat twice a day, once at 11 A.M. and once at 6 P.M.  Both meals consist of chanko, which is a food with a lot of carbs, protein, and calories.  The wrestlers eat mostly chanko stews, sashimi, deep fried food, and hamburger steaks.  After these hearty meals, the sumo will often take naps in order to further assist their desire to become bigger.

            Do you think you could live the life of a sumo wrestler?