The video version of our discussion around Hibikiryu’s day 13 injury that may have left Hibikiryu paralyzed. Can sumo do more to respond to injuries during competition? Sumo is a combat sport, and inherently dangerous, but could the Sumo Association take safety and injury response more seriously? We look at how the Oyakata and Yobidashi reacted to the injury, and what could have been done better. We also review how professional sports leagues integrate medicine into their public events.
Of course more could be done. First responder response is zero and that is simply unacceptable. I recall my anger at seeing Takayasu injure himself, writhing about in pain and not a single person doinganything of any value. Nobody. Pathetic.
As we’ve established, it’s hard for me to keep the streams from crossing. Safety is one of those places where I can’t help but put my risk management and safety culture hat on. There are some very easy lift “low-hanging fruit” here that don’t require huge reforms or massive investments. And I do want to stress the importance of data collection. I did not stress that enough during the cast.
We know so much goes into training gyoji and yobidashi on everything from building and maintaining a dohyo to calligraphy, steps and motions to make pre-bout, how to hold a gunbai…it is unsettling that when (entirely expected) injuries occur, everything gets thrown off kilter and people don’t know what to do. Like, have a plan and execute. Even if the sport were 100% safe and wrestlers were bubble-wrapped and the dohyo was made by Nerf, people would have medical emergencies. Stuff happens. If you’re in the entertainment business and it’s your job to put on an event with thousands of spectators, KNOW WHAT TO DO.
“Uh-oh. He’s getting that look…DON’T CROSS THE STREAMS, ANDY!!!”
Speaking of low-hanging fruit, this goes for you, too, dear reader. Stay off the tracks! Ballast ain’t a damn playground, photo-studio, or shortcut. Trains can’t stop and they’re surprisingly quiet and fast, and make sudden movements when they’re stopped. (Whenever someone gets injured or killed, the forms come into my database and I get 1000+ fatalities every year. That’s nothing compared to highways but damn it, don’t try to beat them, please.)
And buckle up, don’t drink and drive, put the damn phone down while you’re driving. Use car seats. And be patient, it’s a road, not Daytona or Talla-freaking-dega. And believe me, you’re not as lucky as Ryan Newman. Y’all people are turning me into a crodgedy old dude.
Also, if you’re having a crisis, feel free to reach out. The tachiai_blog DMs are open — I approve everything but the spam — don’t be afraid to reach out and get help. I find far too many sad reports in my data at work and a friend did something unfortunate a few months back. And in Japan, I saw some ish I’d rather not. But I’m not an expert, just an ear. We’ve got a whole bunch of real pros out there hoping to help: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-treatment
From my data and the stuff on the news, especially over the last year+, it’s pretty obvious there are a lot of people out there who need it.
Wow, I went a bit off the rails there, didn’t I? LOL.
Be safe! Or I’ll come over there and ipponzeoi your ass. (I’d be more likely to give myself a hernia trying.)
I cannot for the life of me figure out why they don’t have medical personnel on standby in the hallways. When I was in high school, 25 years ago, there were EMT’s (most of the time off duty) on standby for most of the big sporting events. When I played rugby in college, we had interns from the local hospital volunteering to help in case (they got outdoors, and we gave them free beer). It feels like sumo is clueless on how to find a balance between tradition and medical necessity, at some point the macho attitude has to give.