Kyushu Basho 2016

Kyushu Day 11 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2016, San'yaku (三役), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安) , , , , , , , , ,

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Finish Strong.

We now start the last 5 days of sumo for 2016. It’s fascinating that Harumafuji and Kisenosato are stilled tied at the top of total wins for 2016, a tie that will be broken soon, possibly on day 11. After watching Kisenosato dismantle Hakuho on the NHK highlight reel, the accomplishment is ever more impressive. Again, the sumo Kisenosato brought to day 10 was some of the best I have seen in some time, and I think the fans in Fukuoka and watching around the world were amazed.

To be fair, Kisenosato finally laid bare the extent of Hakuho’s recovery from surgery this past September. It is clear that the Boss has been artfully keeping the true extent of the remaining weakness in his foot and knee hidden through outstanding technique and clever tactics. But Kisenosato brought a full power maneuver battle to day 10, and in the end Hakuho lost.

But there are some really ugly questions left to resolve. First and foremost in my mind is how badly will this end for Takayasu. Mathematically, he cannot even reach 10 wins this basho. Had he gotten 10, his Ozeki run would have carried forward to Hatsu in January. But now the best he can hope for is 9, and that requires him defeating at least 2 Yokozuna. Realistically he is going make-koshi, and headed down in rank, at least to Komusubi for January. If he somehow manages 9, he remains Sekiwake – but his Ozeki count to 33 starts over again at zero.

Speaking of which, we can start to see who will advance, and who will be demoted for January. In short, it’s a Makuuchi blood bath:

  • Day 10 Makuuchi Kachi-koshi : Kakuryu, Harumafuji, Ishiura, Hakuho, Kisenosato, Arawashi
  • Day 10 Makuuchi Make-Koshi : Okinoumi, Yoshikaze, Sadanoumi, Hidenoumi, Aoiyama, Kyokushuho, Kaisei

For Juryo – There is a lot more bunched up int he middle, showing that for Kyushu, Juryo is much more balanced than the upper division Makuuchi

  • Day 10 Juryo Kachi-koshi : Osunaarashi, Seiro
  • Day 10 Juryo Make-koshi : Tokushoryu, Asasekiryu, Sadanofuji

There is still time to derail the Osunaarashi Juryo Yusho train, but that mighty Egyptian locomotive shows no sign of slowing down.

Notable Matches

Daishomaru vs Ichinojo – First time match up between these two, both of them in the middle of the pack pushing to exit Kyushu with a winning record. Both rikishi are at risk of demotion back to Juryo if they finish with losing records.

Chiyoshoma vs Sokokurai – Chiyoshoma bringing oshi-zumō vs Sokokurai’s yotsu-zumō. Their only prior meeting went to Chiyoshoma, but this is going to be an even match. I expect Sokokurai will prevail on this one.

Myogiryu vs Ishiura – Ishiura, please no mini-henka today. You are facing someone 6 steps up the banzuke, and everyone wants to see if you can handle the harder matches. The degree of your coming promotion is defined by the next 3 matches. This is the first match between these two.

Shohozan vs Takarafuji – These two are fairly even in Kyushu, but historically Takarafuji has yet to win against Shohozan in any of their prior 6 matches.

Ikioi vs Shodai – Winner is kachi-koshi from this bout. Slight edge to Shodai on this, they have only faced each other 3 times. They will be slapping each other around for a few seconds, grapple and figure out the winner.

Day 11 Battle of the Sanyaku Fleet

Goeido vs Terunofuji – First, a resurgent Terunofuji facing a very inconsistent Goeido. Goeido was back to his winning ways, and in good form on day 10. Terunofuji, though still injured, seems to be in very competitive form. Terunofuji, once he gets set, is very tough to move. He has legs like tree trunks and a back that could lift an ox. To win, Goeido needs to take him off balance in the first few seconds before he can get his stance planted, and his attack underway.

Harumafuji vs Kotoshogiku – Kotoshogiku make-koshi today. I am hoping that Harumafuji uses him to practice the kind of sumo he deployed on day 10. Statistically a slight edge to Kotoshogiku, with history showing a 33-27 lifetime between the two. But let’s get serious, Kotoshogiku is going make-kochi, and will once again be kadoban.

Hakuho vs Takayasu – Chances are very small that Takayasu can rally and defeat Hakuho, in spite of the fact that Kisenosato showed his stable mate Takayasu the recipe. Takayasu is still very capable, but he is likely going back to Komusubi with a 7-8 record.

Kisenosato vs Kakuryu – Likely the highlight match of the day. Career statistics, it’s advantage Kisenosato, 30-17. Kakuryu would love to go Zensho Yusho for the last match of 2016, and everyone is hoping that he can suffer at least one loss to open up the yusho race. Kakuryu will have watched the Hakuho match multiple times, and will be studying this new fearsome, mobile Kisenosato.

Kyushu Day 10 Results

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2016, Sekiwake (関脇), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安) , , ,

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Act 2 Comes To a Close.

The middle ⅓ of the Kyushu basho is now in the books. Yokozuna Kakuryu remains undefeated. Day 10 saw the return of the good Goeido, Takayasu a step closer to make-kochi, and an epic battle between Hakuho and Kisenosato.

Sadly the use of Harumafuji style mini-henka and nodawa Darth-Vader grip seems to be spreading. I would hope that the Nippon Sumo Kyokai will issue some guidelines on these moves, as they have gotten completely boring.

The closing 5 days of Kyushu – a few questions remain:

  • Can Kakuryu survive Harumafuji and Hakuho?
  • Will Ozeki hopeful Takayasu actually go make-koshi instead, as Kitamayama jokingly predicted?
  • Can Goeido settle down, focus on his sumo and return to his dominant approach that won the yusho in Aki?
  • What the hell is Ishiura eating, and where do we get some?

In Juryo, Osunaarashi is the man to beat, with only one loss. The only rikishi close is Seiro, at 8-2. Ura and Satoyama lost day 10, and are now 7-3.

Leaderboard

  • Undefeated: Kakuryu
  • Chasers: Harumafuji, Ishiura
  • Hunt Group: Hakuho, Kisenosato, Arawashi

5 matches remain

Highlights

Ishiura defeats Sokokurai – Again we see the Harumafuji mini-henke move. Today Ishiura looked like he was moving his fridge, but Sokokurai was out all the same.

Toyohibiki defeats Ichinojo – Nice effort from Toyohibiki, who made quick work of the sumo robot from the future.

Ikioi defeats Chiyootori – Fantastic duel, multiple times Ikioi seemed to be ready to finish Chiyootori, but Chiyootori would not surrender. Much respect to Chiyootori, as he really fought this one to the end.

Arawashi defeats Takanoiwa – Dirty henka

Tochinoshin defeats Chiyoshoma – That strong left of Tochinoshin’s came in fast, and he took control of Chiyoshoma.

Endo defeats Nishikigi – Good effort by Nishikigi, but Endo took his time, and walked him out.

Takarafuji defeats Shodai – I really liked this match. Shodai opened strong, and Takarafuji gave ground with a lot of resistance. At no time did Takarafuji look like he was off plan, and he was able to keep mobile, and wait for Shodai to make a mistake. Then it was over to the side of the ring, with a final shove to win. Shodai has a solid future, but experienced sumotori like Takarafuji have much to teach him.

Tamawashi defeats Kaisei – What the hell was that? The Harumafuji nodawa is ugly, but Tamawashi’s blatant choke hold should be reprimanded.

Goeido defeats Kotoshogiku – Yeah, that’s the good version of Goeido! He was in control, on plan and dominated the struggling Kotoshogiku. I predict that Kotoshogiku will once again be kadoban.

Kisenosato defeats Hakuho – My pick for match of the day. Kisenosato must have been thinking as we do here at Tachiai – that Hakuho is still very strong, very cunning, but his mobility is not yet back to form. Kisenosato, who is not the most mobile rikishi, won a roving battle with the Boss, and did it in spectacular style. Multiple times Hakuho tried to wrap him up, but Kisenosato kept moving, slapping and keeping Hakuho off balance. The match finished with Kisenosato pressing Hakhuho to the edge and lifting him out of the ring. Very unlike Kisenosato, and I was really damn impressed.

Kakuryu defeats Terunofuji – The Yokozuna established a double inside grip early on Terunofuji, but Terunofuji’s size and strength prevented Kakuryu from being able to do much with it. Switching gears, Kakuryu spun Terunofuji and launched him eastward from the dohyo. Kakuryu has proven quite effective at improvising as the bout is underway

Harumafuji defeats Takayasu – Thank you Harumafuji for a real Yokozuna level display of sumo. Sadly it’s against a Sekiwake who is in real danger of going make-kochi. Takayasu put up a great fight against Harumafuji.

Kyushu Day 10 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kyushu Basho 2016, San'yaku (三役), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Yokozuna (横綱) , , , , , , , ,

kisenosato-day9-kyushu

We Close Out The Second Act.

Day 10 brings us to the end of the middle third of the last basho of the year. While there is a huge amount of attention being payed to who will win the Emperor’s Cup, one fascinating metric is total wins for calendar year 2016. In the past several years, the winner has been Hakuho. Due to his surgery and recovery, the statistic for total wins this year is (as of day 10) a tie between Harumafuji and Kisenosato.

Notable Matches

Sokokurai vs Ishiura – First time meeting between these two, so who knows what to expect. Ishiura has been unstoppable thus far, I can’t wait to see what Sokokurai will bring. He is normally a yori-kiri kind of guy, so lets see if they grapple or push.

Ichinojo vs Toyohibiki – Prior meet ups between these two have been all Ichinojo’s game, and he tends to want to throw Toyohibiki.

Ikioi vs Chiyootori – Ikioi has been having a good basho so far. On day 8 he had a tooth knocked out (I think the Japanese press said it was a crown) via a collision during tachiai with Chiyokuni. Day 9 he looked vague and lost. His record against Chiyootori is a losing one, so Ikioi must apply himself.

Arawashi vs Takanoiwa – Arawashi is one win away from kachi-koshi, but he may have his hand full with Takanoiwa, who has a track record of overpowering the lighter Arawashi.

Chiyoshoma vs Tochinoshin – Chiyoshoma is also one win from kachi-koshi, but Tochinoshin seems newly energized by the Shimpan debacle of day 8. This will be the first time he has faced Chiyoshoma, who has been favoring pull downs early in the match. Tochinoshin tends to have a very careful tachiai approach, so I look for him to get a solid left hand grip early if he wants to win.

Endo vs Nishikigi – Nishikigi is having a terrible basho, with a losing 3-6 record going into day 10. His chances of improvement are slim, as Endo tends to fold him up and put him away dirty.

Takarafuji vs Shodai – Match up of thrusting attacks, would be my guess. Shodai has been favoring belt sumo more this tournament, and he is also in the ranks of one win from kachi-koshi. He has a slight edge on this match in terms of trend and form for Kyushu, but Takarafuji has to be feeling the pressure now.

Today’s Sanyaku Buffet

Goeido vs Kotoshogiku – Goeido, will he settle down and return to the form of the good Goeido, or stay in the form of the bad Goeido? We at Tachiai always want to see the good Goeido, that guy is amazing. In facing Kotoshogiku, if ‘Ku gets set and starts to hug-n-chug, it usually ends up with Kotoshogiku winning. Goeido will look to stay mobile and attack at the first weakness. Record slightly favors Goeido. Kotoshogiku is starting to worry me that he is going kadoban again.

Hakuho vs Kisenosato – These two have a long history of outstanding sumo, and many of their matches have been worthy of highlight reels. History favors Hakuho by a 3x margin, so it’s up to Kisenosato to surprise and confound the Yokozuna. Kisenosato is not known for invention, so it’s likely we see Hakuho package and ship the Great Pumpkin into the seats quickly.

Terunofuji vs Kakuryu – Oh please, Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan, let it be Terunofuji who breaks Kakuryu’s winning streak. That would be so wonderful, so amazing and the sumo world would shout for joy. Not only would it give the injured Terunofuji his kachi-koshi, but it would blow the yusho race wide open. History shows that Terunofuji actually wins against Kakuryu most of the time, but Terunofuji is still hurt.

Harumafuji vs Takayasu – I worry that Takayasu is going make-koshi in Kyushu, which would be a great tragedy. Day 10 he faces Harumafuji, who he seldom wins against. I am just hoping that Harumafuji puts away some of his tired moves and shows us his Yokozuna talents.

Kyushu Day 9 News and Highlights

Bruce H Fukuoka Basho 2016, Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2016, Takayasu (高安), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , , , ,

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Worth the Wait.

In my humble opinion, thus far the Kyushu tournament has been fairly lackluster. I am not sure if it’s because Hakuho is good but recovering, Harumafuji had gotten boring and repetitive, or the my deeply held belief that the shimpan should have let Goeido and Okinoumi fight it out.

But day nine – it’s as if everyone decided the fans needed some real sumo, and stopped half-assing. Maybe the Sumo Kyokai discussed with the A-List crew that the fans were unhappy, and the recent resurgence in sumo’s popularity was on the line. It does not matter, day 9 was worth the wait.

At the moment Kakuryu remains undefeated, in part because he has perfected running away (which is a valid strategy) until he can figure out an attack. Hakuho finally put it in gear, and Harumfuji decided to try some sumo moves today.

On top of that, Ishiura continues to win decisively, he is dominating the lower Makuuchi ranks. I also offer a my eternal thanks to the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan for bringing Terunofuji back to fighting form. It is such fun to watch him battle.

The story in Juryo was frankly more compelling that Makuuchi has been thus far, we have Osunaarashi tearing up opponents with a single minded drive to return to Makuuchi for January. We have Ura, Seiro and Satoyama continuing to win daily, and with some really good sumo.

Leaderboard

  • Undefeated: Kakuryu
  • Chasers: Harumafuji, Hakuho, Ishiura
  • Hunt Group: Kisenosato, Terunofuji, Shodai, Chiyoshoma, Arawashi

6 matches remain

Highlights

(Lots Today)

Ichinojo defeats Hidenoumi – The giant sumo robot from the future delivered today. Granted it was against a rikishi with a single win, but both put a lot of effort into their sumo today. Ichinojo now has 4 straight wins after a really weak start to the basho. Ichinojo should be a real contender in 2017, if he can stay healthy.

Ishiura defeats Hokutofuji – Don’t blink or you will miss this one. Ishiura has acres of strength, and his bout against Hokutofuji looked more like Ishiura was late for a train, and Hokutofuji simply got in the way.

Arawashi defeats Chiyotairyu – What I really like about this match, watch Arawashi hook his left hand into Chiyotairyu’s muwashi early. Chiyotairyu continues to try and push Arawashi away, but Arawashi stays close and presses Chiyotairyu out. The ability to think, act and maneuver while under attack – that’s indicators of great sumo

Chiyoshoma defeats Ikioi – Fresh dental work could not save Ikioi from a rapid hatakikomi (pull down). Sadly Ikioi was telegraphing a massive tachiai, and made it easy for Chiyoshoma. I urge fans to study Hakuho or Harumafuji. Those guys always line up in a calm, cool manner and you have no clue what they are about to do.

Tochinoshin defeats Shohozan – Oh yeah, this is more like it! What a battle. Suffice to say both rikishi are massively strong, and neither one of them were willing to give an inch. Tochinoshin. coming from being robbed day 8, clearly had some motivation. These two have faced each other 13 times, and it’s usually a good battle. Thank you both for a fantastic match.

Takarafuji defeats Endo – Endo has been doing quite well this basho, but today Takarafuji brought everything he had to the dohyo, and put up a huge fight. This match was all thrusting to start, with Endo borrowing Harumafuji’s nodawa, with much less effect. While he was trying to get Takarafuji high, Takarafuji was busy controlling the match. Takarafuji then wrapped up Endo, lowered his stance and started moving forward. Endo had expended a lot of stamina on his nodawa attack, and found himself suddenly on defense. Takarafuji finished him in short order. Very well done

Yoshikaze defeats Chiyonokuni – Two rikishi who are almost all offense. It did not take long. Chiyonokuni was off balance shortly after a massive tachiai and Yoshikaze kept pushing forward. Bonus points for the high force “ejector” right at the tawara to give the fans in the front fro a visit from Chiyonokuni.

Terunofuji defeats Kaisei – Really fans, Kaisei is not a bad rikishi. He is having a terrible basho. Kaisei Terunofuji, on the other hand, has somehow overcome significant injuries to perform more like his old self. He handled the much larger Brazilian really well, with a decisive throw to end the match.

Kisenosato defeats Goeido – In the battle of broken dreams, Goeido had the upper hand at the opening, but Kisenosato has an almost superhuman awareness of the geometry of the situation, and the physical forces in play, moment to moment. At the last moment he shifted his weight, while he was starting to fall, and brought Goeido down first.

Kakuryu defeats Takayasu – This was all Takayasu to start, but Kakuryu stayed in there, and waited for a mistake. Sadly Takayasu made one, and like every other match this basho, you can’t give Kakuryu an opening. He never misses them. Takayasu excels at strength sumo, chest to chest, the key to his losses is making sure he can’t lock his opening up and wear them down.

Harumafuji defeats Okinoumi – Even Harumafuji decided to try some sumo moves today. It was really quite excellent as well. I would beg him to put down the non-henka, the nodawa and deliver more bouts like this one, please.

Hakuho defeats Kotoshogiku – The Boss brought fans one hell of a final match today. Clearly he is not yet back to his pre surgery best, but today was a great show of why he is the top man in sumo. Kotoshogiku put forth a massive effort, using all of his favorite moves. Hakuho was able to keep him bottled up for an eternity in sumo terms. Clearly he was keeping pressure down on the knee that had surgery, but even one of the Boss’s legs can be enough, when applied with great skill. Closing move? YEAH – he picked up Kotoshogiku and threw him out of the ring.