“The Great Middling”

This basho should be called “The Great Middling”, and it has me crabby. Almost all of the rikishi corps is at 4-3 or 3-4. Only 9 rikishi out of 40 are in any position to try for a reasonable winning record, and everyone else is straddling the make-koshi / kachi-koshi line. Even kanban rikishi like Wakatakakage and Tobizaru are right there at 4-3. Current and former Ozeki? 4-3. Is it the water in Fukuoka? The food? Are we just phoning it in, lads?

To be certain, there is great sumo every day to enjoy, but few of the competitors is looking like they want to win it all. This is not the case for Takayasu and Hoshoryu, who continue to turn in excellent matches each and every day. Both of them are tack sharp and fighting well. Before you ask, yes, Takayasu won their head to head on day 4.

Highlight Matches

Azumaryu defeats Atamifuji – Poor tachiai from Atamifuji, you can see that he has his head down, is almost wincing in anticipation of the first hit. Atamifuji resisted well, but just seemed a bit soft, and Azumaryu was able to dance him around the ring and work Atamifuji out. Both end the day 3-4.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi jumps in low at the tachiai, but has no attack power, and is an easy mark for Ichiyamamoto to lift and drop by uwatehineri. Terutsuyoshi still winless at 0-7 while Ichiyamamoto improves to 5-2.

Oho defeats Hidenoumi – Today’s Juryo visitor, Hidenoumi, really had nothing to bring to the dohyo today. A bit of a hit at the tachiai, but Oho quickly wrapped him up, and a few moves later, had Hidenoumi on the clay. Oho improves to 6-1, Hidenoumi returns to Juryo 1-6.

Hiradoumi defeats Okinoumi – Hiradoumi establishes a double inside grip at the tachiai, then quickly converts that to a yorikiri win. Okinoumi continues to fade while Hiradoumi improves to 4-3.

Kagayaki defeats Onosho – I love the mechanics of this tachiai. Note that Kagayaki did not move his feet, choosing to let Onosho come to him. By not stepping forward, he puts Onosho too far in front of his toes, and as Onosho makes contact, his feet are aligned, and he has no stability. It’s simple for Kagayaki to switch forward pressure from below to above, dropping Onosho to the clay. Excellent fundamental sumo today, Both are now 4-3.

Chiyoshoma defeats Kotoeko – Kotoeko once again brings a lot of fighting spirit to the dohyo, and attacks Chiyoshoma from the first step. After Kotoeko gets a left hand grip, Chiyoshoma stalemates him in the center of the dohyo. Chiyoshoma takes his time, sets up the uwatenage, and drops Kotoeko to pick up his third win, he is now 3-4.

Aoiyama defeats Chiyotairyu – This battle was between two super-heavies who are fighting with limited mobility. But it seems Chiyotairyu’s more limited that Aoiyama. A single big combo at the tachiai was all it took to stand Chiyotairyu up and thrust him back, sending him out three steps later. Aoiyama improves to 3-4.

Kotoshoho defeats Takanosho – Takanosho continues to struggle with balance, I have to wonder just how bad his injury in July was, and if it really reduced his ability to compete in sumo. Kotoshoho plays with him for a bit, then slaps him to the clay, advancing to 4-3.

Abi defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji continues to have no defense, and for a rikishi whose whole sumo style revolves around defense, it’s terrible to watch. Abi looks to take it a bit easy on the poor guy, and just gives him enough to the face and shoulders (note, he still has no neck) to send him out. Abi remains in the leader group at 6-1.

Myogiryu defeats Nishikigi – Excellent speed from Myogiryu, he took a quick step back just as Nishikigi was reaching in to get a grip, and dropped him to one knee for the win. Nishikigi was a bit surprised by the defensive move, but it was all over except for the kensho. Myogiryu up to 5-2.

Nishikifuji defeats Tochinoshin – Nishikifuji stopped Tochinoshin’s first two attempts to set up a left hand outside, and the continued focus by Tochinoshin on getting his hands set, robbed him of efforts to defend against Nishikifuji setting up a double inside grip. Tochinoshin eventually got his left hand outside hold, but Nishikifuji was on to lifting and shifting Tochinoshin over the bales. Brilliant strategy from Nishikifuji, and he’s now 5-2.

Hokutofuji defeats Ryuden – Excellent example of Hokutofuji’s “Handshake Tachiai” today, his right hand is up as he charges forward, landing first ton Ryuden’s shoulder, and swiftly moving to his neck for a nodowa. It moves Ryuden back for a moment, but he breaks Hokutofuji’s grip and recovers to counter attack. For yet another day, while their upper bodies are fighting for control, Hokutofuji seems to independently working to win the match. In spite of Ryuden having somewhat more favorable body position, Hokutofuji never lets him set is feet, keeps him moving, and nibbles away at the distance to the tawara. Excellent mobility from both, with Hokutofuji’s eventual yorikiri bringing both to 4-3 at the end of the match.

Endo defeats Sadanoumi – Endo finally gets his second win, thought yet again he can’t hold forward pressure for more than just a moment. He was able to channel Sadanoumi’s forward rush to power the throw, and pivoted at the bales with a shitatenage. Endo gets a much needed white star to improve to 2-5.

Meisei defeats Ichinojo – Meisei continues his dominance over the much larger Ichinojo, picking up his 9th career win. In hindsight it seems pretty clear, get Ichinojo distracted (face slapping), and his defense falls apart almost at once. Keep him distracted with ineffective slapping attacks while you slowly walk him out. Meisei up to 3-4. Ichinojo hopefully understands he was played for a fool.

Kotonowaka defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi continues to struggle with just a single win for the tournament following his yusho. Kotonowaka’s tachiai netted him a double inside grip, which shut down most of Tamawashi’s offensive options. Kotonowaka did not give Tamawashi a moment to regroup, and bundled him over the tawara for an oshidashi win. Kotonowaka now 4-3.

Takayasu defeats Daieisho – Takayasu puts yet another dent in someone’s Kyusho tournament score. Knowing that Daieisho is going to try to apply massive thrusts to the head and neck, Takayasu uses his longer reach to keep Daieisho back far enough that it does not matter. With his main attack blunted, Daieisho gets disrupted then slapped to the clay in short order as Takayasu stays in the leader group at 6-1.

Kiribayama defeats Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi drops another bout, as his hopes of returning to Ozeki fade quite a bit by picking up his third loss before the middle day of the basho. You can see the moment the blows this match. With Kiribayama in tight, he decided he wants to pull, with no room to bring Kiribayama forward or to the side. All this does is release forward pressure, and bring Kiribayama into somewhat better attack position. It’s three steps to the bales, and Mitakeumi is out while Kiribayama improves to 5-2.

Hoshoryu defeats Wakamotoharu – I am enjoying Hoshoryu’s sumo right now. He thwarts Wakamotoharu’s attempt to establish a grip straight away, and only opens up the yori once he himself has a double inside grip. Wakamotoharu works to counter, and the response from Hoshoryu is a lift and trip combo that Wakamotoharu won’t soon forget. Brilliant stuff, Hoshoryu is 6-1.

Tobizaru defeats Wakatakakage – Another Sekiwake with their eyes on double digits takes a hit, as monkey sumo takes another win. Tobizaru throws together rapid, almost frantic combos, and Wakatakakage can’t really get any sumo going under the rain of attacks. Completely disrupted, Wakatakakage gets put in motion, and a step later, shoved out. Both end the day 4-3.

Shodai defeats Ura – Nice to see some level of offense from Ura today, he’s been fairly passive thus far. But it’s clear he’s hurt and not really his normal level of threat. Shodai handles the attacks well, give him a big shove and sends Ura into the front row. Shodai improves to 4-3 to keep hopes of clearing kadoban alive.

Takakeisho defeats Midorifuji – In a classic “what the hell was that?” moment, Midorifuji appears to attempt some kind of flying henka, but instead arrives at the point of contact airborne. Surprisingly able to convert from sumo to rugby on the fly, Takakeisho catches Midorifuji in flight, and runs him across the line for a goal.. or a win.. or a white star… or a try. Hey, a point was added somewhere, and Takakeisho is now 5-2.

The middle weekend of the Kyushu basho has arrived. It’s a magical time on the sumo calendar when some of the big matches take place, and we usually get our first look at the yusho race for all the divisions. I note with some interest that former Ozeki Asanoyama had a Juryo visitor match on day 6 against dear old Tokushoryu. He won, to go 4-0 and reach his Makushita kachi-koshi. I expect him to vie for the Makushita yusho in the coming week, and with a bit of luck a return to the paid ranks for January.

In the top division, we have 4 rikishi with leading 5-1 records, though for the most part I am not sure any of them have what it takes to win the cup. None of them have prior top division yusho races, and may choke into week 2. That would open the door to the cadre at 4-2, which includes 3 time yusho winner Mitakeumi and one time winner Wakatakakage, and Ozeki Takakeisho. With the lack of a dominant rikishi, this could be a wild race for the cup a week from now.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Atamifuji vs Azumaryu – Atamifuji and his nose bleeds, maybe it’s like Michael Jordan and the tongue hanging out. You knew that once the tongue was flapping in the breeze, the amazing basketball was about to be served. So, should we sumo fans start looking for hints of blood from his face at the tachiai? He has an even 1-1 with Azumaryu, so expect a big battle today.

Ichiyamamoto vs Terutsuyoshi – I hate to raise this, but might Terutsuyoshi go for a perfect (?) 0-7 for Nakabe? A loss today to Ichiyamamoto would bring that to reality, and it would be grim tidings indeed. They are fairly even when both are healthy (3-2, favoring Ichiyamamoto), but Terutsuyoshi is in dire need of a rebuild.

Hidenoumi vs Oho – After winning his day 1 match, Juryo visitor Hidenoumi has lost 5 consecutive bouts. He faces Oho today, who seems to have remembered why he came to Kyushu to begin with. It’s not for the sea food, it’s to hit people really hard and knock them out of the ring. I think that Oho will be 6-1 at the end of the day.

Okinoumi vs Hiradoumi – First ever match for these two, and I would love to see Okinoumi fight with the same vigor he was able to muster for his day 6 win against Azumaryu.

Onosho vs Kagayaki – I was disappointed that Onosho let Tochinoshin put him on the clay on day 6, but when you fight like Onosho does, you are always a hair’s breadth away from toppling over into a loss no matter where you are or what you are doing. I am sure Kagayaki knows this, and is ready to disrupt Onosho as much as he can get away with. They are evenly matched, with Kagayaki having a narrow 7-6 career lead.

Kotoeko vs Chiyoshoma – Kotoeko have earned new appreciation from fans after his day 6 win over Aoiyama, who was trying his hardest to stress tests any dental work Kotoeko may have had. Today he has Chiyoshoma, who could use a win right now to not be too close to the make-koshi score. Kotoeko leads the series 11-5.

Aoiyama vs Chiyotairyu – These two long serving top division rikishi share a 14-11 score across their 25 career matches. Both of them are suffering reductions to their already tenuous mobility, and I think this match will devolve into Aoiyama raining blows on Chiyotairyu from above, while Chiyotairyu desperately tries to pull Aoiyama down.

Takanosho vs Kotoshoho – Kotoshoho comes into day 7 with a three match losing streak, and he seems to be fighting with about 15% reduced power output. Takanosho continues to struggle to dominate his matches, in spite of being ranked far below his prior normal rank in the san’yaku. He does have a 2-1 career advantage over Kotoshoho.

Takarafuji vs Abi – If everyone were healthy, Takarafuji would have a narrow advantage over Abi, as demonstrated by his 6-5 career lead. But Takarafuji is not in fighting form, and will likely be bounced around like a cork on an angry sea, and tossed out of the ring in short order. I look for Abi to figure in the week 2 yusho race.

Nishikigi vs Myogiryu – I am sort of impressed that Nishikigi is hanging in there with a 3-3 ranked this high up the banzuke. He actually had a narrow 7-6 career advantage over Myogiryu on the clay, but Myogiryu has taken 2 of their 3 prior matches this year. Nishikigi tends to be a patient and measured, where Myogiryu likes his sumo on fast forward.

Tochinoshin vs Nishikifuji – These two have only fought twice before, once each in the two prior basho, and their score is 1-1. Tochinoshin’s gamey knee looks a bit less capable this tournament, it may be Nishikifuji’s turn to win one. He is small enough that Tochinoshin is capable of his sky-crane, if he knees can comply.

Hokutofuji vs Ryuden – I dearly want to see Hokutofuji do well this basho. I like his sumo technique when he is “on”, which sadly is a day to day thing. If he were consistent, he would be Ozeki Hokutofuji. Maybe in some parallel universe where Hakuho never went into sumo but became a bumblebee rancher instead. But back in this universe, I think he stands a fair chance of giving Ryuden the business today, based on his 8-5 career record against him.

Endo vs Sadanoumi – I am not sure what is broken in Endo, but something is not right when you get to the middle weekend and his score is a lowly 1-5. If he goes on to his 8th loss, it will be his fifth make-koshi this year. So I am expecting Sadanoumi to pick up his 4th win today.

Meisei vs Ichinojo – Both men have matching 2-4 records for the start of day 6, and in spite of Meisei’s 8-4 career record against Ichinojo, I think “The Boulder” has the edge today. Simply because he has been fighting well, and has a 50kg weight advantage.

Tamawashi vs Kotonowaka – After a cold start, Kotonowaka has won his last three in a row. He is fighting Tamawashi today, who seems unable to repeat the same intensity of sumo that gave him the yusho in September. But we can count on Tamawashi to deliver big hits and a lot of forward power today.

Takayasu vs Daieisho – Takayasu, as the top man in the rank and file, is quickly running out of rikishi in the named ranks to beat up and take their lunch money. Today it’s Daieisho who needs to tend to his defenses, as his normal mega-thrust attack may be worthless against Takayasu, if Takayasu continues to keep his feet firmly planted, and his hips square to his opponents. Takayasu holds a 10-5 career advantage.

Kiribayama vs Mitakeumi – Things are starting to get serious for Mitakeumi. He can only lose 3 more matches if he wants to return to Ozeki for 2023, and he will need to over come a rather genki Kiribayama today to keep that campaign on track. Both have 4-2 records, and have an even 6-6 career record. But to my eye, Kiribayama is fighting a bit better than Mitakeumi this November.

Wakamotoharu vs Hoshoryu – One of the big matches for this middle weekend served up fresh here. Wakamotoharu has only ever beaten Hoshoryu once in five attempts. Layered above that is the clash of styles, with Wakamotoharu being happy to grapple his opponent and wait him out, up against Hoshoryu’s sumo pattern of direct and violent action. A Wakamotoharu win would knock Hoshoryu out of the leader group. Sparks shall fly!

Wakatakakage vs Tobizaru – Two Onami brothers fighting in consecutive matchs, sign me up! Tobizaru is part of a group of rikishi that started 3-0, then turned around and lost three in a row. Now sitting at a lack-luster 3-3 score, he’s got Ozeki hopeful Wakatakakage for day 7. Wakatakakage is looking for double digits to stoke his Ozeki run, so he must win 6 of his remaining 9 matches, starting with today. Can monkey sumo score an upset? Bonus points if we get to see Tobizaru jog out into the crowd for some long overdue fan service.

Ura vs Shodai – The only good that can come out of this match would be Shodai getting a win and inching closer to clearing kadoban. Sure, Ura has a 4-2 career advantage, but he’s hurt or homesick or his sumo co-processor is stuck in a no-op loop. Whatever is happening, Ura is not presenting any real sumo this month.

Takakeisho vs Midorifuji – I expect big sumo out of Takakeisho for the next 5 matches. He knows he has a chance at the cup again this time, if he can keep the wins rolling in. He’s only had one prior match against Midorifuji, which he won. So a repeat of his day 6 demolition project against Ura would seem to be in order.