Kenho

Haru Day 10 – Ones To Watch

Bruce H Haru Basho 2019 (Osaka), Ones To Watch, Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Wakaichiro (若一郎) , , , , , , , , , , , ,
This is Roga – He wants another yusho
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We reach the end of act 2, and the yusho races are in full swing. Sadly for several of our “ones to watch” they are out of the yusho race, and some are already make-koshi. Ichiyamamoto lost his bout on day 9, and dropped out of the yusho race, but will be moving higher for May, thanks to his kachi-koshi. Meanwhile in Sandanme, Torakio is still looking for his first win of the basho. The Makushita yusho is down to 4 rikishi, and should be decided by the 7th match sometime later this week. Included in the group still in contention is none other than Naya, who returns to the dohyo and day 10.

Terunofuji vs Daiyusho – Day 9

In the Jonidan race, Terunofuji overpowered Daiyusho to improve to 5-0, and remain in the hunt. The Jonidan race is 6 rikishi wide, and that means it’s likely going to require a tie-breaking match or two. Top of the yusho race is 20 year old rising star from Mongolia, Roga. Roga has yet to lose a match in professional sumo, and took the Hatsu Jonikuchi yusho.

Day 10 Matches

Hoshoryu vs Kairyu – Its clear that young Hoshoryu is getting frustrated with his poor performance at Osaka. Some fans have pointed out a lapse in post-match manners, which is easy to improve. Given that he has had little resistance up to this point, the fact that he can’t blow through the Makushita joi may be a new enlightenment for him. But I am certain that given his fighting spirit, it’s going to drive him to train for higher levels of performance. This is a 1-3 bracket match, and the loser will get a make-koshi. In fact Hoshoryu has to “win out” to get a kachi-koshi.

Akua vs Nogami – A 2-2 bracket match, Nogami beat Akua in their only prior match. Kachi-koshi is still quite possible for Akua, and would allow him to take a step closer towards the Juryo-Makushita line, and possibly contest to return to the lime green mawashi for Nagoya.

Musashikuni vs Oki – These two have had 4 career matches against each other, and Oki has won 3 of them. Right now Mushashikuni is at 2-2, so like Akua he still has a clear, wide path to a kachi-koshi. But he is going to have to overcome Oki to get there.

Shoji vs Tagonofuji – Shoji won their only prior match. Once again the schedulers have stacked up all of the Mushashigawa clan on the same day, and most of them are 2-2! Tagonofuji is about 20kg lighter than Shoji, so I am expecting he will retain an upper hand.

Wakaichiro vs Kaorufuji – Up from Jonidan, Kaorufuji is a 180kg bunker-buster of a rikishi. As we have seen in the past, Wakaichiro is still working to figure out how to overcome the big ones, and today is another chance for him to get a win on the board. Hint to our Texas rikishi – aim for center-mass and accelerate your thrusts through his body. Oddly, visualizing the endpoint of that shove on the other side of his body seems to increase the transfer of energy….

Kenho vs Terumichi – A 1-3 bracket match, the loser will go home with a make-koshi. We hope Kenho can rally and bring his “big man sumo” out today. He has looked hurt and immobile for the past 3 matches.

Haru Day 5 – Ones To Watch

Bruce H Ones To Watch, Wakaichiro (若一郎) , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Amakaze – Terunofuji match ended without injury, and Terunofuji was able to execute a somewhat clumsy kotenage for the win. Elsewhere, Hattorizakura did in fact lose again, even though Houn looks even more malnourished and underdeveloped than Hattorizakura, if that were possible.

Naya also picked up a win, and looked really strong doing it. He improves to a solid 2-0 start. The crowd was really into this match, and you can hear by all of the hooting and hollering in the video below:

Day 5 Matches

Ichiyamamoto vs Kaito – Both rikishi have made it to the 2-0 bracket, and this is their first ever match. Kaito is another young, hard-charging rikishi who actually had to talk almost a year off to recover from injury in 2015, and is fighting near his top ever rank. They are evenly matched in size and weight – it should be a solid bout.

Wakatakamoto vs Asakoki – Also a 2-0 bracket match, the lowest ranked Onami brother enters this rematch with Makushita mainstay Asakoki looking to advance to the increasingly narrow undefeated bracket. Asakoki holds a slight size advantage, but Wakatakamoto won their single prior match.

Musashikuni vs Tsurubayashi – An additional 2-0 bracket match in Makushita, the scion of the Musashigawa stable holds a distinct height and weight advantage over Tsurubayashi, who has been fighting in Makushita since 2012. Musashikuni does indeed seem to have overcome his injuries and physical problems, and is back to strong power-sumo.

Torakio vs Kotokino – Torakio has yet to win his first match of the basho, and he tries his luck against Sandanme 11 Kotokino. Kotokino is about 180 kg, and is a seriously bulky guy, so I expect Torakio to have his work cut out for him.

Shoji vs Koshinishiki – Another Musashigawa rikishi in action on day 5, and Shoji is looking to improve his 1-1 record against long-ranked Sandanme rikishi Koshinishiki.

Wakaichiro vs Kiryu – Our Texas sumotori, Wakaichiro, lost his day 3 match after he found himself too far forward against a skilled opponent. In their only prior match, Wakaichiro was able to defeat the much larger Kiryu via hatakikomi.

Kenho vs Fukuazuma – Kenho lost his day 4 match, and enters day 5 with a 1-1 score. At 107 kg, Fukuazuma is less than half of Kendo’s size. Kenho has terrible mobility on most days, so I expect that Fukuazuma is going to use this to his advantage.

Haru Day 4 – Ones To Watch

Bruce H Haru Basho 2019 (Osaka), Ones To Watch, Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Wakaichiro (若一郎) , , , , , , ,
Amakaze – Please Don’t Hurt Yourself or Terunofuji on Day 4!

A light schedule today on our lower division ones to watch. Most of our crew saw action on day 3, and it was a non-stop lower division battle. For those following at home below are the results. I was especially bothered to see that Wakaichiro lost his rematch against Wakakinsho. But the young Texan had his balance a bit forward, and Wakakinsho knew what to do. He is still showing better physical health, and greatly improved form. Hoshoryu lost his match, and fans should be ready to come to grips with the fact that the top end of Makushita is, in some ways, tougher than Juryo. Sure they only fight 7 matches, but the competition is literally survival of the fittest. One only has to see what happened to Gokushindo as an example.

Win

  • Ichiyamamoto
  • Wakatakamoto
  • Musashikuni
  • Shoji

Loss

  • Hoshoryu
  • Akua
  • Midorifuji
  • Torakio
  • Wakaichiro

Highlight Matches – Day 4

Naya vs Chiyoarashi – Naya is on a slower, but mostly upward trajectory than his rival Hoshoryu. A year from now, it’s possible that the slower rise may result in Naya having a more confident, longer lasting posting to the salaried ranks. His second match is a preview of the struggle he will be in the thick of should he resume his climb, as he faces former Juryo man Chiyoarashi. Chiyoarashi has twice had to drop out of competition for several months due to injury, the most recent in 2015, and he is fighting to regain a slot in the top of Makushita, and a chance to try for a return to Juryo.

Kenho vs Tokio – In his day 2 match against Toshonishiki, Kenho seemed to get a surge of power and blasted his opponent off the dohyo in what I swear was an upward arcing path. Kenho has a lot of physical problems with his joints due to his ponderous body, and so I think most rikishi think of him as this soft, squishy practice doll. But when Kenho is healthy, there is little to do when that much rikishi comes on a rampage. Young Tokio is a slight fellow, and last time they matched (Aki 2018) Kenho played the part of a eastbound freight train to Tokio’s West Texas Armadillo.

Terunofuji vs Amakaze – I know Herouth and myself are screaming “no no no!” At this match. Two beloved rikishi who have sat our hurt for months, who are not actually well yet, who are trying to save their careers. So, hey – let’s have them fight! Sometimes you have to wonder where these ideas come from. Anyhow, I want them both to win, as I want them both back and in fighting form. My desire for this match is that neither of them get hurt.

Hattorizakura vs Houn – As if to underscore the WTF nature of day 4, one of the few rikishi who can ever claim that they lost to Hattorizakura will face him again. Houn holds a (what am I saying here..) 4-1 career advantage. For those watching at home, a Hattorizakura win requires you to drain your glass. Plan accordingly.

Haru Day 3 – Ones to Watch

Bruce H Ones To Watch, Wakaichiro (若一郎) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Beneath This Humble Visage Is a Man of Steel…

With day 2 loaded to the rafters with action among our “ones to watch”, it was fantastic to see that time and again, the rikishi we are following won their first matches. Some notable highlights

Wakaichiro looks healthier than he has in a while, and immediately overpowered Kotoito and ran him off the dohyo. We are still looking for sharable video of the match, and will publish it once it’s on YouTube.

Kenho, who looked horrid and lethargic at Hatsu, came out strong and blasted Toshonishiki from the south edge of the dohyo.

Hoshoryu’s match against Tokushinho included a leg trip that was executed with great skill. I have to say its damn exciting to see this young man competing this well at such a high rank. We all hope he can keep it going.

For fans of Musashikuni, maybe it’s time to think he has his injuries under control, and we get to see what this guy is capable of. He looked strong against Okinofuji for day 2.

With so many of our Ones to Watch winning day 2, they are now in the 1 win bracket, and are competing again on day 3. This includes what seems to be most of Musashigawa’s clan on the dohyo at some point today. It’s a back to back late night of sumo goodness for those of us in the US! On to the matches.

Hoshoryu vs Kizakiumi – This is a rematch of the Hatsu day 2 bout where Hoshoryu lost. Is it time for him to even the score? Will Hoshoryu peel away those Clark Kent glasses and battle like a son of Krypton? In January Kizakiumi overpowered Hoshoryu, maybe tonight he can return the favor.

Akua vs Tamaki – Akua has won both of their two prior match-ups, and it remains to be seen if Tamaki is going to be much of a challenge. Akua is still trying to get his sumo back together after his September Juryo debut ended in injury and kyujo. He has been struggling since, so don’t count Tamaki out.

Ichiyamamoto vs Asabenkei – Another juicy nugget in the top grouping in Makushita, newcomer Ichiyamamoto takes on the much bulkier veteran Asabenkei. Asabenkei was ranked in Juryo last year, before taking two tournaments off to recover from injury. This one is going to be brutal.

Midorifuji vs Gokushindo – Gokushindo took the Makushita yusho last September, and promptly bombed out of Juryo in Kyushu. Since then he has been trying to regroup, and now he needs to overcome a fairly genki Midorifuji.

Wakatakamoto vs Asahisho – A rematch from Osaka last year, which Wakatakamoto won. Asahisho was a Maegashira in 2012, but has been struggling since then. But we can consider Asahisho representative of the kind of rikishi Wakatakamoto will need to overcome to join his brothers in the salaried ranks.

Musashikuni vs Omoto – The scion of Musashigawa heya looks to improve to 2-0 against former University rikishi Omoto, who has been struggling with injuries for the past year. This has left him drifting between upper Sandanme and lower Makushita.

Torakio vs Musashiumi – Naruto’s Torakio takes on another of the Musashigawa clan, where both are looking to pick up their first win. Musashiumi is a 37 year old veteran, and will bring that experience to bare against youthful Torakio.

Shoji vs Daishozen – A bit further down the Sandanme torikumi we see Shoji taking on Daishozen, who should be considered a Sandanme mainstay. Advantage on mass and reach go to Shoji, so let’s see if he can make it work for him.

Wakaichiro vs Wakakinsho – Coming from a strong day 2 win, Wakaichiro gets a rematch against Wakakinsho. These two last met at Aki 2017, where Wakaichiro, was out-maneuvered and lost. This will be an interesting re-test, as Wakaichiro’s sumo has improved massively since then.