Mitakeumi

Hatsu Basho Day 10 Summary

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Osunaarashi (大砂嵐) , , , , , , , ,

chiyoo

Osunaarashi faced off against the Sadanoumi in the first Makuuchi bout of day 10. This was a long and difficult match, and clearly Osunaarashi is fighting with a lot of pain from his chronic injuries. Sadanoumi is looking good now, and I really hope he can keep this level of sumo and begin again to improve. Osunaarashi now one loss from make-koshi and certain return to Juryo.

Chiyoo showed some very nice work against the massive Aoiyama, who continues to struggle with anything other than a straight pushing attack. Arawashi’s bout against Shohozan was a thing of beauty, with Arawashi employing a great arm bar throw (tottari). Arawashi seems to have found his strength and his sumo, and is now fighting with vigor and purpose.

In a battle of the up and comings, Mitakeumi beat Shodai, though both rikishi put forth some solid effort. The battle was fast paced and highly mobile. Whatever Mitakeumi did to prepare for Hatsu, it was the right formula – more of that.

The Kisenosato bout showed that in spite of his injuries, Terunofuji is not giving one inch to anyone. He went into the match with a loose mawashi, and it was effective, making Kisenosato work to gain control of the big Mongolian Terunofuji. But Kisenosato got inside, got low – he was not going to make the same mistake he made against Kotoshogiku. Kisenosato lowered his hips and applied force, and won. He remains the sole leader

Goeido showed great skill and ring sense in defeating the struggling Kotoshogiku. He pressed Kotoshogiku back to the bales, and as Kotoshogiku began to ramp up a thrusting counter attack, Goeido used that force to propel Kotoshogiku into the throw as he stepped aside. Nice sumo from the Aki champion. Kimarite was katasukashi – under-shoulder swing down

Now I wonder if Hakuho has re-injured his legs or feet. In the past three days his sumo has been defensive rather than mostly offense, which is his style. He handled Ikioi with a bit of difficulty, which says that Ikioi is doing better, and Hakuho doing a bit worse. Sumo shines when Hakuho is healthy and winning. So I hope he is physically ok.

Hatsu Leader Board

Leader – Kisenosato
Hunt Group – Hakuho, Takanoiwa, Sokokurai, Ichinojo
Chasers – Goeido, Takayasu, Mitakeumi, Ikioi, Takekaze, Hokutofuji

5 Matches Remain

Day 10 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Osunaarashi (大砂嵐), San'yaku (三役), Sekiwake (関脇), Takayasu (高安) , , , , , ,

ikioi-kakuryu-9

Where we hope it won’t get any weirder.

Bizzaro-world day 9 is in the history books, with a tremendous impact for the yusho race at Hatsu. With day 10, we close out the middle act of the basho, and prepare to launch headlong into the final 5 days, where dreams get crushed and champions are made.

Clearly Hakuho is off his game now. I don’t think it’s injury or physical, I think it started with Arawashi. Clearly whatever happened at the tachiai took a direction that the Yokozuna did not expect, and moved to counter. But before he could do anything, Arawashi had him out. As stated prior, Hakuho is about 80% offense 20% defense, and he almost always starts with a strong battle plan. That is why when Takayasu stood him up with a big tachiai on day 10, he was in trouble. Honestly I don’t recall seeing Takayasu move with that kind of speed ever before. Takayasu gave quick shoulder blast at the tachiai, and then he had a hand inside pushing against Hakuho’s chest. This time The Boss was quick to implement his defensive plan, but his much vaunted ring sense failed him as he stepped out. I would look for him to get back in his sumo today, as he has Ikioi.

On the subject of Kotoshogiku, if he wins over Goeido I am going to suspect some coordinated effort to rescue the injured Ozeki. Frankly one of the great appeals of sumo is the appearance of meritocracy. I am sure Kotoshogiku is a lovely human being, but the time has come for someone to show his kadoban ass the door. He is perpetually injured, which is a crying shame as he has had brought some great sumo to the sport.

One the subject of Ozeki who should be moving forward, Kisenosato has a lot to make up for after his disappointing loss to Kotoshogiku. Kise – you had one job to do, and you had most of this handed to you on a plate by Harumafuji and Hakuho. Some corners of the sumo world jokingly call him “Choke-o-zuna”, which I thought was cruel. But today I think it might be accurate. Day 10 he faces Terunofuji, who is also a great sumotori who has chronic injuries and has little left until he is healed.

Kakuryu is back to stinking after a really excellent Kyushu. As of today he is in serious risk of going make-koshi, which would rain down doom from the Japan Sumo Association on the most recent Yokozuna. On day 10 he faces Tamawashi, who is seriously looking like he might survive as Sekiwake.

Notable Matches

Sadanoumi vs Ichinojo – Ichinojo can go kachi-koshi with a win here. He is tied for second place! SECOND PLACE! Ichinojo leads the series 4-2.

Takanoiwa vs Chiyotairyu – Co-Leader Takanoiwa takes on a struggling Chiyotairyu. Maybe day 11 the can put him against Hakuho? Chiyotairyu leads the series 3-1, so maybe Takanoiwa will be knocked back from his co-leader status.

Osunaarashi vs Sokokurai – Also tied for second place, Sokokurai draws an easy match against the Egyptian, who is really too hurt to be on the dohyo. Osunaarashi has won all 4 of their prior bouts.

Takekaze vs Hokutofuji – Henka master Takekaze takes on Hokutofuji, who is also tied for second place. I love me some Hokutofuji, but this is crazy. This will be the first time these two have faced off

Mitakeumi vs Shodai – A magical battle of the up-and-coming. With Shodai largely 1 step behind Mitakeumi on the learning curve, we shall see if Shodai is firming up and getting over his san’yaku jitters. Shodai has won 4 of their prior 5 matches.

Hatsu Day 9 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Hatsubasho 2017, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安) , , , , , , ,

arawashi-kenso-heist

Arawashi’s Spoils of Battle

The second half of Hatsu opened with some great sumo, and some surprising outcomes. In the middle of all of this, I am keeping a watch on Kotoshogiku. Mathematically, I don’t see any way he cannot be demoted. The question comes: what does he do after that? Right now his legs are trashed, he has no pushing power. Kotoshogiku’s sumo is all about locking up a rikishi and applying those tree-trunk legs to move forward against any rikishi, no matter how big. With his knees out of operation, his sumo is no longer winning matches. Does Kotoshogiku remain in Makuuchi and try to make a come-back? It would require him to get very effective intervention on his knees. He would then have to fight his way back to Ozeki. More likely still, he might retire (intai) and transition to coaching or running the association or a heya.

There is also the question of Harumafuji. The reports from the press state that he is out for a month with a torn ligament in his right thigh. Prior to this, there were vocal threats to push him towards retirement coming form YDC head Moriya. Sumo fans can only wonder if privately, there is a renewed call for him to step down. Frankly, I think Harumafuji, at a workable physical condition, is necessary for the sport. Within 3 years there are likely to be viable Japanese Yokozuna hopefuls, and having the ever inventive Harumafuji to train and match against is crucial to producing the next generation of top quality Yokozuna.

Hatsu Leader Board

  • Leader – Kisenosato
  • Hunt Group – Hakuho, Takanoiwa, Sokokurai
  • Chasers – Ikioi, Takekaze, Hokutofuji, Ichinojo, Sadanoumi

7 Matches Remain

Torikumi We Are Following

Ichinojo vs Sokokurai – As stated earlier, not sure who put the correct fuel into battle-bot Ichinojo, but he seems to be working again. The day 8 match with Chiyonokuni was an eye opener, as Chiyonokuni is no slouch, but to Ichinojo, it may as well have been an overly busy fly. I am beginning to worry that Inchinojo sneaks away to train with Shin-Godzilla (who is really robo-Hakuho in a suit, after all). Sokokurai is turning in a great performance, and is part of the hunt group. A win today would give Sokokurai his kachi-koshi, and a nice boost in rank for Osaka. Ichinojo has won both of their prior matches.

Takanoiwa vs Aoiyama – Another member of the hunt group faces Bulgarian Aoiyama, who seems to be more focused, more aggressive and more confident this basho than the prior several. He has massive size and unnatural strength. We just have to pray he does not follow Mitakeumi’s example and blend the pusher / thruster oshi-zumō approach with solid yotsu-zumō. A win here would give Takanoiwa his kachi-koshi. These two have split their prior two matches.

Hokutofuji vs Endo – Make no mistake, Endo is in this match today to test Hokutofuji. Endo has been struggling this basho, but he is still part of the “next generation” rikishi, and the NSK is grooming him carefully. At the same time, there seems to be a blossoming crop of youngsters this basho, all of whom need tested and measured against upper level Maegashira. This is the first time these rikishi have met.

Takarafuji vs Shodai – Competition for the lower 4 san’yaku spots in Osaka is fierce. This match will continue the training for Shodai, hopefully Takarafuji can tune him up a notch. They have had 4 prior matches, with an even 2-2 split.

Tamawashi vs Mitakeumi – Battle of the 5-3’s, both men are doing well and delivering some great sumo. Mitakeumi has won all 4 of their prior matches, but Tamawashi is going to be ready to break that record.

Kisenosato vs Kotoshogiku – A heartbreak match if there ever was one. Last year’s Hatsu basho champion Kotoshogiku, who is more or less doomed, faces undefeated Kisenosato. Kisenosato wants a yusho, so he does not dare give Kotoshogiku a “gift” – Hakuho will not give Kisenosato any second chances. Kotoshogiku actually leads the series 32-30.

Takayasu vs Hakuho – Well Takayasu, if you want to be an Ozeki, you need to win against Hakuho about half the time. Good luck with that, even though I am rooting for you to make it happen. Takayasu has only one once against Hakuho, with a hatakikomi at Kyushu in 2014.

Kakuryu vs Ikioi – Crowd favorite Ikioi faces a struggling Yokozuna Kakuryu. If I think back to Nagoya’s Hakuho vs Ikioi bout (where Hakuho became injured), Ikioi was terrified of facing Hakuho. Now I am pretty sure he has more confidence in his sumo. The real check for me to watch how he reacts when Kakuryu moves to his defensive entrapment mode against Ikioi’s over eager pushing and slapping attacks. Kakuryu holds the 7-2 advantage in this series.

Note: Wakaichirio will fight again on day 9, as opposed to his “even only” days thus far. On day 9 he is facing Michinoku heya’s Ryuki, who is a former Sandanme rikishi who missed 3 tournaments and is back in Jonokuchi.

 

Hatsu Day 5 Preview

Bruce H Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Hatsubasho 2017, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Juryo (十両), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Takayasu (高安), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , , , , , , ,

hatsuday5

Can Mitakeumi Wake Up Kisenosato?

With day 5, we bring the first act of the Hatsu basho to a close. We know who is hot, and who is not. We can see that a number of fine sumotori are injured and in trouble, and that the cold equations of sumo are going to likely run their course unless some external force rescues them.

Day 4 was a weird one. Even HHK was so impressed with Ura’s distortion field that they snuck his match into the start of their highlight show. Having watched it several times, it reminds me quite a bit of Jackie Chan’s drunken master.

But at least one day 4, poor Ishiura took a break from the swirly he is getting this basho to win a match against Kagayaki, who is having a similarly disappointing tournament. Ishiura is debugging the problems that small, highly mobile rikishi have with the giants of Makuuchi – many of their sumo techniques simply won’t work. When Ura finally makes it out of Juryo, it will be the same thing once more. The rikishi who seems to be getting a handle on that is Chyonokuni.

At the start of day 5 there are still 5 rikishi who are undefeated:

  • Hakuho, Kisenosato, Takanoiwa, Sokokurai, Sadanoumi

Which is pretty impressive, and there is a fine chance that most of them will be 5-0 at the end of day 5, too. But in general, day 5 seems to be tailored to the hot fighting the not, so it’s going to get ugly.

Notable Matches

Gagamaru vs Ichinojo – In the category of planetary object colliding over Tokyo, we have this example. Who’s going to win? Ask an astrophysicist. Seriously though, Ichinojo is 3-1 right now. How? Consult the data from Hubble. Ichinojo has a 2-0 advantage historically.

Takanoiwa vs Chiyootori – Takanoiwa is ripping it up as part of the 4-0 group, and day 5 sees him against the struggling Chiyootori. I predict pushing, thrusting and a lot slapping.

Yoshikaze vs Ikioi – Both of these two are solidly 2-2 and having a lukewarm basho. Yoshikaze lost to Endo day 4 due to a brief mistake that Endo was able to exploit masterfully. Ikioi is the kind of over-commit / under-commit, so it could be a weird bout. Yoshikaze has a slight career advantage at 6-5

Terunofuji vs Tamawashi – Terunofuji was recently mistaken for the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by the US coast guard. He’s really in tough shape and had very little power due to damage to his legs, knees, ankles and McPherson strut assembly. Tamawashi is looking very strong and may make it another weird bout. Lifetime advantage to Terunofuji at 4-2, but I think he is in pitiable condition.

Kisenosato vs Mitakeumi – This bout is likely to be the highlight of day 5. Kisenosato really has seems kind of depressed and detached, as if he is waiting for something exciting. Given how many scalps Mitakeumi has taken, this may be the day that “Dump Truck” Kisenosato finally gets a chance to work. Kise has won both of their prior meetings. I really hope this goes yotsu-zumō from the start.

Kakuryu vs Takayasu – Takayasu seemed to be suffering from the same kind of funk on day 4 that has consumed his stable mate Kisenosato, with the exception being that Takayasu lost. Today he takes on the wily Yokozuna Kakuryu and his reactive sumo style. Takayasu’s sumo is about being strong and stable, Kakuryu mobile and using the opponents energy against them. Kakuryu has won 11 of their prior 15 matches.

Hakuho vs Shohozan – Hakuho is back in form close enough to the original that he is a joy to watch. Up on day 5 is burly and rowdy Shohozan who is fighting better than his 2-2 record might indicate. In their prior 11 matches, Hakuho has won them all. So the question is what kind of attack plan will he use against the man from Fukuoka?

Okinoumi vs Harumafuji – With both of these guys at full health, it would be a quick bout with Harumafuji the easy winner. Both of them are in pretty bad shape, and with Harumafuji staring Moriya’s vendetta in the face, it could get kind of sloppy. I just pray neither one of them exit the bout more injured, which is a real possibility at this point. Harumafuji leads the career record with 12-6 over Okinoumi.