Ol'Stompy

Kyushu Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2022, Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikifuji (錦富士), Nishikigi, Oho (王鵬), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , , ,

I was satisfied with the action day 1, and if I am being honest, I think the match ups for day 2 are a notch better than we had for shonichi. Today may be contrasts day, as I see more than a couple clashes of sumo styles and approaches on the torikumi. Highlights for me are

  • Chiyoshoma vs Abi – forward power vs hit and shift
  • Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – patient, stead sumo vs big opening move and rapid dispatch of any opponent
  • Ura vs Daieisho – Grab-n-tug sumo vs all power forward mega-thrust attacks
  • Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – rising stars battle for dominance
  • Takayasu vs Shodai – wild man sumo vs the wall of daikon

What We Are Watching Day 2

Chiyomaru vs Hiradoumi – Today’s Juryo visitor is none other than his mighty roundness, Chiyomaru. He won his opening day match against Churanoumi. Ranked at Juryo 1 West, a simple kachi-koshi should be enough to return him to the top division in January. Hiradoumi took their only prior match, during Aki. Both start the day 1-0.

Kagayaki vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi really needs to rally soon. To me he looks like he is still hurt, and as such will be easy meat for Kagayaki, who holds a 7-3 career record, and has 50 kg in bulk, and 30 cm in height on Terutsuyoshi. Ranked at just Maegashira 16E, a make-koshi would likely send him back to Juryo for Hatsu.

Ichiyamamoto vs Atamifuji – After an opening day loss, Atamifuji will look for his first win in his first ever match against Ichiyamamoto. The challenge being that Ichiyamamoto puts a lot of power into his double arm thrusting attack, and tends to be at maximum range when he starts his run. This robs anyone who needs a hand hold to fight of even the smallest chance to get into the battle. Atamifuji does has a 30 kg size advantage, maybe it will come in handy today.

Azumaryu vs Oho – Both men start the day 0-1, and are looking for their first win. Oho continues to struggle with consistency in his sumo, and so it’s tough to know if he will be dialed into his sumo today or not. They have four prior career matches, that have split evenly 2-2.

Kotoeko vs Chiyotairyu – Its Sadogatake vs Kokonoe on the clay! To me, Chiyotairyu did not look sharp day one. I worry he’s going to continue the poor performance that has been plaguing him since mid 2021. I suspect an injury is to blame. The two are nearly even at 8-7 career wins.

Okinoumi vs Kotoshoho – Also in the ranks of “looking not very genki”, is Okinoumi. Not that I fault him. At 37 years old, he’s close to the point where his body may be telling him it’s time to consider hanging up the mawashi and putting that kabu to use. Kotoshoho had an opening day win, but is still tuning up to full honbasho power.

Aoiyama vs Onosho – Two rikishi with large amounts of forward power going head to head, this could be fast and ugly. It will come down to if Onosho is in a mood to keep his balance under control, and his feet in a workable position. Aoiyama did not show much power on day one, and may still be nursing his injury from this summer.

Chiyoshoma vs Abi – I admit I want to see Abi wreck the lower / middle ranks this November. I think he got the rank he got by missing September, but a brutal hammering will do the most to put him back near the named ranks, where I think he belongs. Today might be a good day for Chiyoshoma to employ liberal amounts of lateral sumo.

Takarafuji vs Takanosho – The news for Takarafuji is not good. After an opening day loss where it looked to me like his feet got out of cadence, he gets to face Takanosho, who he has only beaten twice in 9 attempts. Now in his mid-thirties, I add him into the group of rikishi who are really suffering the effects of accumulated injuries.

Tochinoshin vs Myogiryu – Tochinoshin is also in this age group, but seems to have found a way to maintain some level of sumo power, in spite of a knee that is little more than gristle, curry and scraps of old newspapers. He and Myogiryu had a 32 match career record, with Myogiryu leading 18-14.

Nishikigi vs Endo – Both men start the day 0-1, and Endo could really use a win to keep his score closer to the midline. The good news is that Nishikigi has never beaten Endo (0-7), so this might be a good pickup for Endo.

Ryuden vs Nishikifuji – This has my attention as potentially a big fight to start the second half of action. Both won their opening day fights, and look fairly genki on shonichi. The only prior match was May while both were ranked in Juryo, and it went to Nishikifuji.

Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – I would love to see Wakamotoharu have another match where he is careful, patient and calmly puts together a winning yorikiri. Of course, this is nearly the opposite of the way that Hokutofuji fights. I expect him to come in with a fast combo attack and an early nodowa. If he can get his favorite combo to pay off, Wakamotoharu is going to have his hands full. Hokutofuji leads the series 2-1.

Sadanoumi vs Midorifuji – Sadanoumi surprised Hokutofuji on day one, and I give him even chances of doing it again today against Midorifuji. The trick for Sadanoumi is to get his hands on Midorifuji before the Isegahama man can get his feet set and begin his offense. They have split their 2 prior matches.

Tobizaru vs Meisei – Sumo’s flying monkey moves from winning against Shodai to fighting Meisei. Meisei lost his opening day match, but has a 6-2 career record against Tobizaru. The reason why that may not matter much is that Tobizaru has improved quite a bit over the past few months, and will be tough for Meisei to maintain any kind of hold.

Ura vs Daieisho – Both lost on day 1, but Ura seemed to already be into his sumo in his loss against Kiribayama, while Daieisho looked ill prepared for this fight with Takakeisho. These two are evenly balanced across their careers with Daieisho having a narrow 5-4 lead. Daieisho will look to open up his mega-thrust attack path, and Ura will be looking for an errant body part to grab and tug.

Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – I am eager to see at what point Wakatakakage breaks out of his “cold start” routine and settles down to some powerful sumo. I note with amusement they have him fighting Kiribayama on day two, and he holds a 7-4 career advantage. A great fight of two of sumo’s rising stars.

Ichinojo vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi loves to fight Ichinojo most days. He holds a 15-7 career advantage over the Boulder, and has won 3 of their 4 matches so far this year. Mitakeumi needs the win to continue his drive to return to Ozeki, but Ichinojo looked really sharp in his day 1 win against Tamawashi.

Tamawashi vs Hoshoryu – If I had to guess, Tamawashi may have some frustrations from his day 1 match with Ichinojo to work out. Probably against Hoshoryu’s face, or neck. Hoshoryu is no easy mark right now, and in fact has a narrow 4-3 career lead against Tamawashi. This could be a big, quick match.

Takakeisho vs Kotonowaka – I harbor hopes that Takakeisho, the Grand Tadpole, will eject Kotonowaka like a damaged cassette tape stuck in an ancient Toyota Celica for 20 years. It’s been a while since we saw some solid wave-action, so here’s to hoping he can deliver that today.

Takayasu vs Shodai – I really don’t want to see Shodai as an Ozekiwake in January, so I hope he can find and reactivate his good sumo mode. He’s got a fairly fresh copy of Takayasu as challenger today, and that won’t be easy for him. He does hold a 17-9 career advantage, so it may come down to Takayasu keeping his balance and his feet during his habitual big opening forearm strike.

Hatsu Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Akiseyama, Akua, Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hatsu Basho 2021, Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tokushoryu, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , ,

With day 1 providing a delightfully solid start to this odd Hatsu basho, sumo fans are eager to see what act 1 will be. At Tachiai, we divide the 15 days of the basho into 3 5 day acts, each of which seems to have its own goals and drivers. For act 1, its remove ring rust and see who is hot and who is not. With just one day in the record books, the only thing we can say is that the ring rust seems to be pretty minimal given the reduction of normal pre-basho join training.

The only non-kadoban Ozeki, Takakeisho, has a rare opportunity to bid for promotion to Yokozuna, should he manage to win this tournament in a commanding fashion. But sadly he let Mitakeumi dictate the terms of the match after he had a fairly strong opening. Several fans have noted that he does not look quite right, and I agree. His already massive body seems to have become even larger in the last 2 months, and I think he’s not really up to full power sumo at this size.

Meanwhile, the kadoban twins Asanoyama and Shodai had a mixed start. Asanoyama was unable to establish an offense or a defense, and got completely disrupted and defeated by Daieisho. Shodai on the other hand, as Tachai’s own Herouth put it, was “playing Sokoban“. For those of you who may not know, Sokoban is a kind of video game where you play a warehouse worker, doing much the same as Shodai did to Hokutofuji.

What We Are Watching Day 2

Shohozan vs Akiseyama – Welcome back Shohozan! “Big Guns” returns to visit the top division to help balance out the banzuke. This is a rematch of their November day 5 match, which went to Akiseyama. Truth be told, as Shohozan “ages out” of the competitive ranks, he is less able to overwhelm his opponents. But it’s great to see the old guard in action. Shohozan has a slim 3-2 career edge, going back to 2009!

Sadanoumi vs Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka came up 10% short on day 1, and he is going to be looking to bounce back against Sadanoumi today. Sadanoumi looked really sharp on the shonichi opening match, and he is due for a strong performance after falling to the final slot on the banzuke.

Yutakayama vs Midorifuji – First time match for these two, and it’s Shodai’s sparring partner (Yutakayama) vs yet another Isegahama pocket battleship. Both of them won their opening day matches, but I note that Midorifuji had the brass to try a flying henka in his first match ranked in Makuuchi. Had it not be called a matta, he might have made it pay off, too!

Ichinojo vs Hoshoryu – At least 80 kg different between these two, and if Ichinojo continues the form he showed day 1, it’s going to be ice cream time at Minato heya. While I love watching Hoshoryu fight, I think he has maxed out for what is current sumo can support. We are all hoping that he can evolve and reach higher levels of sumo intensity, but we know it’s going to be a challenge.

Akua vs Terutsuyoshi – The other Isegahama pocket monster has a track record of taking Akua’s booze money (6-1 favoring Terutsuyoshi). Both of them lost day 1, so maybe we can get some solid alternate-reality stuff like an Akua flying henka for a win here.

Shimanoumi vs Kotoeko – Shimanoumi went 11-4 in November, and on day one he looked like he had not slowed down at all. He will have to overcome a 9-1 career deficit to Kotoeko, who also took his day 1 match in decisive fashion.

Tokushoryu vs Aoiyama – Time to tell if Aoiyama simply got the timing of his tachiai completely wrong on day 1, or if he is hurt. I personally hope he is on the upper side of genki, as I would love to see him bludgeon his way though the middle of makkuchi this January. He holds a slight 6-5 career advantage over Tokushoryu.

Myogiryu vs Kiribayama – If Kiribayama actually did injure his knee in the pre-basho workup, this is going to be a rough 15 days for him. At Maegashira 8, he’s probably not going to risk demotion if he has a bad tournament. But for a bright young start, it’s terrible to see them take a set back that could require 2-3 tournaments to resolve. This is his first ever match with Myogiryu.

Ryuden vs Tobizaru – Both of these guys started a bit goofy, and lost day 1. I expect Tobizaru to focus in quickly and get a big push underway to return to joi-jin for March, where I think Ryuden is at a pretty comfortable rank right now. Tobizaru has a 2-1 career advantage, but that may not count for much on day 2.

Meisei vs Kagayaki – “I see a gumbai and I want it painted black…”

Tochinoshin vs Okinoumi – A healthy 16 career matches between these two, with Okinoumi taking 2 of the last 3. Both won their day 1 matches, and I am eager to see if Tochinoshin really has picked up enhanced skills in tsuki-oshi style sumo.

Endo vs Tamawashi – Another long running rivalry, with 23 career matches favoring Tamawashi 13-10, But Endo has taken 3 of the last 4 as Tamawashi ages out of high stakes sumo. I love watching him work, but he is slowly losing power and maneuverability as the injuries accumulate to his body.

Takarafuji vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi is probably feeling very energized after the gyoji handed him a diorama of Mt. Fuji made with kensho envelopes at the end of that day 1 pasting of Yokozuna hopeful Takakeisho. He has a strong track record of overwhelming Takarafuji’s defend and extend sumo by taking his tadpole power toe to toe against Isegahama’s neckless wonder. Could be a really tasty match in the second half.

Terunofuji vs Onosho – I love Onosho sumo, but your spheroid shape will only serve your undoing, dear tadpole. Did you know that Terunofuji, being a kaiju, bowls overhand? The legends say there is a secret special prize if he can get Onosho into the upper deck of the Kokugikan and take out at least 4 members of the sumo press.

Kotoshoho vs Takanosho – Now I fear Andy’s prediction, and I am very interested to see Kotoshoho put Takanosho in the clay. He won their only prior match, and that’s good enough for me.

(Chanting…)
Go! Go! Koto-sho-ho!
Do it fast, or do it slow!
Beat that rice ball
Taka-no-sho!

Takakeisho vs Daieisho – Dear Grand Tadpole. We know it’s really cool to think you might win PowerBall or a Yokozuna promotion. But put that stuff aside and start knocking some heads. Today if possible. Wave action at level 3, if you would please. I want to see Daieisho’s molars stay behind as he rockets into the stands.

Asanoyama vs Hokutofuji – Ol’Stompy might make Asanoyama question his own worthiness as a sumotori if he can get that handshake tachiai into the Ozeki’s throat. I really like Asanoyama, so he’s going to have to gamberize like mad and just overcome whatever brutal, high speed sumo Hokutofuji deploys today.

Takayasu vs Shodai – Shodai holds a 10-8 career advantage, and I am going to say that if Takayasu comes out with his big grunt and slam tachiai, he’s done for. The 2017 Takayasu is in there, still. The guy with nearly endless endurance who would grab an opponent and just slowly crush them into jelly. That, in my opinion, would be most effective against Shodai indeed.