Former Rikishi Orora Hits the Gym, too

Orora, Anatoliy Mikhakhanov, famously was the largest rikishi ever, at just under 300kg just before his retirement. The “get your hands down” rule did not apply to him. Since retirement he’s been working to get in shape. If I were to replicate this particular exercise, I would lose my big toe.

Aki Day 2 – Bouts From The Lower Divisions

You have already seen the video of Ura’s return and Wakaichiro’s match with the reigning Jonidan champion. So here are some other bouts from day 2.

enho-vs-hakuyozan
Enho throwing a man weighing 63kg more than himself

Starting at Jonokuchi, we have our favorite non-winning rikishi, Hattorizakura, facing Fujikawa.

The result is all too predictable, but Hattorizakura fans noticed that he changed his tachiai. Or at least, his starting position.

So let’s put this one down to ring rust, and hope his next bout will show us Hattorizakura launching himself like crossbow bolt… no? No chance? None?

Another Jonokuchi bout I wanted to show you is Chiyotaiyo vs. Shiimori. It seems that there is no chanko left for the Jonokuchi wrestlers at Kokonoe beya, after Chiyotairyu, Chiyomaru and Chiyonoo have their shares. Chiyotaiyo is so famished his ribs show:

(Extra bout for your entertainment – Kyonosato vs. Tamura)

Well, Chiyotaiyo has a beautiful shiko. Some food and some experience and that kid will be sekitori.

At Jonidan, I wanted to show you Orora, though I must warn you, this is not really sumo. Technically it is, but this kind of performance is not the reason you signed in. Orora’s 292kg face Tokimaru.

[cringe]

The sandanme bouts of interest you have already seen. I wanted to bring you Shunba. Though he lost, he looked very feisty. But alas, I did not find a video of his bout (which I saw live on Abema).

Juryo

The main course in Juryo was definitely Enho’s bout. Those of you who watched Kintamayama’s digest saw that already there. That bout was so impressive, Hakuho tweeted about it in the middle of a honbasho, also doing another thing he rarely does – mentioning the fact that Enho is his uchi-deshi (a rikishi who is scouted by a member of a heya and joins that heya. If the one who scouted him forms his own heya, the uchi-deshi normally go together with him to the new heya)

“My 3rd uchi-deshi, Enho, engaged in good sumo today 👍🏻.”

In the following Juryo digest, you can see this bout from the reverse angle. It’s worth watching from any angle.

  • The Azumaryu-Jokoryu bout counted as a yori-kiri, though Azumaryu ended being thrown on the floor. That’s because Jokoryu’s foot was already out when that happened.
  • Akua’s shimekomi may leave permanent burns on your retina, be careful. Also, I suspect he stole the idea from my profile pic. Too bad his originality does not extend to his sumo.
  • That Enho/Hakuyozan bout.
  • Following that, Tobizaru looks like a Jonidan rikishi in comparison…
  • Mitoryu seems to be back in the form he was before that injury he suffered in Haru. Once again, Chiyonoumi my man finds himself quickly off the dohyo. I hope he survives.
  • Yesterday Tsurugishu looked pretty bad vs. Terutsuyoshi. But this bout vs. Shimanoumi shows you that he is not a pushover, and Terutsuyoshi’s win was all Terutsuyoshi
  • Speaking of Terutsuyoshi, this time he faces Mongolian Seiro, who throws some vicious nodowa at him trying to get the relentless pixie off his mawashi. But Terutsuyoshi’s hand is like the mythical pit bull’s jaw – it is locked on Seiro’s mawashi, and there is no power in the world that will remove it. Eventually the Mongolian finds himself on the floor, and Terutsuyoshi checks to see how many bone fractures and tendon damage that maneuver has cost him.
  • Another lightweight force to be reckoned with is Wakatakakage – facing Takekaze. Wakatakakage said he remembers looking up to Takekaze as a young boy. But he is certainly not giving the old man any senior citizen discounts here. He catches to Takekaze’s arm and drives him out.
  • Takagenji applies a stormy tsuppari to Daiamami’s upper body. Daiamami uses his overcommitment and lets him drop. The gunbai goes Daiamami’s direction, but a monoii reverses the decision. Daiamami was out first, and Takagenji earns his shonichi.
  • Meisei faces Arawashi. This digest is not showing the full preparation. If you ever run into a full bout by meisei, take a look at his impressive shikiri and shiko. However, Arawashi is a Makuuchi-level wrestler. Meisei does manage to push him backwards a bit at the tachiai, but Arawashi works to get a grip, and as soon as he gets one, performs one of the signature Mongolian throws.
  • Aminishiki, who will be 40 in less than a month, faces Yago. Yes, the Yago you are all supposed to be able to recognize already. Yago is a heavy rikishi, and a solid one. Aminishiki’s body is basically held together by a prayer. But still, after a brief attempt at a Hatakikomi (which he later said was a mistake), Aminishiki moves forward and marches Yago out. Pretty good stuff.

The crowd favorites of the day – Enho, Aminishiki, Wakatakakage.

 

Aki Story 3 – Wakaichiro Jonidan 4 East

Wakaichiro

Readers of Tachiai know that we are followers of the rikishi from Humble, Texas and his ongoing battle to rise through sumo’s ranks. After securing his winning record on day 13 of Nagoya, Wakaichiro was certain to see a bump in rank headed back to Tokyo for the fall tournament.

When he banzuke was published this past Sunday, Wakaichiro had been ranked Jonidan 4 East, a top spot in Sumo’s lower division. Jonidan is an interesting division, as it has rikishi who are moving up to higher postings in Sandanme, and rikishi who are struggling or have “re-set” due to injury or other outage.

As with his prior two tournaments in Jonidan, Wakaichiro will likely meet a mix of newcomers and seasoned vets. Some of the opponents we might look forward to:

  • Orora – He now holds the title for heaviest rikishi, taking it from the truly enormous Konishiki (who is Wakaichiro’s coach). Orora weighs as much as a small polar bear, or a touring motorcycle.
  • Okunisato – Wakaichiro faced him on day 1 of Nagoya, and won. The schedulers like to see rematches, and it seems that Wakaichiro has out-paced almost all of his cohorts from prior basho.
  • Wakakoki – Wakaichiro lost to him on day 12 if Natsu. The match resulted in a monoii, which gave the win to Wakakoki. It was very close, and I am sure Wakaichiro would like a second chance to best him.

A winning record at Aki will likely propel this young star to Sandanme for the November Kyushu tournament. As always, we will be keeping close tabs on Wakaichiro