Sumo
David vs. Goliath In A K-1 Ring
I don’t know about you, but sometimes find it quite intriguing to watch a perceived David vs. Goliath matchup.
Maybe it’s because many of us instinctively tend to root for the underdog.
Is it because we want to see the “little guy” win?
Well, whatever it is, we all have our own opinion and thoughts about it.
In this context, I thought it might be interesting to watch a modern-day David vs. Goliath encounter in a K-1 ring.
Here we have a prime example with two former champions:
Royce Gracie (3-time UFC Champion, UFC Hall of Famer and member of the most influential Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dynasty) vs. Yokozuno Akebono (Hawaiian sumo grand champion and first non-Japanese to attain superstar status).
The BJJ master (179 lbs.) vs. the Sumo master (484 lbs.) and free fight rules.
Watch very carefully how Royce Gracie implements his game plan of getting Akebono on the ground. The rest is BJJ as usual.
Tipping Off March Madness With The Week In Review
“Variety is the spice of life.”
I am trying to live up to that saying by posting about different topics that relate to martial arts or not. Anyway ….
In case you were too busy being busy, here’s what you missed:
Bulgarian Greco-Roman Wrestler Is Big In Japan: The David Beckham Of Sumo
It Happened In 1935 … Sarah Mayer, First Non-Japanese Female Judo Black Belt
The Question Is: “Honestly, Are You Really Prepared To Fight If You Have To?”
With ‘The Sensei ‘, She’s Creating Buzz In The Movie Industry And Let’s Just Face It … With A Name Like Lee Inosanto, She’s Got To Be Good
What Goes Up, Must Come Down. With This Guy, Things Appear To Be A Bit Different. Thai Action Movie Star Tony Jaa Defies The Law Of Physics.
There you have it: The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Have a great Sunday!
I will be reporting again from here tomorrow.
Big In Japan: The David Beckham Of Sumo
So far I haven’t touched on the Japanese martial art known as ‘Sumo’.
That is about to change. Right here, right now.
Sumo is a contact sport in which a wrestler tries to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to get him to touch the ground with anything else but the soles of his feet.
The sport includes a bunch of ritual elements, such as the salt purification, which we will see in detail in the video clip below. This goes back to the days when it was used in the Shinto religion.
From what I have been able to find out is that the daily life of a professional sumo fighter is very strictly regimented by the Sumo Association and that means even meals and traditional dress code.
Oh, by the way, Mongolian wrestling and Chinese Shuai jiao, both offer some resemblance to Sumo.
Most Sumo matches last only several seconds, as one wrestler is explosively ousted from the ring. In far fewer cases, a match can last several minutes, but this is more the exception than the rule.
The wrestling ring itself is 4.55 meters or somewhere around 14 feet in diameter. The whole square surface that holds the ring takes up 16.26 meters or about 140 sq. ft. I hope my former math teacher isn’t reading this and checking my conversions from meters to feet.
Japan is the only country that offers professional Sumo and there are approximately 700 fighters registered with 54 fighting stables.
Sumo’s hierarchy is strictly based on merit which can also mean that if a wrestler doesn’t continue his winning performances and starts losing bouts he can be demoted and lose his rank. This means serious competition and extreme pressure on fighters to perform at a very high level.
Currently, the Sumo Association only allows 1 foreign fighter per stable, which means a total of 54, right?!
And from what I understand the one foreign fighter who really stands out right now and who has attained the rank of ozeki or Champion (that’s right below yokozuna or Grand Champion!).
Born in Bulgaria as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov and former Greco-Roman wrestler, he is now fighting as Kotooshu Katsunori, at times referred to as the ‘David Beckham of Sumo’ and also the ‘Prince of Sumo’.
Kotooshu is 6’8″ tall and weighs 334 lbs., which, believe it or not, is fairly light considering his height and that’s because he is often compared to former Gand Champion Akebono from Hawaii, who at the same height weighed about 517 lbs.
I selected a fight between Kotooshu and Grand Champion Asashoryu that I really enjoy, even though I don’t really follow a lot of Sumo, but I can appeciate the traditional rituals, strategy, tactics and very proficient grappling with a bunch of explosive power.
I hope you like it, too.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_-f-3IwTk[/youtube]
Are We In The Year Of The Dragon aka Lyoto Machida?
Are we in the Year Era of the Dragon aka Lyoto Machida?
Lyoto “Dragon” Machida has very quietly become one of THE Rock Stars
of MMA and the UFC in particular.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend about how and why Machida
got to where he is today.
Here are my Top 7 Reasons:
1. The Light-Heavyweight Division is undisputedly considered the UFC’s
Rock Star Division and the 31 year old Lyoto Machida is currently
their World Champion with a clean 15-0 record.
2. Machida is ranked as the #4 Pound for Pound Fighter in the world
(he only trails George St. Pierre, Anderson “Spider” Silva and Fedor
“The Last Emperor” Emelianenko)
3. Machida’s fighting style in considered semi-orthodox (whatever that
means), by some even boring. He is an extremely efficient counter-
striker with a hit rate of a whopping 65 percent, compared to the
“industry average” of around 35%.
4. His patience in the ring/Octagon drives his opponent nuts, causing
them to take the initiative and make costly mistakes.
5. Machida has not taken the blows (= punishment) many other UFC
titleholders experience to stay at the top.
6. Machida’s arsenal of tools is rather impressive. He has mastered
Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and even Sumo.
And somehow Machida is able to make all this work together to get
the job done.
7. With his English language skills quickly improving, Machida is becoming
extremely marketable in English-speaking countries, especially the U.S.,
where his fan base is growing by the day.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvLe-ebaEBc[/youtube]
UFC President Dana White knows a winner when he sees one.
He is saying that Machida’s upcoming fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
has the potential to be one of best UFC Light-Heavyweight matches in the Octagon.
Agree or disagree?
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