Wow! Some exciting sumo today!

[happybird]

And it’s only day 4 of the tournament.

[rsdsharp]

1. My brother spent 10 months in Kyoto in the seventies.

We took to exchanging cassette letters. Sometimes he’d do a sumo play-by-play (if that’s the proper phrase) on the tape.

[happybird]

3. I got into it a few years ago

when the only channels the tv antenna would pick up were PBS, which included NHK. I’m not into other wrestling or combat sports, just sumo. The tradition and ceremony and everything involved is fascinating! As are the slo-mo high-def jiggly shots, lol! I’d love to one day see it live in Japan.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Some serious stress on those knees and ankles, I think. nt

[happybird]

4. And they can't really take time off for injury

Every match they miss, even if out for injury, counts as a loss. One of my old favs, Tochinochin, has had his knees just destroyed. He can hardly complete any more. I was hoping he’d get surgery during the COVID break but he didn’t.

Several of the new up-and-comers to this top division seem to be of a different body type. Less excess weight, more muscle, more trim and agile.