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Japan, they have their "sport of emperors."
Sumo, a
unique type of Japanese wrestling,
draws
perhaps the largest fan following of any
native sport and yet, relatively little is
known
of it or its champions outside of
Japan.
A
fellow American once described sumo
as
"two
fat guys charging at each other
until one
falls down!"
He of course thought this
description a
clever "punch line"
sufficient
to totally dismiss
any further discussion
of
the sport; however,
I feel that, in light
of
its importance as a
traditional aspect of
Japan and the high esteem
in which its
practitioners are held, a bit
more needs
to
be said.
defender of sumo nor am I a fan. For me,
sumo lacks the excitement and tension of a
three and two count on the hometown slugger
in the bottom of the ninth inning with the
bases loaded or the alternating interplay between
offense and defense on some muddy gridiron
but, a sport or any activity for that matter
that stretches back more than 1500 years
does deserve somewhat more attention than
the simple description of "two fat guys
charging at each other!"
Accounts of sumo matches between the
gods
can be found
in the legends of Japan's creation.
Several
hundred years ago, it was a form of
deadly
combat , then a sport and an art with a
good
deal of military and religious
significance.
Even today, the sport is
deeply steeped in ritual;
the tossing of
salt by both participants before the
match
to purify the ring, the stamping of feet
to
drive out demons, the raising of hands,
palms
upward, hairstyles of the fighters,
the
loincloths
they wear ("mawashi") are all
bound
up in
tradition and rituals long
past.
popular athletic contest between two highly
trained men of skill, strength and stamina.
Most of the wrestlers who weigh in excess of
300 pounds are powerful, muscular and agile;
the additional weight that contains this
package is the force that gives motion,
stability and balance to the whole.
in at 516 pounds, Musashimaru at 447 while
the dimuntive Terao was only 257. These
participants wage their struggle, not in a ring with
ropes but on a platform made of clay, raised two
feet off the ground and circled by a ropelike
material forming a ring atop the platform.
Within this "ring," fifteen feet in diameter,
the ritual and contest take place.
The opening
ceremonies of a match,the salt
tossing,
foot
stamping, hand raising, go on
for ten or
fifteen minutes whereas the match
itself
may
end in a few seconds - don't blink!
How
disappointing to those of us who like to
eat
at least two hot dogs and have a cold
drink
even before the end of the first
inning!
The
victor in the match is the one who forces
his opponent to touch the floor inside
the ring
with any part of his body except his feet or
if he
forces his opponent out of the
ring.
Sumo wrestlers train for many years with
the
hope of reaching that exaulted rank, that
apex
of the sumo pyramid, "yokozuna", grand
champion and most never achieve
it.
Is this less
than the work of a poet,
an actor,
an artist? Does it not merit at least
understanding if
not respect? Or, should it merely
be
dismissed curtly as the clash of fat men?
These questions I simply offer up as my
thoughts, I leave the answers to you.
There are complex strategies in sumo,
many
different holds and countless techniques
but
like my friend who once gave it such a
brief
description, I will give you my "spin" on
it.
Dedicated men train
for years, building
their
bodies up through special diets and
exercise
regimens in preparation for that
single, brief
moment when all of it comes into focus as
they
charge at another who has been
similarly
trained and prepared.
The
unleashing of such powerful forces,
physical.
mental and perhaps even spiritual,
all
focused upon offense for that
single
instant
of contact!
A zen
moment indeed!
Might there not be, after all, something
more
profound and noble about it, this
sport
of sumo,
than simply
"two fat guys charging at each
other!"
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