Even though there is probably nothing new to you in it, you might enjoy this video a bit more than the last one, @AugustusFerdinand. I found it to be an interesting look inside a Sumo training...
Even though there is probably nothing new to you in it, you might enjoy this video a bit more than the last one, @AugustusFerdinand. I found it to be an interesting look inside a Sumo training camp in Japan, and at the daily lives of the athletes.
So I'm 3 minutes in and I want to slap the narrator. I am not a stickler for pronunciation, I don't know enough Japanese to be able to defend such a position on pronunciation even if I was, but...
So I'm 3 minutes in and I want to slap the narrator. I am not a stickler for pronunciation, I don't know enough Japanese to be able to defend such a position on pronunciation even if I was, but there's incorrect pronunciation and then there's flat out using the wrong words. I have already lost count the number of times he's used the word "dojo" for the sumo stable and "sumos" (shudder) for the wrestlers.
I can see "dojo" being confused with dohyo, which is the actual ring wrestler fight in during tournaments, but that'd still be incorrect as they're going to a sumo stable, not an arena. The correct term is heya, but he could at least just say stable.
Sumos? Really? Not rikishi, not wrestlers, not fighters, not athletes. Sumos is what you're going with...
3:40 in and the stable is revealed, the wrestler in the white miwashi, indicating he's of paid rank and higher than the others, is Onosho of Onomatsu heya. Onosho is a solid mid-tier wrestler in the top division, whenever he gets to the upper Maegashira ranks he tends to get slapped back down to the middle ranks again. He's too good to drop to juryo, but the nature of sumo means you are always moving up or down in rank each tournament, so he hovers around the middle, gets his paycheck, wins a few special prizes, and occasionally catches a Yokozuna off guard. He's never going to be a big star, but he is fun to watch. Can't recall him ever giving up and his disappointment in losses is always evident on his face, especially when someone does a cheap move like a henka (jumping out of the way at the start of the match so your opponent goes flying past you). Solid rank-and-filer, easy to root for, no controversies, no dirty fighting. If you were going to pick a wrestler to follow you could do much worse than Onosho.
Everyone in the stable seems to be using oshi fighting style and Onosho is no different. Oshi is the standard fighting style people think of when they think of sumo, the pushing and thrusting to push the other wrestler out of the ring. Not a lot of belt grabbing or throws in this bunch, it's about mass and strength.
8:30 in and they start getting put into mawashi to train in the stable and complaints about tightness around genitals are heard, being that it's not openly discussed and something I wouldn't expect any of them to know or the attendants at the stable to tell them, but tucking is something every wrestler does to make it more comfortable.
15 minutes and the typical realization is made that they aren't just a bunch of fat guys, but inconceivably strong as evident by throwing youtubers around like rag dolls. Onosho looked like he was having fun not killing someone.
16 minutes in and the rikishi are too kind to mention while answering questions that they've all been up since 5am, haven't eaten, and these guys asking questions instead of eating is delaying their lunch/recovery/nap as higher ranked wrestlers and guests eat before everyone else as an honor. You can eat and ask questions at the same time and you'll get better answers when the wrestlers aren't just waiting for you to shut up and put food in your face.
17 in and it's really cool the smallest guy is staying the night, very few people outside of sumo get to see what life is like outside the practice sessions every morning. I'm curious who the university student and wrestler is, info on unofficial wrestlers still in school is hard to come by in English.
Overall good video once the narration stopped. Thanks cfabbro.
I can see why you would be frustrated with them since you know so much about the sport, but I think you're also being a bit harsh. I probably would have been just as ignorant of the correct...
I can see why you would be frustrated with them since you know so much about the sport, but I think you're also being a bit harsh. I probably would have been just as ignorant of the correct terminology and etiquette as they were, since my only frame of reference is my own martial arts background, where "dojo" is the correct terminology for a Karate and Judo training facility (or the Korean equivalent "dojang" for Taekwondo). And I felt like despite the faux-pas they really were trying their hardest to be as respectful as possible, especially in front of the sumos;) rikishi and their trainers.
I'm glad you started enjoying it more once the initial intro part ended though.
p.s. You don't have to explain tucking to me. *wink wink* :P
I hear you, but they went on and on about how it's been a "dream for years" to get into a sumo stable to film, but they didn't know basic terminology or English equivalents. I'd have been more...
I hear you, but they went on and on about how it's been a "dream for years" to get into a sumo stable to film, but they didn't know basic terminology or English equivalents. I'd have been more forgiving from the start if they were some randos that walked in off the street, but they were really pushing this angle as if they were big sumo fans and wanted this access for ages.
But hey, 3-4 minutes out of 27 for a huge channel like theirs being annoying is a pretty good record in my experience.
When big YouTubers say it's been a "dream for years" to do something it usually means they had the idea for that years ago, and have occasionally been bugging their producers, and travel agents to...
When big YouTubers say it's been a "dream for years" to do something it usually means they had the idea for that years ago, and have occasionally been bugging their producers, and travel agents to try again to arrange it for them... not necessarily that they're the biggest or most well versed fans of the thing in question. ;)
The Yes Theory guys travel a crazy crazy amount, all over the world, and often to incredibly remote, inhospitable, and dangerous regions. Not just for YouTube but also for their podcast, and documentaries. And while they've been to Japan quite a few times, they're not really Japanophiles, or even huge sports fans in general either AFAIK, and so despite their enthusiasm at the start of the video it didn't surprise me that they didn't actually know a whole lot about Sumo before jumping into this.
Them being more of the uninformed, enthusiastic, (but still trying to be respectful) everymen in the situations they put themselves in is precisely why I enjoy their videos though. And had they been experts on Sumo going into it, I don't think I would have found it nearly as interesting or entertaining.
Great videos BTW. That would take a crazy amount of strength!
No doubt and few can pull it off both due to the raw strength required and the height it often requires. Being 6'4" certainly helps him in that regard. Tochi is easily one of the strongest rikishi...
That would take a crazy amount of strength!
No doubt and few can pull it off both due to the raw strength required and the height it often requires. Being 6'4" certainly helps him in that regard. Tochi is easily one of the strongest rikishi in the sport right now, but he's also 35, in the twilight of his career, and plagued by injury due to a lot of that lifting. His knee brace has been on ever since he performed an ill fated tsuridashi on 423lb Tokushōryū that blew out his knee. And while he's had plenty of success since then, the tsuridashi are few and far between now (and for good reason). Typically if he performs one now he's doing it at the edge of the ring to get them over the tawara insted of picking them up in the center of the ring and just carrying them out. Injuries have seen Tochi drop to juryo (2nd division, still paid ranks) and he's too good to be there. So I imagine he'll take it easy, heal up, and return to the top division for awhile, get injured again, drop to juryo, then retire before he drops out of the paid ranking.
Jesus, 423lbs? Even attempting it with a fully compliant person at that weight would be crazy, so trying it on someone that heavy, as strong as a bull, and fighting you the whole way is bonkers....
Jesus, 423lbs? Even attempting it with a fully compliant person at that weight would be crazy, so trying it on someone that heavy, as strong as a bull, and fighting you the whole way is bonkers. Not surprising he blew out his knee doing it. That's a ridiculously risky move!
Yep, and that was in 2013, before he was at peak strength and size, 5 years into his professional career. So relatively early on and he's been soldiering on pretty well in the decade since with...
Yep, and that was in 2013, before he was at peak strength and size, 5 years into his professional career. So relatively early on and he's been soldiering on pretty well in the decade since with his injuries catching up to him the last couple of years. I've always been a fan of the big Georgian, so I got to see his heyday of big lifts and still get the frisson when he pulls one out from time to time.
Even though there is probably nothing new to you in it, you might enjoy this video a bit more than the last one, @AugustusFerdinand. I found it to be an interesting look inside a Sumo training camp in Japan, and at the daily lives of the athletes.
Sumo videos I haven't seen and tagging is why I love you @cfabbro. Will check it out when I have a moment.
So I'm 3 minutes in and I want to slap the narrator. I am not a stickler for pronunciation, I don't know enough Japanese to be able to defend such a position on pronunciation even if I was, but there's incorrect pronunciation and then there's flat out using the wrong words. I have already lost count the number of times he's used the word "dojo" for the sumo stable and "sumos" (shudder) for the wrestlers.
3:40 in and the stable is revealed, the wrestler in the white miwashi, indicating he's of paid rank and higher than the others, is Onosho of Onomatsu heya. Onosho is a solid mid-tier wrestler in the top division, whenever he gets to the upper Maegashira ranks he tends to get slapped back down to the middle ranks again. He's too good to drop to juryo, but the nature of sumo means you are always moving up or down in rank each tournament, so he hovers around the middle, gets his paycheck, wins a few special prizes, and occasionally catches a Yokozuna off guard. He's never going to be a big star, but he is fun to watch. Can't recall him ever giving up and his disappointment in losses is always evident on his face, especially when someone does a cheap move like a henka (jumping out of the way at the start of the match so your opponent goes flying past you). Solid rank-and-filer, easy to root for, no controversies, no dirty fighting. If you were going to pick a wrestler to follow you could do much worse than Onosho.
Everyone in the stable seems to be using oshi fighting style and Onosho is no different. Oshi is the standard fighting style people think of when they think of sumo, the pushing and thrusting to push the other wrestler out of the ring. Not a lot of belt grabbing or throws in this bunch, it's about mass and strength.
8:30 in and they start getting put into mawashi to train in the stable and complaints about tightness around genitals are heard, being that it's not openly discussed and something I wouldn't expect any of them to know or the attendants at the stable to tell them, but tucking is something every wrestler does to make it more comfortable.
15 minutes and the typical realization is made that they aren't just a bunch of fat guys, but inconceivably strong as evident by throwing youtubers around like rag dolls. Onosho looked like he was having fun not killing someone.
16 minutes in and the rikishi are too kind to mention while answering questions that they've all been up since 5am, haven't eaten, and these guys asking questions instead of eating is delaying their lunch/recovery/nap as higher ranked wrestlers and guests eat before everyone else as an honor. You can eat and ask questions at the same time and you'll get better answers when the wrestlers aren't just waiting for you to shut up and put food in your face.
17 in and it's really cool the smallest guy is staying the night, very few people outside of sumo get to see what life is like outside the practice sessions every morning. I'm curious who the university student and wrestler is, info on unofficial wrestlers still in school is hard to come by in English.
Overall good video once the narration stopped. Thanks cfabbro.
I can see why you would be frustrated with them since you know so much about the sport, but I think you're also being a bit harsh. I probably would have been just as ignorant of the correct terminology and etiquette as they were, since my only frame of reference is my own martial arts background, where "dojo" is the correct terminology for a Karate and Judo training facility (or the Korean equivalent "dojang" for Taekwondo). And I felt like despite the faux-pas they really were trying their hardest to be as respectful as possible, especially in front of the
sumos;) rikishi and their trainers.I'm glad you started enjoying it more once the initial intro part ended though.
p.s. You don't have to explain tucking to me. *wink wink* :P
I hear you, but they went on and on about how it's been a "dream for years" to get into a sumo stable to film, but they didn't know basic terminology or English equivalents. I'd have been more forgiving from the start if they were some randos that walked in off the street, but they were really pushing this angle as if they were big sumo fans and wanted this access for ages.
But hey, 3-4 minutes out of 27 for a huge channel like theirs being annoying is a pretty good record in my experience.
re: p.s. Wasn't directed at you per se, just general info that
sumos(smart ass) rikishi tuck as well lest their testicles get flattened by the legendary Georgian Tochinoshin's tsuridashi while they helplessly kick the air like a pissed off baby. Tucking has come in handy many times for me as well. ;]When big YouTubers say it's been a "dream for years" to do something it usually means they had the idea for that years ago, and have occasionally been bugging their producers, and travel agents to try again to arrange it for them... not necessarily that they're the biggest or most well versed fans of the thing in question. ;)
The Yes Theory guys travel a crazy crazy amount, all over the world, and often to incredibly remote, inhospitable, and dangerous regions. Not just for YouTube but also for their podcast, and documentaries. And while they've been to Japan quite a few times, they're not really Japanophiles, or even huge sports fans in general either AFAIK, and so despite their enthusiasm at the start of the video it didn't surprise me that they didn't actually know a whole lot about Sumo before jumping into this.
Them being more of the uninformed, enthusiastic, (but still trying to be respectful) everymen in the situations they put themselves in is precisely why I enjoy their videos though. And had they been experts on Sumo going into it, I don't think I would have found it nearly as interesting or entertaining.
Great videos BTW. That would take a crazy amount of strength!
No doubt and few can pull it off both due to the raw strength required and the height it often requires. Being 6'4" certainly helps him in that regard. Tochi is easily one of the strongest rikishi in the sport right now, but he's also 35, in the twilight of his career, and plagued by injury due to a lot of that lifting. His knee brace has been on ever since he performed an ill fated tsuridashi on 423lb Tokushōryū that blew out his knee. And while he's had plenty of success since then, the tsuridashi are few and far between now (and for good reason). Typically if he performs one now he's doing it at the edge of the ring to get them over the tawara insted of picking them up in the center of the ring and just carrying them out. Injuries have seen Tochi drop to juryo (2nd division, still paid ranks) and he's too good to be there. So I imagine he'll take it easy, heal up, and return to the top division for awhile, get injured again, drop to juryo, then retire before he drops out of the paid ranking.
Jesus, 423lbs? Even attempting it with a fully compliant person at that weight would be crazy, so trying it on someone that heavy, as strong as a bull, and fighting you the whole way is bonkers. Not surprising he blew out his knee doing it. That's a ridiculously risky move!
Yep, and that was in 2013, before he was at peak strength and size, 5 years into his professional career. So relatively early on and he's been soldiering on pretty well in the decade since with his injuries catching up to him the last couple of years. I've always been a fan of the big Georgian, so I got to see his heyday of big lifts and still get the frisson when he pulls one out from time to time.