Watching now. First minute in, credit to the man/script writer for the intro. Well written and spoken. It's also at this point that I decide I should probably google "Martins Licis" - he appears...
Exemplary
Watching now.
First minute in, credit to the man/script writer for the intro. Well written and spoken. It's also at this point that I decide I should probably google "Martins Licis" - he appears to be quite the strong individual (sarcasm) - I've watched plenty of various strongman competitions/clips over the years, but don't actually follow the sport/athletes, respect what they accomplish/can do.
Minor complaint, the history-of-sumo section really didn't need the floating dust/debris effect.
2:15 - Thank you for not making me have to identify rikishi to figure out the stable! Tatsunami Beya, is a pretty successful stable these days, with newly minted Ozeki Hoshoryu and high-Maegashira Meisei. Akua also hails from here, though he's been a bit down on his luck lately but still in the juryo paid ranks. Also of note about Akua and the strength trainer, Satoshi Matsubara, introduced here, the latter was attempting (don't know if successful) to get the former into a strongman competition as there are a lot of obvious parallels between strongman and sumo bursts of strength. Many a rikishi strength train by lifting other wrestlers (weights are expensive, co-rikishi are free) and there are a few videos floating around of rikishi working out like (recently retired) Ishiura squatting 300kg/660lbs and one of current Yokozuna Terunofuji legpressing 600kg/1320lbs. For the longest time rikishi did not really lift weights like this, but that has started to change with the top wrestlers/stables having dedicated strength trainers and going to gyms to focus on strength training.
2:30 - Not really shown off, just captured because the cameras were rolling, but you can see "David" hand Satoshi a small stack of envelopes, this is payment (likely a "gift" instead of a pre-negotiated amount) for access and something I've never seen anyone else wanting stable access do. Not that a lot of background stuff is shot, but many a video has revolved around walking up and just asking to be let in and record without regard to how it would interrupt their day-to-day life. Just as you can't just walk up to the facilities of your favorite sports team and expect to be let in, you shouldn't expect the same of a beya and it's one of the little things that grinds my gears when a westerner tries to get into a sumo stable.
4:00 - Boys will be boys... Big dick questions, astounded at hand size (see tegata for relevance) comparisons to muscular anime characters...
6:00 - They're at one of the even-numbered-month, one day single-elimination tournaments just for the top two divisions. Doesn't affect rankings, but the prize money is enough that it's worth entering and you get to see some good competitive sumo, especially from juryo rikishi as they're paid less than the makuuchi wrestlers (read: wanting the money more) and their final match consists of a quick succession round-robin series between the top three competitors where you have to win successive matches in a row to take the top prize.
15:00 - Respect given from someone that obviously knows what training hard is like to how hard they train just during the warm-up stage.
17:30 - Nice hair.
22:00 - Nice to finally see someone that can put in effort to actually spar with the wrestlers and present them a challenge, but as mentioned below and in the video, these are the "green" wrestlers and even with Martins' background he's not just plowing through them.
I think if Martins made the switch from Strongman to Sumo, with the proper training he could actually have a decent go at it given how freakishly big (6'3", 160+kg) and strong he is. He was even able to lift/toss a few of the rikishi out of the ring in the second set of practice bouts, like the Czech rikishi you've mentioned in the past who was known for doing that. :P
Unfortunately, he's a little old now at 33, which is within 2-5 years of retirement for most rikishi. He definitely has size and strength on his side, but there's a reason pixies are just as viable in the top divisions as the heavyweight pushers and the strongmen like the Georgian I mentioned previously, there's an absolute ton of technique that needs to be learned, how to counter it, how to read opponents, etc. Stuff that takes years of practice and competition.
That said, it's mentioned in the video that Japanese strength training is some 10 years behind western/US strength training and I've had a long held theory that a well funded stable that goes all in with an NFL lineman/end style training and strength program would likely be utterly dominant in the sport.
That also has some problems though as in order to afford such they'd need several high ranking rikishi and with a limited number of spots available plus the rule that stablemates don't battle one another unless there's a tie that has to be broken for the overall championship, there'd be some stagnation and matchup issues that the JSA would not like and possibly implement rules to ban the practice lest the spirit of sumo be tarnished by western influence.
Good video and thanks for bringing it to my attention @cfabbro!
YVW. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the interesting commentary. :) Yeah, makes sense. He's even getting a bit old for Strongman at this point too. Although some are in their 40s and can still...
YVW. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the interesting commentary. :)
Unfortunately, he's a little old now at 33
Yeah, makes sense. He's even getting a bit old for Strongman at this point too. Although some are in their 40s and can still do reasonably well, E.g. Brian Shaw. But Martins has also unfortunately had a bunch of serious injuries the last few years too, which is why he's currently in the middle of a recovery year away from the sport... which is what's been allowing him to travel the world doing these YouTube videos.
like the Georgian I mentioned previously
Ah, okay, after some googling it was Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi that you mentioned. I must have gotten him mixed up with the much smaller Takanoyama Shuntarō, who is Czech, and I have also heard of before somehow too.
Makes since. I watched a couple of other videos, the Japanese stone lifting and Mongolian wrestling, and in the latter as well as the sumo video he mentions some pain/injury. Likely because while...
he's currently in the middle of a recovery year away from the sport... which is what's been allowing him to travel the world doing these YouTube videos.
Makes since. I watched a couple of other videos, the Japanese stone lifting and Mongolian wrestling, and in the latter as well as the sumo video he mentions some pain/injury.
Takanoyama Shuntarō, who is Czech, and I have also heard of before somehow too.
Likely because while he never was hugely successful, he did have his time in the limelight for getting to the top division at such a light weight. He's most well known, on the internet at least, for the most perfectly executed henka in recent memory.
Ah yeah I've definitely seen that clip before. But I think he also might have been featured on one of the Japanese variety shows I regularly watch too. I can't remember which one, or what the...
Ah yeah I've definitely seen that clip before. But I think he also might have been featured on one of the Japanese variety shows I regularly watch too. I can't remember which one, or what the context was for his appearance there though.
Edit: I vaguely recall him appearing on the show in one of those inflatable sumo suits, so they could make fun of how skinny he was compared to the other rakishi they had on. But it was so long ago I can't for the life of me remember what show it was, or find any clips of it. :(
@AugustusFerdinand, I think you might like this video more than the last "inside a Sumo stable" video I posted. Martins actually speaks a bit of Japanese, and has a lot more genuine respect for...
@AugustusFerdinand, I think you might like this video more than the last "inside a Sumo stable" video I posted. Martins actually speaks a bit of Japanese, and has a lot more genuine respect for the sport/athletes/culture than the guys in the other video. Martins also takes everything way more seriously, and actually properly participates in the warmups and training sessions. And also unlike the previous guys, he has a background in wrestling, and the strength, and size needed to actually gave the rikishi a bit of a challenge in the sparring sessions (is that the correct term for Sumo practice bouts?).
Spoiler
I think if Martins made the switch from Strongman to Sumo, with the proper training he could actually have a decent go at it given how freakishly big (6'3", 160+kg) and strong he is. He was even able to lift/toss a few of the rikishi out of the ring in the second set of practice bouts, like the Czech rikishi you've mentioned in the past who was known for doing that. :P
cc: @pekt, @TheInflatableKayak, @toratoratora, since I know you're all fans of Sumo as well, so I figured you might enjoy this video too. Apologies if you would prefer not to be pinged like this though.
I love you too @cfabbro! I've been eating well on sumo lately with the basho just ending, recaps to watch, and the Sumo World Championships (men and women's divisions!). Hey now, I liked the other...
Hey now, I liked the other video once the narrator stopped incorrectly narrating.
I'll watch this one later as I've been prepping for a trip to NYC and then Colorado in a couple of days while also remodeling the bathroom before we leave so our pet/house sitter isn't living in a construction site while we're gone.
❤️ And damn, what's with all these trips of yours lately? I'm jealous. :P p.s. Make sure to hit up the MoMA this time! :P And The Met and NYC Natural History Museum are also well worth a visit too.
❤️ And damn, what's with all these trips of yours lately? I'm jealous. :P
p.s. Make sure to hit up the MoMA this time! :P And The Met and NYC Natural History Museum are also well worth a visit too.
Trying to get a little closer to you in the great white north! This trip is mostly dedicated to scouting areas and checking out houses (plus a little bit of visiting family and a tattoo stop) and...
Trying to get a little closer to you in the great white north!
This trip is mostly dedicated to scouting areas and checking out houses (plus a little bit of visiting family and a tattoo stop) and as a result we're only spending one-and-a-half days in NYC so no sight seeing this round. Just long enough to do the holiday party work thing and then jet off to Colorado for what should be the final "trip" before moving early next year and getting the hell out of Texas.
Thanks for the ping on this! That looks interesting and is going onto my "once I finish the basho playlist for sumo content". Sadly I've hit a point where I'm not able to commit the time to...
Thanks for the ping on this! That looks interesting and is going onto my "once I finish the basho playlist for sumo content". Sadly I've hit a point where I'm not able to commit the time to watching everyday of the basho and I've been finding myself having to avoid all sumo content until I can actually finish, which is sometimes a few weeks or a month later, to try and avoid spoilers.
YVW. :) p.s. I don't think there are any spoilers in this video, but I'm not super familiar with Sumo so I could be wrong. @AugustusFerdinand, can you confirm there were no spoilers? If there...
YVW. :)
p.s. I don't think there are any spoilers in this video, but I'm not super familiar with Sumo so I could be wrong. @AugustusFerdinand, can you confirm there were no spoilers? If there were, sorry about that, and let me know so I can add the spoiler tag to the topic.
I doubt there are any, but I've been spoiled by comments before haha. I'll try to remember to let you know what I think of the video when I get around to watching it.
I doubt there are any, but I've been spoiled by comments before haha. I'll try to remember to let you know what I think of the video when I get around to watching it.
Watching now.
First minute in, credit to the man/script writer for the intro. Well written and spoken. It's also at this point that I decide I should probably google "Martins Licis" - he appears to be quite the strong individual (sarcasm) - I've watched plenty of various strongman competitions/clips over the years, but don't actually follow the sport/athletes, respect what they accomplish/can do.
Minor complaint, the history-of-sumo section really didn't need the floating dust/debris effect.
2:15 - Thank you for not making me have to identify rikishi to figure out the stable! Tatsunami Beya, is a pretty successful stable these days, with newly minted Ozeki Hoshoryu and high-Maegashira Meisei. Akua also hails from here, though he's been a bit down on his luck lately but still in the juryo paid ranks. Also of note about Akua and the strength trainer, Satoshi Matsubara, introduced here, the latter was attempting (don't know if successful) to get the former into a strongman competition as there are a lot of obvious parallels between strongman and sumo bursts of strength. Many a rikishi strength train by lifting other wrestlers (weights are expensive, co-rikishi are free) and there are a few videos floating around of rikishi working out like (recently retired) Ishiura squatting 300kg/660lbs and one of current Yokozuna Terunofuji legpressing 600kg/1320lbs. For the longest time rikishi did not really lift weights like this, but that has started to change with the top wrestlers/stables having dedicated strength trainers and going to gyms to focus on strength training.
2:30 - Not really shown off, just captured because the cameras were rolling, but you can see "David" hand Satoshi a small stack of envelopes, this is payment (likely a "gift" instead of a pre-negotiated amount) for access and something I've never seen anyone else wanting stable access do. Not that a lot of background stuff is shot, but many a video has revolved around walking up and just asking to be let in and record without regard to how it would interrupt their day-to-day life. Just as you can't just walk up to the facilities of your favorite sports team and expect to be let in, you shouldn't expect the same of a beya and it's one of the little things that grinds my gears when a westerner tries to get into a sumo stable.
4:00 - Boys will be boys... Big dick questions, astounded at hand size (see tegata for relevance) comparisons to muscular anime characters...
6:00 - They're at one of the even-numbered-month, one day single-elimination tournaments just for the top two divisions. Doesn't affect rankings, but the prize money is enough that it's worth entering and you get to see some good competitive sumo, especially from juryo rikishi as they're paid less than the makuuchi wrestlers (read: wanting the money more) and their final match consists of a quick succession round-robin series between the top three competitors where you have to win successive matches in a row to take the top prize.
15:00 - Respect given from someone that obviously knows what training hard is like to how hard they train just during the warm-up stage.
17:30 - Nice hair.
22:00 - Nice to finally see someone that can put in effort to actually spar with the wrestlers and present them a challenge, but as mentioned below and in the video, these are the "green" wrestlers and even with Martins' background he's not just plowing through them.
Unfortunately, he's a little old now at 33, which is within 2-5 years of retirement for most rikishi. He definitely has size and strength on his side, but there's a reason pixies are just as viable in the top divisions as the heavyweight pushers and the strongmen like the Georgian I mentioned previously, there's an absolute ton of technique that needs to be learned, how to counter it, how to read opponents, etc. Stuff that takes years of practice and competition.
That said, it's mentioned in the video that Japanese strength training is some 10 years behind western/US strength training and I've had a long held theory that a well funded stable that goes all in with an NFL lineman/end style training and strength program would likely be utterly dominant in the sport.
That also has some problems though as in order to afford such they'd need several high ranking rikishi and with a limited number of spots available plus the rule that stablemates don't battle one another unless there's a tie that has to be broken for the overall championship, there'd be some stagnation and matchup issues that the JSA would not like and possibly implement rules to ban the practice lest the spirit of sumo be tarnished by western influence.
Good video and thanks for bringing it to my attention @cfabbro!
YVW. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the interesting commentary. :)
Yeah, makes sense. He's even getting a bit old for Strongman at this point too. Although some are in their 40s and can still do reasonably well, E.g. Brian Shaw. But Martins has also unfortunately had a bunch of serious injuries the last few years too, which is why he's currently in the middle of a recovery year away from the sport... which is what's been allowing him to travel the world doing these YouTube videos.
Ah, okay, after some googling it was Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi that you mentioned. I must have gotten him mixed up with the much smaller Takanoyama Shuntarō, who is Czech, and I have also heard of before somehow too.
Makes since. I watched a couple of other videos, the Japanese stone lifting and Mongolian wrestling, and in the latter as well as the sumo video he mentions some pain/injury.
Likely because while he never was hugely successful, he did have his time in the limelight for getting to the top division at such a light weight. He's most well known, on the internet at least, for the most perfectly executed henka in recent memory.
Ah yeah I've definitely seen that clip before. But I think he also might have been featured on one of the Japanese variety shows I regularly watch too. I can't remember which one, or what the context was for his appearance there though.
Edit: I vaguely recall him appearing on the show in one of those inflatable sumo suits, so they could make fun of how skinny he was compared to the other rakishi they had on. But it was so long ago I can't for the life of me remember what show it was, or find any clips of it. :(
@AugustusFerdinand, I think you might like this video more than the last "inside a Sumo stable" video I posted. Martins actually speaks a bit of Japanese, and has a lot more genuine respect for the sport/athletes/culture than the guys in the other video. Martins also takes everything way more seriously, and actually properly participates in the warmups and training sessions. And also unlike the previous guys, he has a background in wrestling, and the strength, and size needed to actually gave the rikishi a bit of a challenge in the sparring sessions (is that the correct term for Sumo practice bouts?).
Spoiler
I think if Martins made the switch from Strongman to Sumo, with the proper training he could actually have a decent go at it given how freakishly big (6'3", 160+kg) and strong he is. He was even able to lift/toss a few of the rikishi out of the ring in the second set of practice bouts, like the Czech rikishi you've mentioned in the past who was known for doing that. :P
cc: @pekt, @TheInflatableKayak, @toratoratora, since I know you're all fans of Sumo as well, so I figured you might enjoy this video too. Apologies if you would prefer not to be pinged like this though.
I love you too @cfabbro! I've been eating well on sumo lately with the basho just ending, recaps to watch, and the Sumo World Championships (men and women's divisions!).
Hey now, I liked the other video once the narrator stopped incorrectly narrating.
I'll watch this one later as I've been prepping for a trip to NYC and then Colorado in a couple of days while also remodeling the bathroom before we leave so our pet/house sitter isn't living in a construction site while we're gone.
❤️ And damn, what's with all these trips of yours lately? I'm jealous. :P
p.s. Make sure to hit up the MoMA this time! :P And The Met and NYC Natural History Museum are also well worth a visit too.
Trying to get a little closer to you in the great white north!
This trip is mostly dedicated to scouting areas and checking out houses (plus a little bit of visiting family and a tattoo stop) and as a result we're only spending one-and-a-half days in NYC so no sight seeing this round. Just long enough to do the holiday party work thing and then jet off to Colorado for what should be the final "trip" before moving early next year and getting the hell out of Texas.
Oh, nice. Texas to Colorado is quite the change. Congrats! If you need any tips on surviving the winter, lemme know. :P
Hey, I do appreciate the ping. I'll definitely watch the video, thanks :)
YVW. :)
Thanks for the ping on this! That looks interesting and is going onto my "once I finish the basho playlist for sumo content". Sadly I've hit a point where I'm not able to commit the time to watching everyday of the basho and I've been finding myself having to avoid all sumo content until I can actually finish, which is sometimes a few weeks or a month later, to try and avoid spoilers.
YVW. :)
p.s. I don't think there are any spoilers in this video, but I'm not super familiar with Sumo so I could be wrong. @AugustusFerdinand, can you confirm there were no spoilers? If there were, sorry about that, and let me know so I can add the spoiler tag to the topic.
I doubt there are any, but I've been spoiled by comments before haha. I'll try to remember to let you know what I think of the video when I get around to watching it.
Yeah, I totally understand. Always better to be safe than sorry. I look forward to hearing what you thought of the video, but no pressure/rush. :)
There are no spoilers for the basho.