Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
Monday, September 24, 2018
Sept Sumo Wrestling Tournament Winner - Congrats to Yokozuna Hakuho!
Yokozuna Hakuho is in beast mode and showed no signs that his 33-year old body is slowing down in this latest tournament....his 41st Tournament victory (next closest is the legendary Taiho with 32 and Chiyonofuji with 31)! Arguably, his opponents haven't been up to par lately, but that argument is getting old now that he is also getting older and still performing like a Yokozuna should when he is healthy. When he retires, it will be a big deal and I imagine he is going to try and get a few more tournament wins to seal his place in the history books, as if he really needs anymore to do that, though. Love him or hate him, he is an amazing wrestler and almost unstoppable. Here are his three (3) 2018 BBM cards that have been printed so far. Congratulations Hakuho!
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Just curious... what do some people hate him? Do they hate the fact that he's that good? Fans of other sumo wrestlers?
ReplyDeleteHe is a very aggressive wrestler that often does things not fit for a Yokozuna. I’ve seen him a handful of times push a wrestler that is already defeated and out of the ring. No rules against it, but Yokozuna should have more ediquette than that. He also likes to slap, no rules against it, but he relies on it sometimes rather than his strength or skill. Stuff like that.
DeleteThanks for answering my questions. That totally makes sense. Never been to Japan myself, but it seems like a society rich with honor. Pushing an already defeated wrestler doesn't really fit that description.
DeleteI tend to think the critiques of him are a bit overblown though. Almost every wrestler makes the occasional gaffe like that or lets his temper flair a bit every now and then, I think he is just subject to way more scrutiny than anyone else in the game by far which gives an unfair impression that he is too aggressive. Its not like he pushes a guy he just defeated all the time, I think I've only seen it a couple of times (and maybe a few more where just his momentum might have been more to blame than any deliberate action). Pretty much every Yokozuna has failed to live up to the high expectations in terms of etiquette placed on them which is not surprising given the brutal upbringing in the sport they are subjected to.
ReplyDeleteHakuho really is a figure like no other in the history of sumo. I have been following sumo since 2000, before he came along, but he has been so dominant for so long that I just can't imagine what sumo would be like without him when he retires.
No arguments there. He is definitely under a microscope which can lead to harsh judgement sometimes. I’m wondering what sumo is going to look like with the next generation of rikishi too.
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