[sumo] And the snowball starts rollin'..

[Charles Beauchamp]

--- Moti <kintamayama at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> <<<----- Original Message ----
> From: Charles Beauchamp <beauking1 at yahoo.com>
> 
> I wonder where all of the crowd is that were
> yappping
> about how Asashoryu should accept the tradition or
> quit a few weeks back.  Rikishi abuse IS
> traditional. 
> There is a very thin line between hazing and abuse
> and
> most people do not really know where that line is. 
> Sumo is in trouble.>>
> 
> I will pick up the yappers' gauntlet. There is a
> difference between tradition and what is expected
> from a yokozuna, i.e his job description.
> There are good traditions, bad traditions, and plain
> traditions. Hazing is part of the tradition because
> Sumo is a hierarchial thingy like the army. The army
> has its share of hazings to "put the new recruits in
> their place". The army has its share of scandals
> when some officers overdo it and people die.They
> don't close the army, or change the rules-they
> investigate, someone gets reprimanded, some minor
> superficial talk about "we have learned our lesson
> and it won't happen again", thenwe talk about it for
> a while, and things pretty much fall back to how
> they were till the next case comes up.
> I think it's the same here.
> As for Asa, well..Come on..He broke down faster than
> a shindeshi in any heya. Took him 4-5 days.
> 

Not sure where exactly you are falling on this stuff
either way actually.  As for "hazing" and the
military..well I've served in the military.  I know
the difference.  The heat on the kyokai regarding
Asashoryu had everything to do with the absurdity of
the punishment and the complete nonsensical view
regarding the tradition of junyo which has no real
historical relevance to the sport itself.  The only
place where I have ever seen this notion of the sport
of sumo being somehow the foundation of cultural
identity for Japanese people is within the circle of
fans and participants of the sport itself.  It is
complete mythology.  

Regardless..once members begin comitting acts that are
actually criminal offenses (i.e. assault) tradition,
view of sport, personal interest as a fan and all
other considerations become irrelevant.

I have always held that if the only reason something
exists is tradition it can probably be done away with.
 I suspect very much that some attitudes within the
Sumo community are going to need changing as this is
2007 and not 1824.


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