[sumo] Any More Surprises? Sumo, Violence and Secrets

[Keri Sibley]

There is a fine line between training and  abuse and
it's not as clear cut as one might think.

I'll give you an example. A rikishi in Tomozuna beya
climbing up the ranks might eventually ends up doing
some keiko with say... Kaio. In the normal course of
practice Kaio pulls an infamous Kaio-nage on him and
breaks his arm. Is that hazing, true training, or over
the top. Kaio had no intent to hurt the poor guy, but
he did. Now has Kaio ever broken any arms in a
hon-basho? The answer is yes. How do you prepare your
rikishiki for a match with Kaio. Do you say "don't
stick your arms in there or they'll get broken?" LOL
Advantage Kaio.

I'll give you another example, one that I eluded to in
an earlier email. Takatoriki was infamous for leading
with his head. What do you tell your rikishi on the
day of his match with Takatoriki? Don't stick your
head in there. LOL Advantage Takatoriki. I mean
really...How does one prepare for the massive
collisions at the tachi-ai without taking a few shots
to the head? Should we give them helmets & shoulder
pads?

Now I'm not condoning the use of training techniques
such as beer bottles and baseball bats, but as an
Oyakata you're faced with quite a dilemma. How do you
teach them to take the punishment (on the dohyo) that
goes with the brutality of the sport. You can't teach
fear to your rikishi. So you try to make them as tough
as you can the best way you can. If you teach them
fear they will only lose. I think that if a rikishi
wants to runaway, just let them. They won't be able to
make it in the sumo world anyway. 

Hinerikeri

--- Takanomizu <takanomizu at mchsi.com> wrote:

> 
> Let me throw this out:
> I admit I'm a little naive. But even with following
> sumo for @ 15 years and living in Japan for four, I
> never knew about the hazing. The deshi-on-deshi
> violence surprises me. Is hazing something male? The
> only other situation I associate it with is
> fraternities. Is it a secret society thing?
> 
> The sumo bout seems like a good reflection of the
> mind set. In the beginning it's all bows and
> politeness, then the surge of violence. I suppose it
> has to be taught.
> 
> I always thought that, along with tradition, money
> was the reason most people act the way they do in
> the Sumo world, but I never thought that matches
> were fixed. Is it possible?
> 
> Any more surprises for the naive old broad?
> 
> Irene
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