[sumo] Helloooo - anybody home?

[Sumocypher at aol.com]

Probably speechless, so here's a "no steps forward, several steps back"  
article about the Kyokai and its potential new rule book, From an Indian  
newspaper:
 
_http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=sports&xfile=data/spor
ts/2008/April/sports_April681.xml_ 
(http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=sports&xfile=data/sports/2008/April/sports_April681.xml) 
 
 
Sumo officials mull handbook to roly-poly  protocol
(Reuters)

22 April 2008   

TOKYO - Sumo wrestlers who fancy themselves as  nightclubbers or footballers 
face a backlash from traditionalists in the  roly-poly sport.  
Eager to clean up  sumo's tarnished image, officials are mulling the idea of 
producing a handbook  for the bare-buttocked giants to bone up on the 
etiquette of the ancient  Japanese sport. 
Japan's  government recently ordered sumo officials to clean up their act 
after the  arrest of a former gym chief on suspicion of assault following the 
death of a  17-year-old wrestler. 
The affair came  after Mongolian "yokozuna" Asashoryu was banned after being 
caught on TV playing  soccer while supposedly injured, triggering outrage 
among the sumo  establishment. 
Concerned about  a lack of discipline in a sport no longer dominated by 
Japanese wrestlers, sumo  officials could approve a manual to help keep its 
protagonists in  line. 
According to  Japan's popular Nikkan Sports newspaper, top tips for proper 
sumo protocol  include not being seen strolling around Tokyo night spot Roppongi 
in a  T-shirt. 
Also to be  avoided away from the ring are shorts and sweatshirts, while the 
clenching of  fists after winning a bout would also send wrestlers to the back 
of the  class. 
The sumo  handbook would be illustrated with photographs, accompanied by a 
tick or a cross  for the benefit of the dozens of foreign grapplers plying their 
trade in  Japan. 
"When I came  into sumo we didn't have sweatshirts," said Japan Sumo 
Association (JSA)  official Isenoumi in support of the proposed guide, which could be 
formally  approved next month. 
"Clothes are  different now so it is hard for young wrestlers to judge." 
Sumo dates back  some 2,000 years and still retains many Shinto religious 
overtones. 
Hawaiian  Akebono became the first overseas wrestler to be promoted to the 
sport's elite  rank of yokozuna in 1993, followed by Samoan-born Musashimaru in  
1999. 
Modern  professional sumo has more than 60 foreign-born wrestlers in Japan, 
drawn from  countries ranging from South Korea to Brazil with many more from 
Eastern  Europe.



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