tions of a practice session, a blessing of the ring by a small
army of elderly Japanese people, and the standard children-
vs.-Goliath showdown, the first really impressive bout was
between Toki, one of the bigger wrestlers with the best set
of sideburns that side of the Japanese trench, and Akinoshu.
They both came out slapping with a frenetic open-hand
tsuppari attack that surprised the crowd with its speed and
ferocity. To some, it looked like a violent version of patty-
cake.

The tsuppari was well-used the whole weekend, as was the
lift out (tsuri-dashi), and the frontal force out (yori-kiri).
There weren't too many weird bouts, not a lot of cunning
moves such as Mainoumi used to display before he was
demoted.

But it was good, fundamental sumo. There were short sur-
prise bouts, like when cagey veteran Kotonishiki leapt, cat-
like, over Musashimaru, and fell to the dirt.

Then there was the epic four-minute bout between baby-
faced underacfiiever Kotonowaka and rough-and-tumble
Akinoshima. The two wrestlers stood still in a judo-like
stance, each feeling with one free hand whether or not the
other was ready to be thrown. Kotonowaka won, part of his
good show during the koen. In another match, he ducked
matador-like and sent the charging Musoyama crashing into
an unfortunate salt-bearer.

Then there were the mono-ii’s. Two of them. Two dubious
calls which sent the four
sombre judges onto the
dohyo to compare notes
and possibly overrule
the referee. This hap-
pened three times dur-
ing the weekend, strange
for such a rare
occurence. Twice the
judges called for a
rematch, and, strangely,
both bouts involved
fierce Mongolian
wrestler Kyokushuzan,
who, with his pectoral
dance at the stare down,
quickly became a

favourite of the crowd;

losing only to the high-

er-ranke estlers, like

yokoz akanohana.
B wrestlers

ain Pa
dais
wits, aaaralel oi a ibis

 

 

impressive bouts of the weekend for the second to last
match in Canada. Akebono had lost to fellow Hawatian
Musashimaru in the semifinal match; Takanohana triumphed
over his older brother in a rare Hanada vs. Hanada duel. The
winner of that one would face Akebono, who captured the
first day's title, for the tournament championship.

It was a pretty standard tachi-ai, and both wrestlers
waltzed for a second or two, dancing slowly over to the rim
of the ring. With both wrestlers having one leg on the rim,
the fresher and arguably stronger Musashimaru had an edge
and was attempting to pivot on his outside leg to swing
Takanohana out. With Takanohana's left leg hovering outside
the ring, and with nothing but his right leg and some des-
peration, the options were looking slim. But with two great
kicks of his leg in the air, he managed to swing the 700-
pound wrestling dyad back into the workable portion of the
dohyo. With Musashimaru spent, Takanohana walked him
calmly out of the ring, keeping his centre of gravity low to
the last second. For Takanohana, the fundamentals of the
sport continue, even in the instant after he’s won.

Takanohana then beat Akebono for the weekend cup, in a
less spectacular fashion than his dispatch of Musashimaru.
Among the prizes was a year's supply of salmon.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said announcer Sanoyama-oyaka-
ta, formerly Konishiki, who emceed the weekend ably along
with sumo pundit Katrina Watts. “You have just seen two
days of spectacular
sumo.”

Wakakaze then came
out for the bow-
twirling ceremony, sig-
nifying the end of the
tournament. The
wrestlers returned,
stood around the ring
and Akebono read a
statement of thanks.
The rikishi waved to
the crowd, to the tune
of Auld Lang Syne.

Till we meet again,

boys.

Kaio teaching some
damn Canadian kids
manners, Tokyo-style.