Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you !!!

Sumo Wrestler or Warrior !!!

Sumo dates back many thousands of years. It is a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan's national sport.

There are many winning techniques but only about a dozen or so are commonly seen. The most common techniques include yorikiri (force out), tsuridashi (lift out), uwatenage (outside grip arm throw) and tsukidashi (thrust out).

Six tournaments are held every year, each one lasting 15 days. Three of the tournaments are held in Tokyo (January, May, September), and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).

Sumo matches are fought in a “dohyo”, a raised and sanctified platform constructed with clay and sand and onto which a 14 foot 10 inch circle is marked out using half buried straw bales. Suspended above the ring is a wooden structure that resembles the roof of Shinto shrine.

Most elite sumo wrestlers or “Rikishi” are highly trained athletes. They train very hard and eat huge amounts of food and go to bed right after they finish eating in order to gain mass.

The wrestlers live in a special sumo stables where the rules are very strict, especially for lower ranked ones.