Sumo Wrestling Rules That You Must Know
Have you seen two fat dudes fighting in a ring? We call it sumo wrestling.
In this article, we will be learning some Japanese terminology snd rules that are used in sumo wrestling.
The object of the game is to either force your opponent out of the ring or make him touch the floor with anything other than the soles of his feet.
If you manage to do either of these things the referee will point to your side of the dohyo, and you win the match.
Before going into further discussion about sumo wrestling rules, we must go through the history of sumo wrestling.
History Of Sumo Wrestling:-
Sumo wrestling is a type of 1500-year-old martial art. The roots of sumo wrestling are from Japan, to be more specific, it originated in an indigenous region of japan called Shinto.
Sumo might look a funny game but it is a very serious tradition in japan. Today, we will be knowing about some of the terminologies and rules and regulations of sumo wrestling.
They used to play for the gods to get a good harvest. Sumo wrestling was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. We can see their popularity in the prints.
Interesting fact : You may know that American-born Akebono was the first non-japanese champion.
Sumo wrestling is japan’s oldest sport, and it is contested between two wrestlers known as rikishi. And takes place in a clay ring known as a dohyo. The ring itself is roughly 4.5m in diameter.
Terminology Use In Sumo Wrestling
Sumo wrestling is a Japanese game and terminologies are also in the Japanese language. These are some of the terminologies that you must understand before watching or playing sumo. You might not understand these terms as we have explained them in a better way.
Mawashi:- A mawashi is the belt that Rishiki wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional sumo wrestlers wear a kesho-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony.
Pre-match Ritual: This is the process to start a sumo wrestling match. It is a religious ceremony that begins with the cleansing of the mouth and then throws salt to purify the ring, stamping out evil spirits. They each show that they are not carrying any weapons.
Mono-2: If there is a dispute on who won the game, then five judges who are dressed in black will step into the ring to discuss the match. we call This mono two. They decide to either agree with the referee or overturn the referee’s decision, or if they still cannot conclude they will order a rematch, and both rikishi wrestles again.
Gyoji: The match referee is called gyoji. He wears colorful robes and holds, and he holds a wooden fan in his right hand, which is used to signal the winner. The highest-ranked gyoji wears purple robe decorations, which is the color of Japanese nobility.
Tournaments: Sumo matches usually occur in competitions, each rishiki contests in one game every day for 15 straight days in the top division, or seven straight days in lower divisions. The rishiki, with the most wins in any one tournament, is the winner.
If two rishiki have the same record, they must fight each other to be crowned.
Makuuchi: If you are in the top 5 sumo ranks, this is known as makuuchi or the top division, where your matches and starting salary are significantly higher than the bottom five grades.
Yokozuna: The goal of every sumo wrestler is to reach the rank of yokozuna. Yokozuna is the sumo rank of grand champion. The process of becoming yokozuna. Firstly, who has to win two straight tournaments. Then, you must have a vote of the Yokozuna deliberation council of the Japan sumo association to win a yokozuna or grand champion.
But it is not that simple. There are some rules and regulations of this game lets get into them.
Rules and Regulation In Sumo Wrestling:-
- Both sumo wrestlers touch the ground with their fists and the match begins.
- You are allowed to:-
- Push your opponent
- Slap your opponent
- Grab their mawashi or loincloth
- Lock their limbs
- Redirect them out of the ring
- Trip them up
- Throw them out of the ring
3. You are not allowed to
- You can not punch your opponent
- Grab around the crotch area
- Poke them into the sensitive area
4. If you do any of these things, you will be directly disqualified.
- If your mawashi comes off, you are immediately disqualified.
- There is no time limit, and matches can least till any of the opponents are being pushed or disqualified.
Facts Related To Sumo Wrestling:-
- Sumo is japan’s oldest & national sport
- Rishiki devotes their whole life to training themselves.
- Rishiki might look chubby, but they are extremely powerful. They used to be funny in earlier days but due to power sources, they started gaining weight.
- Rishikis have speedy reflexes and incredible balance.
- The heaviest rishiki can be 287 kgs or 633 lbs.
Top 3 Sumo Wrestlers in the World
1.Hakuhō Shō
Hakuho sho started his career as a sumo wrestler in the year 2001. He holds the record for the most undefeated competition titles at eleven, which is a tremendous achievement for any wrestler.he was also awarded for the highest award of yokozuna.
2. Taihō Kōki
Taiho koki is the second most famous sumo wrestling champion born in May 1940 at the age of 21 he won the title of yokozuna. He was the youngest guy ever to win yokozuna. And he died in 2013 after a great winning inning.
3. Kaiō Hiroyuki
he was born on 24 July 1972 and made his debut in 1988, he reached the top makuuchi division in 1993. Kaio held the rank of ozeki champion till 2011. He was also the longest-serving ozeki of all times although he was not able to make it to the highest top-level yokozuna.
Final words
These were the sumo wrestling rules and things that you must know about sumo wrestling japan before watching or playing sumo wrestling. Before winding up I must share an interesting fact that sumo is one of the hardest playing sports in the world. Let me tell you that I have enjoyed writing this article a lot please do let me know what you think in the comment box below.
