I’m thrilled that so many people have signed up to read about sumo on both Bloody Elbow and here on the Sumo Stomp! Substack.
I’d love this to be a space for people to chat about, and connect over, sumo.
To get the ball rolling, I’ve set up this open thread. If you’re interested, please drop in and and tell us a bit about yourself and why you like the sport.
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I’ll get started. I’m Tim. I live around Toronto and I’m one of the editors and site managers at Bloody Elbow. I’ve been keeping an eye on sumo for a longtime, but this year I decided to start covering it for BE. In addition to sumo, my other interests include TTRPGs (playing and make them), novels (reading and trying to write them) and some traditional sports (soccer and basketball mostly).
Why do I like sumo? I summed it up in a response I gave Joey S. on my most recent Report Card post:
The characters really make this sport. And being able to follow dozens of intertwining narratives, many of which have crucial nexus points, is what keeps me coming back to the sport.
Your turn!
How I look when I psych myself up before sharing personal details.
When I was a kid, my favorite Street Fighter character was E. Honda. In elementary school, I found a book in my school's library about the history of Japan. Part of it explained the origins and religious significance of sumo, which I thought was pretty cool. Around that time I discovered that the same public access station (are those still around?} that sometimes aired anime would also sometimes air sumo tournaments at like 4am. I immediately loved it. When I started with wrestling, I'd do a chirichozu before every match, and it became enough of a habit that I still do it before every roll and sparring session. Helps me get my mind centered. Also I think it makes me look cool. If amateur sumo for men over the age of 30 ever becomes a thing in Europe, apologies to my wife, but I'm gonna be bulking up on chanko and giving it a go.
I just love everything about it. The rich cultural history and traditions, the stories and personalities, and the skill, technique, and strength on display.
Joey from California. Engineer, Wrestler, BJJ purple belt, 40k and MTG nerd.
I got hooked on combat sports after watching Korean Zombie vs. Leonard Garcia 1 in the WEC. This led me to wrestling and BJJ with hopes of glory someday, only to realize that I'm happier as a fan than a fighter.
A spontaneous internet search led me to sumo. Two years of online fascination culminated into a trip to Japan this recent May.
I couldn't tell you why a person enjoys one thing over another. But, sumo is that thing for me right now.
When I was a kid, my favorite Street Fighter character was E. Honda. In elementary school, I found a book in my school's library about the history of Japan. Part of it explained the origins and religious significance of sumo, which I thought was pretty cool. Around that time I discovered that the same public access station (are those still around?} that sometimes aired anime would also sometimes air sumo tournaments at like 4am. I immediately loved it. When I started with wrestling, I'd do a chirichozu before every match, and it became enough of a habit that I still do it before every roll and sparring session. Helps me get my mind centered. Also I think it makes me look cool. If amateur sumo for men over the age of 30 ever becomes a thing in Europe, apologies to my wife, but I'm gonna be bulking up on chanko and giving it a go.
I just love everything about it. The rich cultural history and traditions, the stories and personalities, and the skill, technique, and strength on display.
Joey from California. Engineer, Wrestler, BJJ purple belt, 40k and MTG nerd.
I got hooked on combat sports after watching Korean Zombie vs. Leonard Garcia 1 in the WEC. This led me to wrestling and BJJ with hopes of glory someday, only to realize that I'm happier as a fan than a fighter.
A spontaneous internet search led me to sumo. Two years of online fascination culminated into a trip to Japan this recent May.
I couldn't tell you why a person enjoys one thing over another. But, sumo is that thing for me right now.