CNN's Asia Now Program- Bulgarian Sumo Wrestler, Kotoōshū Katsunori (琴欧洲 勝紀, 2/3

Bulgarian Sumo Wrestler, Kotoōshū Katsunori is featured on CNN's Talk Asia Program which aired in Japan in 2006.

Sumo, a religious right of the Japanese Shinto tradition became a spectator's sport in the 1700s. Japanese war lords of the era kept a stable of sumo wrestlers as a symbol of power and prestige. The rules for Sumo are simple. Two men face off and the first person to throw the other out of the ring or topple his opponent is the winner. Members of the Sumo world must follow a strict code of conduct and is deep in tradition. Hierarchy is paramount. Wrestlers are separated into two groups, the higher level and the lower level. Basically, the group that serves the other. The differences in Sumo and Wrestling in Bulgaria was extreme as in Bulgaria, members of the amateur national team had proper rehabilitation, doctors, masseurs, etc. But in Japan, Sumo, a professional sport, had none of these things and had to serve the higher level. In Sumo, you are motivated by either being the one that serves or the one who gets served. In Sumo, you prove yourself to the others by hard work and every two months showcase your hard work by winning. Sumo wrestlers eat out of a big pot of stew and eat two big meals. Size alone is not enough to win in wrestling. Quickness and speed is also important. Kotoōshū could run 100m in 11 seconds at the time that he entered Sumo in Japan.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Kotoōshū
• Katsunori
• (琴欧洲
• 勝紀
• Japanese
• Sumo

[Quillons1]

@wasabiwild This is interesting. The only problem is when you get these "suffragists" that want to champion other peoples' "rights", they don't want to hear logic and reason. They just want others to disregard hundreds of years of tradition because they say it's insensitive. Unfortunately, at some point, it became taboo to enjoy tradition for tradition's sake. But go and try to get a membership at "Curves" gyms which is only for women. Only when it suits I guess...

[wasabiwild]

@sgsilver your opinion is lttle off the track and may lead to red herring..they consider it as an insult to the shinto god and spirits that live in that sumo ring so it has more religious meaning than you might think. moreover, since women being naked in public (no brainer) or even showing your upper arms or thighs or calves for that matter is considered rude and "impure," it is absolute no-no for women to even enter the ring and practice sumo. that's the main reason they dont allow women.

[sgsilver]

Fascinating that they did not mention the fact that women are not allowed in the ring because they are considered "impure" (kegare). I guess that part of the "tradition" was not worth mentioning.