The morning Longman seminar for English teachers was quite good with teaching strategies presented by 2 lecturers. But the day was more exciting for me during the afternoon sumo wrestling championship games held in Tokyo.
I dont spend money to enjoy my simple sports desires. Watching the TV and utube clips are fine for my simple joy.
But since the 2008 start of the New Year Grand Sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo, I was already monitoring the games during the evening news. And I could understand somehow the nature of the games. It is a dual sports played by rotation. The professional sumo tournament is framed within 2-week time. There is no elimination but one has to face and fight all the qualified wrestlers.
One unique in the game is the ritual based on a Buddhism and Shintoism approach, seemingly. From the calling of the players by the Shinto priest-dressed Referree to the stretching rituals, bowing rituals, the sitting position before the fight, the face-to-face silent meeting of the players in front of the chief referree to the start of the wresting bout depending on the same time the matched two wrestlers start the game by standing and attacking each other.
Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho passed arguably his toughest test with flying colors Sunday, beating rival yokozuna Asashoryu in a final showdown to win his third straight title with victory at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament. Yokozuna is the highest rank among the professional sumo wrestlers awarded when he became the champion in the whole tournament. Lower rank is called ozeki.
Hakuho, who had determined that he could not lose to a rival who had been away from the raised-ring for so long, got an excellent jump at the face off with his right hand on Asashoryu's "mawashi" belt for a firm grapple.Asashoryu tried everything within his power, lifting his rival up twice in the air, but Hakuho never budged before deploying a perfectly timed overarm throw for the win at Ryogoku Kokugikan, (see this video on their yesterday fight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thxwT_S5Bq4).
Internally, I saw Hakuho looking more abel-type and humble than his rival Asashoryu, who looked vulgar, unrazorred with his beard, and appeared over-proud of his capacity.
In a battle of ozeki, Bulgarian Kotooshu ushered out veteran Kaio (8-7) to finish with a 9-6 record. Ozeki Kotomitsuki just passed the grade with an 8-7 mark after dispatching of sekiwake Aminishiki, who finished on 5-10.
This is one Japanese cultural and dual sports I learned to know and aprreciate. Nevertheless, there are behind the curtain issues that came out about sumo wrestling when one junior trainee died inside his stable. A kind of hazing case came out.
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