Japan's proud national sport, sumo, has more to it than just putting two large, semi-naked people in a ring and have them try to push each other, they say.
"People think it's so easy, but they should try it and see for themselves how difficult it is," Kotooshu, the first European to ever proceed to the second-highest rank of sumo in Japan, explained.
Kotooshu incorporated the techniques particular to sumo in his Western wrestling skills. Within three years and two months, the Bulgarian native climbed the ladder to the second-highest rank of ozeki in Japan.
PHOTO: AFP
But Kotooshu was shocked to see conventional discipline dominating Japan's national sport in the 21st century. He expected to train with state-of-the-art equipment, he said.
"`What in the world is this?' was honestly my first impression," the wrestler said in Japanese after routine training one morning. "You can get arrested for doing that [caning] in other countries."
About 30 large, naked men in their beige loin cloths stood and observed a lower rank member tackling his practice partner head-on during the training.
Before breakfast at around 6am, the members come down from their dormitory rooms to the practice ground with a ring made of rope.
It's a sacred place where they are engulfed with energy. Not even whispers are heard. The only noises are loud panting, wheezing of the wrestlers' lungs and occasional caning on their legs.
Cued by the stable master and trainers mumbling in their rough voices, senior wrestlers would slap or blow water on a junior member being trained.
Kotooshu was no exception. He says he was caned on his thigh three times before he became ozeki. He couldn't protest because of his language ability.
But he believed that endurance makes perfect and built up his strength.
When Japan's national sport was risking a loss in popularity, foreign wrestlers like Kotooshu joined the industry and appeared on TV, saving sumo from retreating into the background.
As the number of non-Japanese sumo began to rise in 2000, the sport has regained its fame and fans. And Kotooshu has contributed to the boost in popularity.
The ozeki, born as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, stands tall at 2.03m and slim at 147kg, unlike classic sumo wrestlers whose stomach extends out and thighs sag.
The young Bulgarian wrestler was scouted by a sumo federation in his home country before traveling half way around the world.
Nicknamed "Gentle Giant," Kotooshu likes to sleep in, go out for dinners and to movies with friends on his days off.
But the man who loves sports and chose sumo as his life's vocation wants to spread the fascination of sumo around the world.
Sumo is barely keeping its quota with the entry of foreign nationals into the field, because very few Japanese young people show interest in it.
Currently, Mongolian athletes are in the majority among 12 non-Japanese nationalities.
Although the Sumo Association limits its 54 stables to accepting one foreign national, Kotooshu thinks the game needs more promotion abroad and can appeal to the world as an international sport just like judo.
just one win
Grand champion Asashoryu was only one win away from the championship yesterday, defeating Kaio to stay in sole lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo tournament.
In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Mongolia-born Asashoryu quickly got a firm hold on the ozeki's belt to shove him out of the ring and into the stands.
Asashoryu's record improved to 13-0 -- one win away from clenching the championship -- while Kaio fell to 8-5.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS