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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to