Re: [sumo dictionary] Techniques- The Basics3

[Masumi Abe <abe@accesscom.com>]

Shitate (underhand) grip is commonly used among amateurs and it is considered
as amateurish in Ozumo. In Ozumo, Uwate (overhand) grip is preferred.

The reason of this is that if two rikishi tries to throw each other at the
same time, rikishi with uwate has "logically" a clear advantage to falling
over the rikishi with shitate, more often than not.

But in reality, many, if not most, former Nichidai rikishi are known for their
preference of shitate over uwate. It seems that Mr. Tanaka, a head coach at
Nichidai, instruct his students to go for shitate. For example, Yokozuna
Wajima is famous for his golden shitate-nage from his left arm, and Mainoumi
was famous for shitate-nage, also.

On the other hand, that might be one of the reason why former Nichidai rikishi
are not so successful as they were expected when they joined Ozumo.

-Toshiyori Masumiriki


"Joshua A. Reyer" wrote:

> Uwate- When two rikishi grapple at the belt, one rikishi will have his arm
> above the other rikishi's.  This is uwate.  By itself, it s not particulary
> advantageous or disadvantageous; it all depends on the particular rikishi's
> style.  Some rikishi prefer an uwate grip for their stronger hand.
> Takanohana, for example, prefers an uwate grip with his right hand.  The
> kimarite uwate-nage is a throw from this position.
>
> Shitate- Shitate is the opposite of an uwate grip; the rikishi has his arm
> underneath his opponent's.  For some rikishi, this is a preferred position.
> Minatofuji's best position is a right shitate grip.  The kimarite
> shitate-nage is a throw from this position.
>
> ---------
> Josh Reyer
> jreyer@grn.mmtr.or.jp
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                         Name: uwate-shitate.jpg
>    uwate-shitate.jpg    Type: JPEG Image (image/jpeg)
>                     Encoding: base64

--
*********************************************************
* Masumi Abe (aka Masumiriki / Imanonami)
* mailto: abe@accesscom.com
* WWW: http://www.accesscom.com/~abe
* from Sapporo through Tokyo to Palo Alto, California
*********************************************************
Imagine, all the people living for today...living life in peace...
sharing all the world...You may say I am a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one. (John Lennon)