Re: kimarites

["Josh Reyer" <Reyer@benchsumo.zzn.com>]

Kimarite have long been very subtle and specific with regards to the 
positioning of the opponents, the idea being that even if you don't 
see the match, you should have a good idea of where everybody was 
when it ended (provided, admittedly, that you're a big enough of a 
fan to have all of the subtleties and specifics in your head).

For example, let's say Hananotaka and, oh say, Zentoryu are in 
match.  After a bit of tussling, Hananotaka gets Zentoryu close to 
the edge of the dohyo.  Zentoryu has a shitate grip with his left 
hand, and is seeking an uwate grip with his right hand, trying to get 
hidari-yotsu.  But to no avail, Hananotaka is neutralizing Zentoryu's 
shitate grip by ottsuke; pushing Zentoryu's elbow away from his 
power.  Hananotaka is already pushing him over the tawara.  Now, if 
Hananotaka sticks his left hand underneath Zentoryu's right armpit 
and pushes him over, then the kimarite is yori-kiri.  He doesn't even 
have to grab the belt.  But if Hananotaka instead uses his left hand 
to push on Zentoryu's chest or armpit (hazu), then the kimarite is 
oshi-dashi.  That's it; the entire difference between one kimarite 
and the other is where the winning rikishi's arm is.

By the same token, there's a world of difference between isami-ashi 
and fumidashi.  Isami-ashi is not just an inadvertant step-out, it's 
an inadvertant step out while pushing one's opponent to the edge of 
the dohyo.  Fumidashi, in contrast, has nothing to do with the 
opponent.  The two rikishi can't even be grappling for fumidashi to 
occur.  The difference between isami-ashi and fumidashi is greater 
than the difference than yori-kiri and oshi-dashi, IMO.  But rarity 
really has nothing to do with it; it's a question of description.

Josh Reyer
(With thanks to Zentoryu-zeki for providing such an excellent straw-
man. :-)

---- Begin Original Message ----

From: Darrell Wong <wongd012@hawaii.rr.com>
Sent: Fri, 07 Dec 2001 10:57:54 -1000
To: Sumo Mailing List <sumo@statgen.ncsu.edu>
Subject: kimarites


Mikko - Thank you for a fascinating look into 2001's kimarites.  It 
was
a very revealing look into what it takes to win in this sport.

As expected, only a handful of techniques get used with any kind of
frequency.  Even some of the throws you'd expect to be fairly common
(e.g. sukuinage) aren't that common.  I'm always surprised that
abisetaoshi is so rare; it really seems like it should be one of 
sumo's
most fundamental attacks.

One of the things I don't understand is why the Sumo Association (this
is all from the Nihon Kyokai site, BTW) is so insistent on taking
techniques which are rare enough as they are and further subdividing
them into even narrower...and rarer...kimarites.  Okay, ushiromotare,
backward push out, I can understand; it's a lot different from a 
regular
yorikiri and unusual enough to have it's own label.  But tsumatori 
*and*
kozumatori?  Hey, the only thing in '00 that even remotely resembled
either technique was one of Akebono's wins (certainly the strangest 
win
of his career).  Why not just call them all "foot pull down"?  Okay,
maybe "front foot pull down" and "rear foot pull down", but that 
should
be enough for anybody.  As I understand it, isamiashi is an 
inadvertent
step-out..."too mighty feet" or somesuch.  Do we really need another
kimarite, fumidashi, which is essentially isamiashi in a different
direction?  (Don't get me started on tsukihiza and tsukite.) And why
isn't hatakikomi sufficient for the "head chop-down"...I don't even
remember what it's called.

Anyway, it's good to see a greater variety of techniques being used 
now,
especially with Takanohana (once a superb technician) in decline.



---- End Original Message ----



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