Reply-To: sumo@sun01pt2-1523.statgen.ncsu.edu
To: sumo@sun01pt2-1523.statgen.ncsu.edu
Subject: [sumo] [Ozsumo] on this day: 2003 Rowan Klein makes Australian
debut
Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:20:22 +1000
Budokan Sumo Club,Sydney Australia Saturday 31st May 2003
Mailing list Historian Rowan Klein today attended his first training
session at
Australia's only amateur sumo club.The Ozsumo beya is the home of the
Australian Sumo team.The dohyo is located in the Hills district in the
rustic
setting of the horticultural pavillion, between the camel and Llama
pavillions.The
portable doyho, which sits on tatami mats used in the Sydney Olympics, was
one discarded by the Japan Sumo Federation after their historic visit to
Australia in 1997.
Ozsumo is coached by Nick Koga a juryo rikishi over 40 years ago. Mr Koga
had his career cut short with an unfortunate off dohyo injury.He keeps his
shikona a well guarded secret.Several years ago we were lucky enough to
experience a visit from Konishiki.The ex ozeki was not shy to point out our
shortcomings warning us to keep it simple and stick to basics.Ex- patriot
sumo
commentator Katrina Watts has also been matriarch and benefactor of Ozsumo
kindly chaperoning us at several World Championships.
Klein who's fighting name is Wanchanyama made his debut in a royal blue
silk
mawashi - a prop from a c Corn Chip commercial shot in Sydney. Incidently I
was contracted by the production company to stand in for the stuntmen who
were understandably too scared to catch our 200kg plus former Togan
champion Keio Falevai. Keio is a relative of Minaminoshima a Jonidan
rikishi of
Musashigawa beya.
After a quick instruction on the traditional training techniques of shiko,
teppo, matawari and butsukari geiko we decided to skip the temptation to
give
Klein a kawaigari or introductory hazing. Terms such as ''picking up
coconuts","romper stomper" and "choo choo trains" are sometimes used by
onlookers to describe some of the routines performed.
Overall Klein had a very credible kachi koshi or majority of wins
commendably
against Jack Dalby an ex pro wrestler/body builder who drives several
hundred
kilometres from the nation's capital just to attend training.Jack's
nickname
is "Dances with poodles" due to the service he and his wife run for
homeless
poodles.Personally I was also unexpectedly defeated by a well executed
uchi-
gake or inner leg trip.Previous unsuccessful attempts by others have made
me
complacent to this manouvre. I suspect Klein has watched one too many
Kirishima bouts as utchari (backward pivot) made a few optimistic
appearances. Klein also had some interesting bouts with Gavin Dixon who is
a
proponent of many styles if wrestling such as Korean Sirrum, Swiss
Schwingen,Turkish,Cornish and even an little known indigenous style called
Coreeda which is contested in three stages, imitating native animals such
as
the kangaroo- ending with a sumoesque battle of the wombat.
Klein exibits a natural aptitude for sumo -now all we have to do is to get
him to
give up his social Frisbee commitments and feed him plenty of chanko.After
all
Sumo really is the sport they play in heaven when they get too big for
Rugby.
Johnofuji
[EndPost by "Johnofuji" <jtraill@preferred.com.au>]