Re: [sumo] Rijicho - more dubious proposals

[Paul Eckermann <paul.eckermann@adelaide.edu.au>]

I totally agree with Jay's concerns about the new Kosho rule. Everyone
wants to see the best rikishi fighting each other in the top division.
But with no Kosho, many more injured rikishi will now drop down to Juryo
and even Makushita and it will take them a few basho to rise back to
Makuuchi. 

It is a total waste of time for a healthy Kotomitsuki say, to be
fighting against Makushita rikishi when it is so obvious he is of a
Makuuchi standard. This may cause such rikishi to become disillusioned
with the system and the cut in salary, and may cause early, unneccessary
retirements which would benefit nobody.

The banzuke should reflect the true standard of the rikishi as
accurately as possible, and it is very unlikely that the skill of a
rikishi will drop by 15 ranks by missing one basho, and by 30 ranks by
missing two basho. So I hope that the Kyokai has a rethink on this
issue.

Paul (Ekigozan)



"Walker, Jay" wrote:
> 
> >Kitanoumi rijicho said there is no way he was going to listen to the
> Rikishi-kai's (Rikishi's association) views on the planned Koshou status
> abolishment.
> 
> What I'd really like to know is if the rijicho is just this bull-headed on
> his own or does he speak for all the neanderthals in the Sumo Kyokai.
> 
> This strikes me as one of those proposals that will backfire in a way he
> doesn't intend.  Let's say I'm sitting on the banzuke at around M10.  Right
> now if I suffer an injury in the first few days of the basho, I may find
> myself at high/mid Juryo when I receive my kosho status, and hopefully in 6
> months I will have worked my way back to the M10 ranking.  Under the new
> rules, I'll fall to at least low Juryo, quite possibly to makushita while I
> rehabilitate, and maybe in a year I can make it back to M10 - if I'm lucky.
> In the meantime, I've taken a considerable hit in salary and just lost a
> year off a career that will likely last only 5 or 6 years (on average)
> anyways in the top division.  My new mantra has just become "Avoid Injury At
> All Costs".  Winning matches and displaying good fighting spirit are nice,
> but first things first.  For the fans, the matches may well become duller as
> too many rikishi are no longer willing to take chances during matches
> knowing what an injury will cost them.  Sumo popularity plummets even
> further and the Kyokai just can't understand why.
> 
> Kitanoumi had his solution right in front of him and walked away from it.
> Kosho status is determined by the Kyokai and they can be as strict or
> lenient as they want.  The denial of kosho status to Musoyama last basho had
> to send a message to the rikishi-kai.  Surely there are a few well-trained,
> competent doctors in Japan that could be hired to aid in kosho
> determination.  If the case is too borderline, wait until the end of basho
> before deciding.
> 
> Other rules could be tinkered with to discourage withdrawals.  Implement
> different levels of pay for the maegashira ranks.  Drop those who receive
> kosho an additional two ranks on the banzuke.  For ozekis that go kyujo the
> previous basho, require 9 wins to remove kadoban status instead of 8.
> 
> Of course all this would require some leadership to implement.  But I guess
> in the universe that is Kitanoumi's, he has come up with the perfect
> solution to avoiding injuries in sumo - just pretend they don't exist.
> 
> -George W.
> 
> [EndPost by "Walker, Jay" <Walker@nhrc.navy.mil>]
[EndPost by Paul Eckermann <paul.eckermann@adelaide.edu.au>]