Yaocho

[TanakaY@aol.com]

There's been good discussion regarding concerns of yaocho (losing on purpose)
if wrestlers from the same heya (stable) wrestled.  (A side note:  I'm glad
so many of you feel that allowing intra-heya matches would be OK.)

Abe-san has raised many good points as to why people need not be so concerned
about yaocho.  (And I concur.)  Also, someone (maybe Abe-san) raised a valid
concern with a scenario of Taka-Waka on the last day where if Taka won, he
would win the tournament, but if Waka won, Taka would be dragged into a
play-off with Akebono.  I think it would be very difficult to remove with
absolute certainty that everybody was wrestling 100% against every opponent,
every basho.  But that shouldn't be reason to endorse "same-heya" matches.
 In fact, for long term what needs to be done is that the reward system needs
to be changed so that there is incentive for every additional victory.  I.e.,
the incentives (pay) should be based on individual performance.  Maybe the
kenshoukin system could be modified so that those moneys could be used to
incentivize individual effort of all matches.

I really hope changes are forthcoming.  Finally, I want to comment on a point
raised by someone saying a heya-master shouldn't be penalized for creating a
strong heya.  If it was done from the ground up, maybe there is a case to be
made.  But the Futagoyama was not built, it was created with an M&A (merger
and acquisition).  Like I've mentioned many times in the past, every
Futagoyama rikishi would be one rank lower, if they had to wrestle each
other.

Yoke