Re: hard & fast rule?

[Riley@hachi.hi-tech.ac.jp (Totoro)]

>Is it an unbreakable rule that a rikishi with 7-8 or worse *must * drop in 
>ranking?  By the time i demote the big losers in upper Makuuchi, some 
>guys at 7-8 actually look as if they should move *up* slightly!

My understanding is that this is not the case, though it usually
happens.  A rikishi who goes 8-7 may not get promoted, either,
though again he usually does.  I haven't seen a case of total
non-movement in rank, but I've seen a guy who was 7-8 get moved
from the East position to the  West for the same Maegashira rank.

There's no way a make-koshi record can get one promoted, though.
Sometimes a man goes 7-8, but he fought like he was 10-5.  The
Kyokai seems to go solely by the won-loss record in assigning
promotions and demotions.  This is unfortunate, but probably the
most fair method.  Otherwise the whole thing would get very
political and ugly, I guess, as insiders would be fighting to
have some rikishi treated better than others for promotion.

Hakke yoi!

Totoro

[David Riley]
[Hachinohe Institute of Technology]
[88-1, Myo, Ohbiraki]
[Hachinohe-shi  031]