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Sumo Wrestling is Rotten to the Core

Puppycow

Penultimate Amazing
Puppycow
Joined
Jan 9, 2003
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Location
Yokohama, Japan
Stable Master Held in Fatal Beating of 17-year-old

I used to be a fan of Sumo. Even went to see it in person last year, although I haven't been following it much recently.

I have to say that the whole Sumo world disgusts me now. This abuse and hazing of youngsters is just the most lurid part of it.

Another thing is that the lifestyle encouraged by the traditions is totally unhealthy. The Japanese are among the longest-lived people in the world, but Sumo wrestlers have much shorter lives on average. IIRC, I read somewhere that they die in their 50's on average. There is also not to my knowledge any attempt to even find out if performance-enhancing substances are a problem in the sport.

Wake Up Sumo! Welcome to the 21st Century!
 
KingMerv00 said:
Probably because they are really really fat?
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Yes, that would probably be the main reason. Many of these kids start out either normal weight or on the big side (of course bigger is generally better in Sumo) but they are encouraged to gain as much weight as possible by their stablemasters. Young teenage recruits are not usually anywhere near as big as they get after the stables fatten them up. A few, like former Yokozuna Takanohana, are able to thin down again after they retire, but most remain obese for the rest of their lives.
 
What really amazes me about sumo wrestling is the custom never washing the loin cloth for fear that it will be debilitating to do so. How do these guys avoid coming down with a serious infection?

About diet and life-span, I'm surprised they even make it to their fifties. I would expect that kind of dietary self abuse to terminate life somewhere in the thirties.
 
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Radrook said:
What really amazes me about sumo wrestling is the custom never washing the loin cloth for fear that it will be debilitating to do so. How do these guys avoid coming down with a serious infection?

About diet and life-span, I'm surprised they even make it to their fifties. I would expect that kind of dietary self abuse to terminate life somewhere in the thirties.
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They actually do put it out in the sun, which is not the same as washing it, but I think that solar radiation at least kills most of the bacteria. This is one of those things that can never be changed because it's a tradition, like the tradition that a woman cannot enter the ring. Traditionally the governor of Osaka awarded a trophy to the winner of a tournament there, but recently a woman was elected governor. However, she was still not allowed to enter the sacred Sumo ring to award the Osaka Governor's Trophy (or whatever its official name is).
 
I'm a bit surprised by the health issue actually. I've never taken the time to look closely, but I had heard that Sumo wrestlers were surprisingly healthy despite appearances. I guess whoever I heard that from meant surprisingly athletic, which doesn't necessarily mean healthy.

If nothing else, this thread shows the superiority of Judo.;)
 
I don't think the incident itself counts much against sumo, after all it could theoretically happen in many different situations. In respect of it adversely affecting sumo, well, in my mind that's a moot point. Sumo was never a real sport to begin with. Much like bodybuilding, I don't think that occupations in which the participants must deliberately ruin their health to succeed should be classed as sports.
 
From what little I've seen, international sumo looks a lot more sensible: weight classes; female competitors; reduced ritual. Even in the unlimited weight class, the competitors seem to be healthier on average.
 
Wowbagger said:
And,despite the "honor", of the sport, they tend to cheat, as well. The book "Freakonomics" has a good chapter on that.
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OK, I have to ask. How do you “cheat” at Sumo? As near as I can figure it consists entirely of two really big guys running into each other.
 
Random said:
OK, I have to ask. How do you “cheat” at Sumo? As near as I can figure it consists entirely of two really big guys running into each other.
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I read the chapter he's refering to. Because of the rules of how ranking is established, some matches can impact one contestant's standing but not the other's. Players for whom it doesn't matter can let the opponent win, in exchange for the opponent doing likewise in the future. So they can cheat by conspiring to throw matches. Quite easy to do, actually, and much harder to prove in any individual case than other forms of cheating. But if you look at the agregate statistics of such matches, and compare that to outcomes of matches which matter for both contestants, it becomes clear that matches are being thrown at a pretty large rate.
 
Random said:
OK, I have to ask. How do you “cheat” at Sumo? As near as I can figure it consists entirely of two really big guys running into each other.
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Collusion. One opponent agrees (secretly) to lose the match, to the other.

Kinda like what sometimes happens in boxing.

Statistical studies have shown this does go on in Sumo wrestling. A good summary of that was written up in a chapter in the book Freakonomics.
 
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baron said:
I don't think the incident itself counts much against sumo, after all it could theoretically happen in many different situations. In respect of it adversely affecting sumo, well, in my mind that's a moot point. Sumo was never a real sport to begin with. Much like bodybuilding, I don't think that occupations in which the participants must deliberately ruin their health to succeed should be classed as sports.
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Young deshi (sumo recruits, like the dead 17-year-old) are routinely hazed in Sumo and are not allowed to leave the Sumo stable without permission from the stable master. This is a result of that culture.

Here is the Wikipedia entry on life as a sumo wrestler
 
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