The Truth About Sumo Wrestling

Hey all check out my new video about Sumo's greatest rikishi! https://youtu.be/dwmWiTYc2dE

That dude who didn't meet the height requirement getting pushed back only to flip the other wrestler out of the ring was wild.

“It’s all about the respect”- some guy who disrespected the whole country.

That guy crying after winning was so wholesome. He was happy to win for himself, but even more so for his mentor. Incredibly humble, much respect

The history of the mawashi is actually fascinating: Long ago, in a faraway kingdom, there was a sport that resembled sumo. The rules were about the same as sumo, and it was in fact the origin of Japan's sumo, but it was performed wearing armour. However, one young man chose to fight without armour. In truth, his family was so poor that they couldn't afford a suit of armour... But the boy was so strong that even without armour, he won time and time again. Seeing this, the king was deeply moved, and decided to present the youth with a suit of armour. However, the boy refused to take it, because he wanted to believe in his father's words: that the truly strong don't need armour. The king then decided to change the rules of the sport, so that there would be no gap between the rich and the poor anymore: only a single piece of cloth would be wrapped around the waist. This is when the "Mawashi" was invented, named after the young boy. It was later introduced in Japan, where it has remained ever since.

The one where his mentor was retiring while having his best win ever made me cry

Japan has a deep rich history uses papa Franku moaning in a rice field to represent Im not mad.

One very minor thing a lot of people don't know about rikishi is that they smell *AMAZING*. The wax they use for their traditional hairstyles is very heavily fragranced. It's made by only one family-owned company, and all rikishi use it. I used to live near a beya and sometimes would come across rikishi on the subway. The whole car would instantly fill with this just glorious smell. It was always the best part of my day.

The comparison between sumo wrestlers having a layer of fat to protect from injury to football players wearing helmets was brilliant. Sumo is a respectable sport and really fun to watch.

I've never found sumo silly. I've always been terrified of getting charged by one of the wrestlers.

Imagine the entire offensive line in football was just replaced with professional sumo wrestlers

Hakuhō was an incredible rikishi, his retirement is well deserved and to catch the eye of someone who dominated the sport for nearly 10 years is an accomplishment of its own

I would pay to watch sumo in Japan in a heartbeat. How many other sports in the world have kept this amount of tradition alive for this long?? It deserves respect.

The part that saddens me the most is their pay. Imagine wanting to be a professional Sumo wrestler and be seen by thousands, only to get paid less than a McDonald's employee.

My first trip to Tokyo, there was a sumo tournament. I bought a ticket on a whim, and I loved every moment of it. I jumped out of my seat when 200lb Takanoyama flipped his 400lb opponent. I’ll never forget it.

Sport and competition is one of the most romantic things ever. How could you not feel moved watching a man that could crush you without a thought cry over his win and his mentor?

When you made that analogy of “trying to explain fireworks to a blind person” I briefly considered the idea and was intensely stunned and baffled at the prospect. That’s a good one.

I love how he used filthy frank rice fields as a representation of Japan

They are people you will always be able to look up to. They don't do drugs, they don't pick fights, and overall are standing citizens.

I was a college wrestler and a football lineman during high school. Sumo is like a union of those two sports— and it’s absolutely spectacular to watch