Japan's proud national sport, sumo, has more to it than just putting two large, semi-naked people in a ring and have them try to push each other, they say.
"People think it's so easy, but they should try it and see for themselves how difficult it is," Kotooshu, the first European to ever proceed to the second-highest rank of sumo in Japan, explained.
Kotooshu incorporated the techniques particular to sumo in his Western wrestling skills. Within three years and two months, the Bulgarian native climbed the ladder to the second-highest rank of ozeki in Japan.
PHOTO: AFP
But Kotooshu was shocked to see conventional discipline dominating Japan's national sport in the 21st century. He expected to train with state-of-the-art equipment, he said.
"`What in the world is this?' was honestly my first impression," the wrestler said in Japanese after routine training one morning. "You can get arrested for doing that [caning] in other countries."
About 30 large, naked men in their beige loin cloths stood and observed a lower rank member tackling his practice partner head-on during the training.
Before breakfast at around 6am, the members come down from their dormitory rooms to the practice ground with a ring made of rope.
It's a sacred place where they are engulfed with energy. Not even whispers are heard. The only noises are loud panting, wheezing of the wrestlers' lungs and occasional caning on their legs.
Cued by the stable master and trainers mumbling in their rough voices, senior wrestlers would slap or blow water on a junior member being trained.
Kotooshu was no exception. He says he was caned on his thigh three times before he became ozeki. He couldn't protest because of his language ability.
But he believed that endurance makes perfect and built up his strength.
When Japan's national sport was risking a loss in popularity, foreign wrestlers like Kotooshu joined the industry and appeared on TV, saving sumo from retreating into the background.
As the number of non-Japanese sumo began to rise in 2000, the sport has regained its fame and fans. And Kotooshu has contributed to the boost in popularity.
The ozeki, born as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, stands tall at 2.03m and slim at 147kg, unlike classic sumo wrestlers whose stomach extends out and thighs sag.
The young Bulgarian wrestler was scouted by a sumo federation in his home country before traveling half way around the world.
Nicknamed "Gentle Giant," Kotooshu likes to sleep in, go out for dinners and to movies with friends on his days off.
But the man who loves sports and chose sumo as his life's vocation wants to spread the fascination of sumo around the world.
Sumo is barely keeping its quota with the entry of foreign nationals into the field, because very few Japanese young people show interest in it.
Currently, Mongolian athletes are in the majority among 12 non-Japanese nationalities.
Although the Sumo Association limits its 54 stables to accepting one foreign national, Kotooshu thinks the game needs more promotion abroad and can appeal to the world as an international sport just like judo.
just one win
Grand champion Asashoryu was only one win away from the championship yesterday, defeating Kaio to stay in sole lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo tournament.
In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Mongolia-born Asashoryu quickly got a firm hold on the ozeki's belt to shove him out of the ring and into the stands.
Asashoryu's record improved to 13-0 -- one win away from clenching the championship -- while Kaio fell to 8-5.
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
RSS