The newest Colorado State Rams defensive lineman was recently called upon to lead his teammates in a series of pre-practice stretches.
Hidetora Hanada showed off some flexibility-testing poses straight out of a sumo wrestling handbook, including deep squats that had some players grimacing.
It was just a tiny glimpse into why he is a sumo grand champion.
Photo: AP
In Japan, the 185cm, 127kg Hanada rose to the highest amateur ranks of sumo wrestling by refusing to be pushed around in the ring. He is taking that same approach to the football field as he learns the ropes of being a run stuffer/pass rusher for the Rams.
Swapping his mawashi — the traditional loincloth sumo wrestlers wear — for shoulder pads and a helmet, the 21-year-old has quickly adjusted to life in the foothills of Fort Collins, about an hour’s drive north of Denver.
His English has come a long way (he learned it in eight months), he knows the basic rules of football (offsides is bad) and is picking up some valuable kimarite (finishing moves). He has also discovered a love of lasagna.
“While competing sumo in Japan, I started thinking that I wanted to fight many strong athletes worldwide. Football is the most popular sport in the United States and I wanted to see how I can compete in that environment,” Hanada said through a translator. “I wanted to see my limit. That’s why I decided to challenge football.”
last month, Hanada wrote on social media he was attending Colorado State to play football. The news made a splash in Japan, where sumo wrestling is largely viewed as the national sport.
He was on track to possibly becoming a rare professional Yokozuna, which is the highest rank a sumo wrestler can achieve inside the dohyo (ring).
He already was an amateur Yokozuna, in addition to earning gold at last year’s World Games in the heavyweight division.
“Changing my focus to football might have disappointed some, but I’d like to prove to them that I’m challenging something new and [will be] successful at it on the global stage,” said Hanada, whose team opens the season at home against the Washington State Cougars on Sept. 2. “I’m thinking of each one of them all the time while pushing myself to the new challenge every day.”
The object in sumo wrestling remains straightforward: Win by either pushing an opponent out of the ring or by forcing them to the ground. The object in football for a defensive lineman is not all that much different — keep low and bring the opponent to the turf.
Hanada was working out with a semi-pro football team in Japan called the IBM Big Blue, when he met Mike Phair, the defensive line coach for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Phair was asked by Big Blue team supervisor Shinzo Yamada last spring to venture over to Japan to work with Hanada and other defensive linemen.
It did not take Phair long to see his potential.
“Just the power and the leverage and strength,” Phair said. “His skillset, I was really impressed.”
Hanada attended a CFL combine in Edmonton, Canada, where his strength from sumo wrestling ensured he stood out. He bench-pressed and bull-rushed his way into the minds of everyone watching, and while the CFL would have to wait, Phair helped find him a college home.
He already had the perfect person in mind — Buddha Williams, the defensive line coach at Colorado State. Phair grew tight with Williams from their days together at Illinois.
“Buddha’s a heck of a coach and a heck of a teacher,” Phair said. “I knew Buddha would spend time with him.”
Williams has, too.
“You see tremendous strides every day,” Williams said. “He continues to get better playing with unbelievable pad level, playing a lot faster. The game for him is starting to slow down.”
To learn some football moves, Hanada studies recordings of Los Angeles Rams standout Aaron Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year who, like Hanada, is listed at 185cm and127kg.
“I’m hoping if I aim at his techniques and his speed,” Hanada said, “I can improve myself to get to his level some day.”
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