Friday, February 20, 2009

Sumo

Sumo

From Wikipedia
Sumo (相撲)
ka

A sumo match (tori-kumi) between Yokozuna Asashoryu and Komusubi Kotoshogiku in January 2008.
Focus Grappling
Hardness Full-contact
Country of origin Flag of Japan Japan
Olympic sport No
Official website http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/

Sumo (相撲 sumō?) is a competitive contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyo) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practised professionally. The Japanese consider sumo a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though the sport has a history spanning many centuries. The sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Professional sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

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