<DATE> Contents

SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo
Chris Gould
Chris sinks his teeth deeper into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans in part two of a three-part series.
Azumazeki up close and personal
Steven Pascal-Joiner / William Titus
A wiz with a pen and a wiz with a lens get together with SFM to share their time with Azumazeki Oyakata - Takamiyama as was - with the wider sumo following world.
Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama.
Eric Evaluates
Eric Blair
Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as perhaps only he could.
Heya Peek
Jeff Kennel
First time heya visitor Jeff Kennel wrote about, photographed and even made a video of his time spent at Arashio Beya prior to the Kyushu Basho. All to be found within.
SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya.
Photo Bonanzas
See behind the scenes at the Kyushu Basho, morning training in Arashio Beya through the eyes of an artist and exactly what the Azumazeki lads had to eat halfway though the July Nagoya Basho. All originals, all seen here and nowhere else, and all for you.
Kyushu Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure.
Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eyeing of life down below the salaried ranks.
Hatsu Ones To Watch
Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come January and the Hatsu Basho.
Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms.
Kokugi Konnections
Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
Fan Debate
Facilitators - Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd
Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or not as the case may be.
SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic offerings.
Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends
SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
Lets Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? Starting with issue #10, the SFM staff will reveal a little of their own routes into sumo fandom - starting with Benny Loh.
Readers' Letters
See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

Elevator Rules

THE GENERAL PROCEDURE:

Three components are used in determining a rikishi’s position in the Ranking:

1.
Move On Quotient (MOQ):  The average number of banzuke spots moved per basho (currently 42 spots on the makuuchi banzuke):  Starting with the 2nd basho in the string, count the number of spots moved – whether up or down – from the previous basho, and do this through the final basho in the string.  Total all those figures and divide by the number of figures used.  This is the MOQ.
2.
About Face Quotient (AFQ):  The percentage of time the rikishi changed direction on the banzuke:  Starting with the 2nd basho in the string, record a plus (+) if the rikishi moved up the banzuke from the previous basho, and record a minus (-) if the rikishi moved down (no mark is necessary if there was no movement).  Then, starting with the 3rd basho in the string, determine if there was a change of direction or not.  e.g., after a plus (+) is recorded, a change of direction occurs with the next minus (-), and vice versa.  Finally, divide the total number of direction changes by the total number of times a direction change was actually possible (i.e., number of basho in the string, minus 2).  This percentage is the AFQ.
3.
Elevator Index (EI):  Simply multiply the MOQ by the AFQ.

Rikishi are then ranked according to their Elevator Index, highest on top.

SPECIFIC RULES

1. A rikishi must have an unbroken string of at least 30 consecutive qualifying basho in order to be listed in the Ranking.
2.
A rikishi’s string is assumed to start with his first makuuchi appearance and end with his last.  There are only two exceptions to this general rule:
i.
When a string begins with the first makuuchi appearance, in order for it to remain unbroken, as you count down the list of basho, the total number of makuuchi appearances must at least equal the total juryo or below appearances.  At any point, when this is not true, that string is broken, and a new string is assumed to begin with the second makuuchi appearance, with the same test applied.  The string actually begins with the first makuuchi appearance where the test is passed.
ii.
If the last makuuchi appearance is immediately preceded by three consecutive juryo or below appearances, the string will not end with that appearance.  Instead, go up to the next-to-last makuuchi appearance and apply the same test.  Keep going up if necessary.  The string actually ends with the last makuuchi appearance which is not immediately preceded by at least three juryo or below appearances.
3.
If a rikishi doesn’t accumulate a string of at least 30 consecutive qualifying basho under these rules, he may still qualify to be listed in the Ranking by foregoing both exceptions listed in #2, above.  By doing that, the string still must contain 30 basho – if it doesn’t, the rikishi will not be listed in the Ranking.
4.
In calculating the Move On Quotient (MOQ), a rikishi is credited with zero banzuke spots moved for any basho in juryo, and for the first makuuchi basho when transiting back from juryo – regardless of how many actual spots were moved – and no credit is given for a change of direction for either basho.
5.
All sanyaku ranks other than East are considered West, e.g., S2e, S2w are both counted as Sw. *

* Note:  Trying to be exact in accounting for more than two spots for each sanyaku rank (in the cases where that occurred) required a system which sometimes produced nonsensical outcomes further down the banzuke, such as rikishi going from M6e to M7e, yet being credited with a 0 or a 1 count in spots moved, even though two spots were actually moved.









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