Brothers in Sumo –
part one
Brian Lewin
Brothers no longer active on the dohyo come under the SFM microscope

NHK & the Ozumo
English Broadcast
Mark Buckton
A visit to NHK, years of watching the show and the opinions of our Ed-in-Chief

Hanging With the Rikishi
Barbara Ann Klein
Barbara Ann Klein recounts her experiences with the “boys” in a pictorial diary series

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
A look at a rikishi of yesteryear with Chiyonoyama – our man for December

Sumo Exhibit at the
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM’s Editor takes in the exhibit celebrating 80 years of the Japan Sumo Association at this famous Tokyo museum

Heya Peek
John Gunning
John’s early morning trip to Hakkaku – a visit that almost didn’t happen

SFM Interview
Dave Wiggins sits down
with SFM’s Mark Buckton to discuss the broadcast scene – and maple syrup

Photo Bonanza
What a collection – All-Japan Sumo Tournament, Hakkaku-
beya visit and sumo exhibits at the Edo-Tokyo Museum

Kyushu Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Kyushu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results, and his take on the year in brief

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division ups and downs

Hatsu Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark
Buckton
Pierre predicts the Hatsu Basho banzuke while Mark previews the ones to watch for in January

Sumo 101
Eric Blair
Eric explains all you need to know and then some about the Kokugikan building – the mecca of sumo

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko walks us through his chosen kimarite in expert fashion

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of news from outside the dohyo

Online Gaming
Eric Blair
For the lowdown on Guess the Kotomitsuki – baby of SFM’s John Gunning

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the most interesting sumo sites today

Fan Debate
Intra heya bouts –
OK or not? See what our debaters had to say

SFM Cartoons
Stephen Thompson
In the second of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy ST’s offerings

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? American Todd Defoe tells all

Readers’ Letters
See what SFM readers had to say since our last issue

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

  Differences between types of kotenage are usually in the height of the pressure point on the defender’s arm. Takanonami was such a tall rikishi that he usually wrapped his arm so high that the pressure on his opponent’s elbow was limited, and his arm was often wrapped right under the armpit of his opponent. Takanonami also favored lifting his opponent while escorting him out, whereas Kaio more often has his kotenage grip closer to the elbow and uses raw power to violently yank the captured arm forward and down, forcing the body to follow in order not to lose contact with the yanked arm. Naturally, such an approach is more dangerous to the elbow and shoulder due to the more likely elbow-joint hyperextension and the sheer dynamic nature of the throw. The examples at the beginning of the article were just some of the worst incidents, but Kaio’s kotenage has caused a lot of problems to other rikishi, too. Kasugao’s kotenage is more harmless since he usually has quite a high grip and somehow manages to flip the opponent down, but it doesn’t come automatically with that explosive yanking move. If you have a chance to watch one particularly conspicuous example of Kasugao’s magic in kotenage, the best recommendation may be his bout against Tamanoshima in Hatsu basho 2003 on day 11.

Overall, kotenage is quite a common throwing technique. About 1.5% of makuuchi bouts end with kotenage as the winning technique, making it the 4th most common throwing technique after uwatenage, sukuinage and shitatenage. Every now and then the question about its injury-causing side effect is raised amongst sumo fans, but there have also been comments from rikishi themselves complaining of the injury risk of kotenage. Kaio’s kotenage, especially, has been mentioned as somewhat dreadful, and the facts do suggest that it is no wonder that such a kotenage can be a bit of a nightmare to rikishi with already injury-ridden elbows or shoulders. NSK description of kotenage

Tottari resembles kotenage, as its main target is also the arm of the opponent. In tottari, the attacker usually catches the arm of the opponent in the midst of a pushing attack and, from there on, uses his own body as a leverage to press the opponent down while holding on to the arm. One key point and one clear difference from kotenage is that in tottari, the forearm often plays a role. Taking a grip of the forearm or the wrist, and then wrapping 		the other arm around the opponent’s upper arm from below. while pivoting one’s body so that the arm gets captured in an uncomfortable position where the pressure applied by the attacker’s pivoting upper body, causes the defender to follow the path of his arm. NSK description of tottari

Obviously, this is also a potentially dangerous technique because of the sudden strong pressure on the arm, but it is quite rare, so there are not many injury reports in recent history. Since the beginning of 1990, it has been the winning technique in only 57 makuuchi division bouts. For example, in this past September basho, it was seen only three times in all and not even once in makuuchi. Ozeki Kaio has 7 wins with tottari in addition to his susbtantial amount of kotenage wins. In general though, there doesn’t seem to be that clear of a correlation between kotenage and tottari frequency. For example, kotenage specialists Takanonami (2) and Kasugao (0) can’t boast impressive tottari records in makuuchi. On the other hand, Takatoriki won 6 times with tottari but only twice with kotenage. An indication that tottari is often used as a counter move against a pusher may be that

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