Okay! I decided to give in and do a big write-up of Sumo. It's one of my absolute favorite competitive sports and it's got a fantastic history too. It's my big dream to go to Japan and see the bouts at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo (and maybe someday I'll convince someone to come with me!)
So I'm going to explain about Sumo, the terms and history, and possibly go into some of the different moves that they use.
History
Sumo has Shinto routes, that can be seen in almost every aspect of the sport. Salt is used to purify the ring, and even now Shinto rituals exist where people 'wrestle' with evil kami – interestingly, it later became a way to entertain the benevolent kami! Professionally it's routes extend back to the Edo period of Japan as a sporting event – usually Samurai or Ronin competed as a means of earning extra money.
The dhoyō
The ring, or
dhoyō, is where all sumo matches take place. It is a ring commonly made of clay and straw, with two central lines facing one another where each
Rikishi (wrestler) stands to face their opponent. Sometimes the dhoyō has a straw roof over the top, but this is less common as the layout of Sumo arenas would make this difficult to view/film the matches.
Wrestlers
Wrestlers often change their names and take on wrestling names, or
shikona. A wrestler will be trained in a stable – much as Geisha are taken on by a house, and given a name by their mistress, so Rikishi are treated. Their lives are carefully regimented by the Sumo Federation, and they can be fined or suspended for breaking these rules.
Rikishi have a set hierarchy of divisions, which is as follows:
Makuuchi
The top division, this comprises of 42 sanyaku (champions) who are divided (in descending order) into
Yokozuna
Ozeki
Sekiwake
Komosubi
The remaining wrestlers in this division are known as
Maegashira, and rank from 1 downwards. Rank is decided by their previous performance – for example, in order to be considered for
Yokozuna ranking the Rikishi must have won two consecutive tournaments.
Jūryō
This is the second highest division. Rikishi in this and the Makuuchi division are deigned to be no longer 'in training', and to instead be considered professional wrestlers. Below Jūryō
Rikishi no longer receive salaries, but only a small allowance. Although matches are usually set out so that Makuuchi face Makuuchi and similar, with little division up/downwards, top ranking Jūryō are sometimes pulled in to fight fairly high ranking Makuuchi because of illness/forfeit. Towards the end of a tournament this becomes more common to help Jūryō obtain promotion by defeating a higher ranking Rikishi.
Makusheta actually spelled with an shi but won't let me write that ^_^
This is the third highest division, made up of a set 120 wrestlers and the final one of an 'in training' wrestler. Before the Jūryō division was created this was the step below Makuuchi – hence the similarity in names, as Makuuchi means 'inside the curtain', and Makusheta means 'outside the curtain'. Wrestlers compete 7 times in a tournament – in higher ranks they will compete 15 times. If a Rikishi within the top 30 wrestlers in this division wins all of their matches within the tournament they are automatically promoted to Jūryō – otherwise two consecutive 7-0 wins are needed.
Sandanme
Considered a turning point in a Rikishi's career, this is the fourth highest division and once he attains this level a Rikishi in training will receive much better treatment – in dress and general life. There are around 200 rikishi in this division
Jonidan
The fifth highest divison, there is no set amount of Rikishi in this division although it generally ranks around 300. Rikishi in this division will generally receive poor treatment, and again fight only 7 times within a tournament due to the large number of wrestlers.
Jonokuchi
The beginning of a Rikishi's training, unless they have been well known as an amateur wrestler in which case they move up 2 ranks. There are around 100 Rikishi in this division and their placement within it is determined by a tournament among new wrestlers, known as mae-zumo.
Rikishi are expected to grow their hair into a traditional topknot similar to that of the Samurai of the Edo Period. Their dress is carefully regimented by their status – for example, below Sandanme they would not be allowed overcoats or
zori even in winter.
Tournaments
There are six honbasho (tournaments) held per year in professional Sumo-
January –
Hatsu Basho March -
Haru Basho May -
Natsu Basho July -
Nagoya Basho September -
Aki Basho November -
Kyūshū Basho
Sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions wrestle once every day, and those of the lower divisions wrestle just seven times. The goal of fighting the Basho is to win the most and so move forward to the next Basho, and there is also a prize at the end of the Basho for the year for Rikishi with the most wins. The Oyakata (elders) decide on the match ups a day in advance, and each tournament last for 15 days. Towards the end poorly performing high-level Rikishi are often matched up with Rikishi from the lower ranks, and vice-versa, but in the beginning matched Rikishi are often only one or two levels apart.
There are no weight-divisions in Sumo. This is especially interesting as it means some opponents can be huge and some can be tiny, but this does not determine the winner by any means.
Before the Match
Each Rikishi is sent to a different changing room, called the East and West rooms. This means they do not have to see each other beforehand. They first change into a ceremonial silk apron, worn during the ring entering ceremony (no giggling) or
dohyō-iri, where wrestlers competing perform a ritual and then leave, to change again into their wrestling Mawashi (the belt they wear). The announcer calls them into the ring and they perform a ceremony again, including the well known
Shiko (leg stomping) to drive away spirits. The Rikishi is then given water, which he rinses his mouth with, and a small sheet of paper to dry his lips. Opponents will then face one another, show they have no weapons by spreading their arms, and toss salt into the ring.
The Match
Facing one another along the white central lines the Rikishi attempt to stare one another down. They then, without speaking or communicating, must rise together to clash. As I said the match can be restarted if this does not happen. Matches are generally very short – if they last more than 4 minutes the referee can request a short break before beginning again. If there is still no win, a second break is called and the match begins again – after this there can be a draw called although this is very rare. Sumo lose a match either by stepping out of the ring, or touching the inside of the ring with any part other than their feet. When the bout is finished a metal fan, wielded by the referee, is pointed towards the winner. This can be overturned by the group of elders who will meet in the middle of the ring to discuss if they disagree – if this happens to much during a referee's career he can lose his status. Referees are given status much like Sumo, and generally will continue their career from their late teens until they retire at around 65 years old. They can uphold the referees decision, overturn it, or even request a rematch.
Common Sumo Moves
There are around 70+ moves possible in sumo, but these are the most common-
Yorikiri: frontal force-out; the attacker will be holding the mawashi of his opponent.
Yoritaoshi: similar style as yorikiri, but the victor lands on top of the loser, and this occurs outside of the ring.
Abisetaoshi: frontal force-down; the same as yoritaoshi except that it occurs inside the ring
Oshidashi: frontal push-out, arms folded/bent
Izori: (my favourite)dodge opponent's rush by crouching down, rise while grabbing his leg with both arms and mount him on back, further lean back making him fall
Hikkake: arm-grabbing force-out; while grabbing an arm from the inside, a rikishi uses the other hand to grab the opponent's other hand or arm to to pull or twist him down.
Tsukiotoshi: winner turns suddenly and forces down the opponent at an angle. Often a defensive tactic by a retreating rikishi.
Tsukitaoshi: tsukidashi with the loser being thrust off his feet in/out of the ring.
Ippon-Zeoi: dodge an opponent's tsuki, grab his stretched arm over the shoulder and hurl over. Also seen in Judo, except that you can't knee down in Sumo 
Anyway, that's all I gots for now. Hope it's somewhat informative?
Thanks. ^_^
All About Sumo
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