I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE HARU BASHO. I’ve been so busy with work and other little things that I absolutely blanked the first week of sumo. Unbelievable, I know. For some reason I thought the tournament started from Sunday the 22nd. Clearly I do not have my priorities straight.

That being said, let me get everyone up to speed on whats happening!

Asashoryu

Straight out of the gate, the Yokozuna have been dominating this basho. That’s not quite a surprise though is it? The talk of Asashoryu (7-0) being out of it and on the edge of retirement was, in hindsight, a bit premature. If you didn’t believe that after his victory last basho, the string of victories he has so far this basho should help correct your lack of faith. He’s been dispatching opponents fairly easily, but to be honest it’s almost boring to watch the meager fights the rank and filers have put up against him. Here are a couple of his bouts:

See what I mean?

Hakuho

Though he’s been just as dominant over his opponents, Hakuho’s fights have been a little more interesting than Asashoryu’s. That is to be expected from the younger yokozuna. Overall, he’s shown a lot of power and focus especially when it comes to grabbing his favored grip. Once Hakuho gets that it’s almost an assured lights out for the other guy. I look forward to another showdown between the two yokozuna at the end of this basho. Here are some highlights:

Other matches of interest:

This basho is still anyone’s to win though with only Kaio hanging in there at 6-1, it’s looking as though this might be another case of the dueling yokozuna. COME ON GUYS! GIVE US SOME UPSETS!

A special thanks goes out once again to Ngozi at www.banzuke.com for providing us fans with these videos. Without your hard work, many of us could not enjoy the sport! Thank you!