When I visited Japan back in 2007, I fulfilled a number of dreams that I thought would never materialize.
One of those dreams was watching a sumo wrestling basho (tournament) in person.
In the western whirld, many people think that sumo wrestlers are nothing but big fat slobs who dress down once in a while to showcase their bulging bellies and big ole buttocks.
Are sumo wrestlers legitimate athletes?
Many people would reflexively respond that they are NOT.
And they couldn’t be MORE WRONG.
Sumo wrestlers WORK at getting BIG, as well as super athletic. They train early in the morning, doing exercises that increase power, speed, mobility, flexibility and balance.
I once heard that many sumo wrestlers have been taught how to surf in a single day.
How are they able to pick up surfing so quickly?
Because of their phenomenal sense of balance.
Unlike a sumo match, a surf board doesn’t have a fellow grappler slapping at you, trying to throw you off.
And so, as difficult as surfing is, compared to the pain the sumo endures in training and in competition (the initial collision packs as much as two tons of force), he might not think of it as being all that hard.
Sure, a major wave will hit you from behind, but perhaps that’s preferable to being slapped, elbowed, struck in the throat, then thrown into the crowd.
Some of the sumo wrestlers you see don’t appear to have much going for themselves in terms of balance or flexibility, but most do.
When you watch the Yokozuna (grand champion), most of the time you are going to be amazed.
Three of the most recently crowned Yokozuna are from Mongolia, and they are not in the ring for fun and games. They are all BUSINESS. They are strong, powerful, agile, quick and flexible; not to mention MEAN.
You can get them to the edge of the ring, and they not only maintain balance while being pushed on slippery sand, they maneuver their way out of trouble and execute spectacular throws.
Many sumo matches are over within seconds, but I recently watched a bout between two Yokozuna that lasted a few ticks shy of three minutes.
I would never say that sumo wrestlers have great endurance – but a three-minute battle in this sport is almost an eternity.
It’s easy to misjudge sumo wrestlers – but I can tell you that the more I watch their competitions, the more I want to be back in Japan again, watching in person.
And by the way, you may not have recognized this, but many of the exercises the sumo wrestlers do to acquire their flexibility and balance… are in my best-selling DVD course, Combat Stretching.
The good news is that when you do the exercises I teach, you will get flexible without gaining weight.
Pick Combat Stretching up NOW and amaze your friends at your new found flexibility, which may include the splits…IF you’re willing to put in the time and practice.
KATN.
Matt Furey
