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CULUTURE

Top 20 Sumo
Wrestling Techniques

Launch date:2017/01/10  
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Grand Sumo Tournaments have 82 winning techniques.

Grand Sumo Tournaments are one of the national sports of Japan. The origin of Grand Sumo Tournaments can be traced to their source in Japanese mythology, more than 1500 years ago. The real enjoyment of a Grand Sumo Tournament is not only from the sport itself, but from being exposed to traditional Japanese culture. That’s why so many people, from young to old, love watching Grand Sumo Tournaments.
The customs and rules of Grand Sumo Tournaments have evolved over time, to the point they now they have 82 winning techniques. this may seem like a lot, but they can be broken down into various categories: Basic techniques, Throwing techniques, Leg tripping techniques, Twist down techniques, Special techniques, and so on.

More than half of all Sumo victories are decided by two techniques.

Would you like to know which techniques the Sumo use to win? We’ve investigated 3606 Sumo techniques from the 2015-2016 season to bring you their percentage of use in Grand sumo tournaments.
The most widely used technique of the Sumo is “Yori-kiri”: 32.4%. 1/3 of sumo wrestlers achieve victory with this technique. The second most used Sumo technique is “Oshi-dashi”: 20.9%. These two techniques account for half of all sumo victories. The third technique of the Sumo is “Hataki-komi”: 7.8%. If we add this winning technique to the first two, it represents 60% of all Sumo wrestlers’ victories. 85% of all Sumo wrestlers’ victories come from the top 10 most utilized winning techniques, and 96% from the top 20.

sumo graph

Therefore, if you know 20 techniques of the Sumo out of the total 82, you will better be able to follow and enjoy the Grand Sumo Tournament than before. The Sumo wrestlers all use the same techniques, but with a wide variety of styles: some are swift attackers, some of them are power attackers and all have different fighting styles. Some wrestlers rely on brute strength, while some are cunning and shrewd. These are points worth noting in a Sumo match. Enjoy discovering these Sumo wrestling techniques, and have fun watching Grand Sumo Tournaments.


Explanation of techniques
legend
01 Yori-kiri
Yori-kiri

Two wrestlers lock up, grabbing each other’s belt, with the attacker pushing the opponent out of the sumo ring.

02 Oshi-dashi
Oshi-dashi

The attacker uses one or both hands on the opponent’s body to push the opponent out of the sumo ring.

03 Hataki-komi
Hataki-komi

The attacker stands upright slaps down with one or both hands, forcing the opponent to fall forward and touch the ground.

04 Tsuki-otoshi
Tsuki-otoshi

The attacker thrusts down under the opponent’s arm, pushing diagonally down, off the opponent’s center of gravity.

05 Uwate-nage
Uwate-nage

Two wrestlers lock up, the attacker extending his arms over the opponent’s, then grabbing the opponent’s belt, and throwing him down.

06 Tsuki-dashi
Tsuki-dashi

The attacker pushes the opponent out of the sumo ring with one or more hand thrusts.

07 Oshi-taosi
Oshi-taosi

The attacker pushes the opponent’s body with one or both hands, forcing him down.

08 Hiki-otoshi
Hiki-otoshi

The attacker pulls the opponent’s arm or shoulder towards him, forcing the opponent down onto the sumo ring.

09 Yori-taoshi
Yori-taoshi

Gripping the opponent’s belt, the attacker forces the opponent backwards out of the ring, falling on his back.

10 Okuri-dashi
Okuri-dashi

The attacker hits from the opponent’s back or side to push him out of the sumo ring.

11 Sukui-nage
Sukui-nage

Without touching the belt, the attacker reaches under the opponent’s armpit and across his back, and throwing the opponent to the ground.

12 Shitate-nage
Shitate-nage

The wrestlers lock up, the attacker grabbing the opponent’s belt from under his arm, and throwing him down.

13 Kote-nage
Kote-nage

The attacker traps the opponent’s arm under his own, and throws the opponent to the ground without touching his belt.

14 Uwate-dashinage
Uwate-dashinage

Grabbing the opponent’s belt from over the opponent’s arm, the attacker stands upright, dragging the opponent forwards down to the ground.

15 Kata-sukashi
Kata-sukashi

The attacker traps the opponent’s shoulder joint, pulls forwards, and pushes the opponent down.

16 Watashi-komi
Watashi-komi

The attacker grabs the opponent’s knee or thigh with one hand, then pushes him down with the other.

17 Kime-dashi
Kime-dashi

The attacker immobilizes the opponent’s arms or shoulders, and pushes him out of the sumo ring.

18 Kubi-nage
Kubi-nage

The attacker wraps his arms around the opponent’s neck, throwing him down.

19 Tottari
Tottari

The attacker grabs one’s arm of the opponent with his arms and twists it to down the opponent.

20 Tsuki-taoshi
Tsuki-taoshi

The attacker pushes the opponent’s face or breast, forcing the opponent down to the ground.

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Sources

Sumo Kansen Nyumon 2015 (Baseball Magazine)
Nihon Sumo Kyokai Official Site
Sportsnavi – Yahoo! JAPAN

*All rights to this graphic belong to SOZOS Inc. Transfer, duplication, reprinting, falsification, publishing, and other forms of use of this graphic without the approval of SOZOS Inc. shall be prohibited.

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Editorial department of JAPAGRA
Message from the Editorial department of JAPAGRA. Here is some in-depth information about Japanese culture that you may not have known.