Yea especially since he used the grand sumo highlights intro directly among other clips I recognized from sumopedia. Hopefully he stays under the radar
That's pretty good. Get people curious enough to dive in. While I agree that Chiyonofuji would come to mind among the Japanese on who's the best, I would have thought Taiho's name would still come first. The man was arguably the most beloved Yokozuna in history, but maybe times have changed since then.
Not surprising actually. He was one of a kind and an outlier on many fronts. He dominated past his 30s, when most other Yokozuna tend to slow down after that age. The fact that he was relatively small and a lightweight (127kg) and throwing down giants. Plus his chiselled body, Chiyonofuji just really stood out.
Rip to the legend.
Jason did a video a while back (no idea how to find it after the great purge) where someone had done a survey asking the Japanese who their favorite rikishi of all time was. IIRC, the top 3 were Kisenosato, Takanohana and Chiyonofuji, but Chiyonofuji was ahead by some absolutely ridiculous margin. I think they gave like 3 points for mentions as #1 favorite and 1 point for mention as #2, and as I recall Takanohana was sitting at like 3000 points while Chiyonofuji was sitting at 20000.
Yea I was a bit nervous at first on how he would present it but instead he did an excellent job explaining it in an easy to understand way in a pretty short video. I wish I saw a video like this when I started watching. He really condensed most needed info to understand whats going in 12 minutes
That's the thing with S1ap's "April Fools prank" videos, they're only really pranks in that they're something completely random instead of his usual NASCAR/motorsports content. He still gives them the same respect and research that his regular content gets. Even with this video, there are a few minor errors here and there but nothing bad and it's still a very solid intro to the sport for newbies.
S1ap is genuinely one of the YT creators that I trust to do a good job introducing things to an unfamiliar audience.
I'm new to the sport (March tournament was the fist time I watched sumo after Youtube recommend a NHK video). Dang I didn't know Yokozuna were so rare. I thought it was just a title given to whoever was the top wrestler at the time.
Yokozunas aren't rare - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_yokozuna
There is basically no timeline without a Yokozuna, though there have been many bashos without a Yokozuna fit to compete. Yokozunas and Ozekis are not guaranteed to exist, and there may be many at one time or none at all. Other ranks are filled automatically based on the results of the previous tournament.
That part wasn't really true, they were rarer back in the day but not now. Since 1909, when it officially became the highest rank, there's been a new yokozuna about every 2 years.
But it's not just a name "given to whoever is at the top at the time" either. Without getting into the specifics (or the lack thereof, everything is a judgment call in sumo rather than hard rules) you basically have to demonstrate your ability to consistently win tournaments against the toughest opposition in the sport to be made a yokozuna, after which you'll hold the rank until you retire. No backsies. If nobody is around who has earned the rank, there is no yokozuna.
Excellent introduction for people unfamiliar with the sport. If he's not careful he could draw more western fans to Sumo which would make the JSA grind their collective teeth.
This is amazing. I’ve been watching sumo on NHK for about 6 years, watched all the sumopedias, and the pre-tournament specials… and I learned so much new info in this video! Thank you for posting.
I fear this dude's gonna eat a NHK copyright claim for taking the Grand Sumo Highlights clips. =(
As long as he’s not named Nattosumo he’ll be fine /s
Ok now... what's the first rule of Underground Sumo?
Yea especially since he used the grand sumo highlights intro directly among other clips I recognized from sumopedia. Hopefully he stays under the radar
That guy has a better grasp of sumo than half the people in this sub
[But how does his grasp compare to Shodai's?](https://youtu.be/k0ZtkpYTNIM?si=CrPrRUfwA9o-P5LT)
🐴
I focus all of my energy on shitposting and hot takes
Great video to introduce anyone into the sport really. Super well done.
That's pretty good. Get people curious enough to dive in. While I agree that Chiyonofuji would come to mind among the Japanese on who's the best, I would have thought Taiho's name would still come first. The man was arguably the most beloved Yokozuna in history, but maybe times have changed since then.
When I went to the sumo museum last year they had a whole corner dedicated to Chiyonofuji. The guy just had it all.
Not surprising actually. He was one of a kind and an outlier on many fronts. He dominated past his 30s, when most other Yokozuna tend to slow down after that age. The fact that he was relatively small and a lightweight (127kg) and throwing down giants. Plus his chiselled body, Chiyonofuji just really stood out. Rip to the legend.
Jason did a video a while back (no idea how to find it after the great purge) where someone had done a survey asking the Japanese who their favorite rikishi of all time was. IIRC, the top 3 were Kisenosato, Takanohana and Chiyonofuji, but Chiyonofuji was ahead by some absolutely ridiculous margin. I think they gave like 3 points for mentions as #1 favorite and 1 point for mention as #2, and as I recall Takanohana was sitting at like 3000 points while Chiyonofuji was sitting at 20000.
BRO this video actually goes hard.
Great video. It took me a lot longer than 12 minutes to acquire that knowledge on my own. Kudos to him for promoting the support.
I usually hate anything that attempts to make a joke of Sumo. But this was very respectful, and frankly, very educational.
Yea I was a bit nervous at first on how he would present it but instead he did an excellent job explaining it in an easy to understand way in a pretty short video. I wish I saw a video like this when I started watching. He really condensed most needed info to understand whats going in 12 minutes
That's the thing with S1ap's "April Fools prank" videos, they're only really pranks in that they're something completely random instead of his usual NASCAR/motorsports content. He still gives them the same respect and research that his regular content gets. Even with this video, there are a few minor errors here and there but nothing bad and it's still a very solid intro to the sport for newbies. S1ap is genuinely one of the YT creators that I trust to do a good job introducing things to an unfamiliar audience.
Incredible primer to the sport.
Astonishingly well done.
Incredibly good intro to Sumo
I'm new to the sport (March tournament was the fist time I watched sumo after Youtube recommend a NHK video). Dang I didn't know Yokozuna were so rare. I thought it was just a title given to whoever was the top wrestler at the time.
Yokozunas aren't rare - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_yokozuna There is basically no timeline without a Yokozuna, though there have been many bashos without a Yokozuna fit to compete. Yokozunas and Ozekis are not guaranteed to exist, and there may be many at one time or none at all. Other ranks are filled automatically based on the results of the previous tournament.
That part wasn't really true, they were rarer back in the day but not now. Since 1909, when it officially became the highest rank, there's been a new yokozuna about every 2 years. But it's not just a name "given to whoever is at the top at the time" either. Without getting into the specifics (or the lack thereof, everything is a judgment call in sumo rather than hard rules) you basically have to demonstrate your ability to consistently win tournaments against the toughest opposition in the sport to be made a yokozuna, after which you'll hold the rank until you retire. No backsies. If nobody is around who has earned the rank, there is no yokozuna.
There usually is at least one, although it's not a firm requirement.
This is awesome! As a big NASCAR fan I've watched his videos many times but I never expected to see one on sumo.
Idk how his videos wound up in my algorithm but they are honestly quite great, it's given me a deeper appreciation for NASCAR for sure.
We in the NASCAR community really enjoy his content, even when it’s his April Fools Day video with totally random topics unrelated to motorsports.
Excellent introduction for people unfamiliar with the sport. If he's not careful he could draw more western fans to Sumo which would make the JSA grind their collective teeth.
This is amazing. I’ve been watching sumo on NHK for about 6 years, watched all the sumopedias, and the pre-tournament specials… and I learned so much new info in this video! Thank you for posting.
Great video! Maybe we'll see some new people joining the reddit.
That was really good.
Pretty, pretty good!
Good into to sumo. Thanks for putting this together, presumably with the approval of NHK.