THEY ARE BIG MEN

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 5

THEY ARE BIG MEN

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KEN COATES)

Twenty- eight quart bottles of beer at one sitting by one man makes big drinking. But for Jesse Kuhaulua, a 6ft Sin, 25-stone giant from Hawaii—popular to millions in Japan as a professional sumo wrestler —-it is part of training. “All sumo wrestlers are heavy drinkers: it’s the only sport in which drinking is encouraged,” said Jessie in an interview at the training ring in the grounds of the Jokangkeiji Buddhist temple in Osaka. His waistline is about 60in, but as he says, in sumo, this is great, because the bigger you are the harder they fall. Breaking into sumo big time has been a hard struggle. Known by his Japanese name of Takamiyama, he is now a full 18in of waistline and more than seven stone removed from the 19-year-old boy who arrived in Japan six years ago.

He is the first nonOriental foreigner to attain the coveted high “Sanyaku” group of three ratings below the yokozuna, or grand champion. This entitles him to four husky “tsukebito” or attendants. Young sumo hopefuls, they help him bath, serve him at meals—and that’s no minor task—wash his clothes and do his shopping. In the ring, Jesse is formidable. He uses his great weight to try to push his opponents out. When two of these giants crash together, the crowds roar. Major sumo tournaments are nationally televised, and the Japanese admire the outsider who has doggedly carved out a place for himself in the traditional sport Short Bouts Sumo is one sport most foreigners visiting Japan want to see. In the ring, the giants wear a sort of combined sash and loincloth of heavy silk, from which hang a number of stiff, kneelength tassels. The object is to push, throw or otherwise get your opponent out of the ring; or to cause any part of him, other than the feet, to touch the ground. There are ancient rituals performed before and after main bouts, the real action of which may last only 30 seconds. The big Hawaiian is a genial fellow with a mild handshake and a voice throaty from many blows on the vocal chords. He got interested in sumo in Hawaii when, after a car accident, his high school football coach told him to take up the sport to strengthen his legs. Taking up the sport seriously in Japan six years ago was a struggle. There was the language barrier, different food and strenuous training. But Jesse worked harder than anyone else, and served as an attendant to the manager, or “stable” owner, Takasago, a former grand champion. “It was so cold, and I wanted to go back home,” said Jesse. “But they all said no—l should stay.” Gradually he got used to the strange life steeped in tradition. “I really have to act as a

Japanese, and feel as they do,” he says.

Routine before a tournament goes something like this: up at 5 a.m. with training until 11.30 a.m. This involves tough going with sparring partners, weight lifting and much hefty slapping of a stout wooden pillar to strengthen arms and shoulders. The wrestlers practise many times lifting their legs sideways, high in the air, and stamping down with their feet. In the ring, this symbolically drives away evil. After a bath in a tub of almost swimming pool size, Jesse sleeps until 2 p.m. It’s then time for a hair set in the elaborate style fashionable in the seventeenth century Edo period. Special oil makes the hair stiff, and the style differs according to rank. Complete with top-knot, he is ready to leave for the stadium packed with enthusiasts, including women. Jesse tucks away four times as much as an average man. The first of two meals a day consists of something like five large bowls of “sumo stew” made of rice, meat, fish and vegetables. In the evening he usually polishes off half a dozen large steaks. “Sumo men are big drinkers,” adds Jesse, gently patting the bulk preceding him. “You.must gain weight to get to the top. I’ve never seen a skinny wrestler make good.” He recalls his best effort at one sitting was 28 quart bottles, but the record for the Sumo Association is 56 bottles. In Sumo, there is a need for brain as well as brawn. Speed timing and a keen sense of anticipation are essential. Part of the strange sumo

ritual is called shikiri, which prompts many foreigners to ask why in the heck they don’t get on with it The wrestlers squat and face each other, crouch forward in a get-set position, supporting themselves with their fists. They glare at each other, and the tension mounts. The match does not begin at once, and the “cold-war” continues. Opponents return to their corners for more salt, scatter it in a symbolic purifying action, and return to glare. Long Preliminary This process may be repeated several times—usually for the full four minutes allowed by the rules if the wrestlers are top class. They build up to the psychological moment when, theoretically at least, they are both ready to fight. This might be all very frustrating to visitors, but at least it gives time for the wrestlers to work themselves up to a pitch of excitement. Unlike the farce of professional wrestling in Western countries, and also in Japan, sumo is deadly serious. Jesse told me many sumo wrestlers get injured. So far he has been lucky. There is money in the sport?—for those at the top. A grand champion may earn around 1 million yen, or 30,000 a month. But then there have only been 46 to earn the title in 300 years. It is an expensive sport, in spite of sponsors. Elaborate aprons for the ceremony, made of silk, richly embroidered and hemmed with gold fringe, may cost more than £1250 each.

But the successful big sumo men can earn as much money outside the ring as in

it, according to Jesse. He regularly appears on TV commercials—one on Japanese networks in superb colour features Takamiyama vigorously downing a health drink.

In the ring, Jesse says, he is not conscious of the crowds. “I just try to build up my fighting spirit.” His ambition is to reach ozzeki, or champion status, before retiring at 30. The big Hawaiian visited his home country with a sumo goodwill team recently, and hopes to take a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, he is one of the big hopes of the Janan Sumo Association to help retain and increase the popularity of sumo against competition from professional baseball and other sports.