Documents
What is Sumo?
According to the US Sumo Federation:
“Sumo is a 2000-year-old martial art that is steeped in culture and revered as Japan's national sport, but over the past several decades, it has become truly international. With simple, easy-to-understand rules and a range of fighting styles, sumo appeals to people from all walks of life. It's a great tool not only for physical fitness but for sharpening one's mind as well.”
“Two fat men in diapers bumping bellies” is unfortunately the most common impression about Sumo Wrestling among Americans. However, Sumo is actually the grandfather to all Japanese Martial Arts, including Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, and more.
To clear up some misconceptions:
- Sumo is not just in Japan! It is practiced all around the world.
- There are divisions for women and men
- There are weight classes, so all sizes of people can participate.
- Wearing clothing under the sumo belt is allowed. In fact, it’s common for wrestlers coming from Jiu Jitsu to be covered from head-to-toe in their no-gi “rashguard”.
Sumo training helps football players with their initial charge, hitting and tackling. It helps wrestlers with takedowns. Skills translate to all other sports and martial arts that require strength and balance.
According to USA Sumo, sumo training has the goals of:
- Flexibility
- Balance
- Strength
- Speed
- Stamina
- Stance
Parent Letter
Hello Parents!
I am Nathaniel Hudson, and I am a Business teacher at Antioch High School. Since I took a trip to Japan in college and attended a sumo tournament in Tokyo, I have been a fan of this sport. Dr. David Meredith will be hosting our meetings during school, and he kept up with the professional sumo tournaments while he lived and taught in Japan for years.
In more recent years, I have been focusing on how amateur sumo is practiced in America. While sumo has been in America since the early 1900’s or earlier, it was mostly limited to Japanese immigrant communities on the West Coast and in Hawaii. Today, however, there are more and more clubs popping up across the nation!
Our goal is to create a sumo club for training and competition at the high school level where students also learn about the history, culture, and language from which sumo is derived.
Meeting Times
We will meet in Dr. Meredith’s classroom for Bear Club Days during the extended 2nd period class. During this time, students will learn more about Japanese language and culture, and they will have the
Tentative Bear Club Meeting Dates:
9/21/22, 10/5/22, 10/26/22, 11/9/22, 11/30/22, 1/18/23, 2/1/23, 2/15/23, 3/1/23, 3/22/23, 4/5/23, 4/19/23, 5/3/23, 5/17/23
Keiko (Practice)
Tentatively, the Antioch High Sumo Clubs will have practice on Mondays and Wednesdays after school. We expect conflicts with other sports, and we hope to be the most active as a sport in the Springtime.
Attire
We wear clothes! Unlike professional sumo wrestlers in Japan, we wear clothing under the mawashi (sumo belt) in amateur sumo. Athletes should show up to practice wearing gym clothes or compression shirts and/or shorts. The club will work on acquiring mawashi for our members.
Goals and Benefits
Goals
- All members of the club will earn their YELLOW belt in Sumo
- Host a local sumo tournament for Junior members (Shonen), 14-17 years of age
- Big goal: Travel out of state to another sumo club for training, instruction, and belt testing.
Benefits
- Mr. Hudson cooks chankonabe (sumo stew) on occasion to feed the team!
- Physical fitness – Sumo training is based on improving balance, strength and flexibility. Some wrestlers have used sumo training for weight loss (surprise!), muscle growth, and complementing athletic ability in other martial arts, such as Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
- Competition – This is a unique alternative to other sports leagues
- Community – Show pride in being a part of a niche community of athletes
- Japanese Culture – Connect with ancient Japanese traditions through sport
- Membership in the US Sumo Federation
- Regular membership is divided into three (3) categories:
- Junior members (Yonen), 13 years of age and younger,
- Junior members (Shonen), 14-17 years of age, and
- Senior members (18 years of age and older).