The Basics of Sumo Wrestling

If I were to ask you the rules of baseball, basketball or football you'd probably have a pretty good idea of what they were. Most people know that an out in baseball is three strikes, that a touchdown is six points and that you have to dribble the ball in basketball. But do you know the rules in Sumo Wrestling? Ha! Didn't think so!

In Sumo Wrestling, the competitors are split into six divisions. Some might think that Sumo Wrestling would be divided by weight class like Boxing or Mixed Martial Arts, but that isn't the case. Instead Sumo Wrestling divisions are divided by win/loss record. The better record a Sumo Wrestler has, the higher division they are in.

The top division in Sumo Wrestling is called the Makuuchi division. The top 8 - 12 Sumo Wrestlers in the Makuuchi division are titleholders while the rest have a ranking starting with 1 and then going downwards. The second division is called the Juryo and has 28 wrestlers. After that is the Makushita division made up of 120 wrestlers, the Sandanme division made up of 200 wrestlers, the Jonidan division made up of 300 articles and the Jonokuchi division.

Sumo wrestlers compete in a ring called a dohyo. A dohyo is 4.55 meters in diameter. There are several ways to win a Sumo Wrestling match.

The first way to defeat an opponent in Sumo Wrestling is to push the other sumo wrestler out of the ring. The second way to defeat an opponent in a Sumo Wrestling match is to knock them over. If any part of the sumo wrestler other than the bottom of the feet touches the ground then they lose. These are the two most common ways to win a Sumo Wrestling match but there are a few other ways to win also.

There are some moves that are illegal and can lead to being disqualified. Some of these moves include striking an opponent with a closed fist, grabbing hair, jabbing the eyes or solar plexus, striking both ears with the palms, grabbing the groin or throat, kicking the chest or waist and bending the fingers backwards. It is very rare to see a disqualification in the higher ranks because of how disciplined the Sumo Wrestlers are although grabbing the hair will happen occasionally because it can often happen accidentally.

Sumo Wrestlers can also lose if they don't show up and forfeit the match. After a match the winner will be announced as well as what manner he won in, similar to boxing and mixed martial arts.

Sumo Wrestling matches often last just a few seconds and the longest matches are only a couple of minutes at the most.