Tuesday, February 20, 2001

Story and photos by Brian Bowers
Stars and Stripes

Bryce Brown of Zama Elementary School and a Japanese boy from Zama City battle Asanowaka, the highest-ranked wrestler at the Wakamatsu sumo stable in Tokyo.

TOKYO — Perhaps pushing somebody into the dirt doesn’t sound like something that would foster good relations.

However, it did Sunday when a group of American and Japanese boys went to a sumo stable in Tokyo to learn about Japan’s national sport and each other. The 11 Americans were from Zama Elementary School and the 10 Japanese boys were from Zama City.

"The idea was to have a cultural exchange with the national sport, involving Japanese children and American children," said Paula Harding, Camp Zama’s director for School Age Services, who helped organize the trip to the Wakamatsu stable in Tokyo.

Before Sunday’s visit, the boys searched the Internet to learn more about sumo. They learned about such heroes as Hawaiian-born Chad Rowan, who wrestled under the name Akebono until his retirement last month. However, several still didn’t recognize the famous wrestler when they saw him seated ringside at the stable — perhaps because he was dressed in a shirt and pants instead of a wrestler’s mawashi.

Sumo wrestlers lead American and Japanese elementary school boys in stretching exercises at the Wakamatsu sumo stable in Tokyo.

Upon entering the chilly training room, the boys lined up in rows on the dirt floor and began a series of exercises to prepare them for the upcoming bouts. They watched as professional wrestlers lifted their immense legs and brought them thumping to the floor. They followed along, but their efforts brought little more than a patter of small feet.

After several stretching exercises, the boys watched as two of the titanic professionals showed them the basics of a match. They hunkered down and then heaved their bulky bodies against each other with a loud slap and shoved until one was out of the dirt circle in the middle of the floor.

Then, the boys faced off with Japanese on one side and Americans on the other. They lunged at each other just like the big boys. But, in most cases, they looked more like spindly spiders poking at each other than mighty sumo wrestlers.

Bryce Brown of Zama Elementary School, in dark shorts, and a Japanese boy from Zama City face off in the sumo ring.

Giggles and smiles filled the room as the bouts progressed. Whenever a particularly well-shoved match ended, the crowd broke into cheers, no matter who the winner was. Each bout ended with the opponents politely bowing to each other.

Some of the boys realized that brute strength isn’t the only key to winning. Seven-year-old Tony Knox won his match through some quick thinking.

"When he was pushing against me, I let go and he fell down," Tony said.

After a few rounds, the boys paired up — one American and one Japanese — to face Asanowaka, the highest-ranking wrestler at the stable.

Each match appeared to begin seriously but quickly developed into a silly display of strength against youthful agility. Asanowaka sometimes struck a Godzilla-like pose and swatted at his tiny tormenters. Other times, he would pick them up and twirl them or toss them.

For many boys, such as Dewoda Kah, the battle against Asanowaka was the highlight of the day.

"He picked me up and he turned me upside down," 8-year-old Dewoda said.

Nine-year-old Travis Ortiz was impressed with the wrestler’s strength.

"It felt like he was a bull," Travis said. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push him."

By the end of the morning, all of the pushing, bowing and laughing had taught their lessons.

"It was fun and it was a great experience," Travis said. "We got to learn sportsmanship. It was fun knowing how to do the sport."

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