Even better, this is sort of a Texas story.<\/p>\n
For decades, countless articles and videos using similar verbiage have boasted of their creators gaining unprecedented access to sumo. What follows is inevitably a mishmash of cliche, misinformation, outdated statistics and the all-too-common confusing of amateur sumo with professional.<\/a>
\nThe reality is that \u014dzumo, for all its pageantry and uniqueness, is actually one of the most open and accessible top-level professional sports in the world, particularly for amateur athletes from overseas.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSummary: guy up in Dallas runs a sumo club<\/a>, club holds first tournament successfully, everyone celebrates and places long distance call. Lots of great stories start out this way<\/a>.<\/p>\n
“We got drunk in celebration and made a drunken Instagram call to Gaga (former maegashira Gagamaru). He was with someone who spoke English and we were like \u2018You should come our next tournament! We\u2019ll have you as a guest\u2019 and he was like \u201cYes I\u2019m down. Let\u2019s do it!\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hung out with him for a week in Dallas, took him all over the place, and he helped us train, and did a group session with all the people who flew in for the tournament,\u201d Morrison says.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And one thing led to another.<\/p>\n
Emboldened by that positive experience, and their growing friendship with Gagamaru, Morrison and Sauer decided to make a sumo-centric visit to Tokyo this month to coincide with the retirement ceremony of another Georgian rikishi \u2014 Tochinoshin.<\/a>
\nWith little more than a \u201cwhy not\u201d attitude and a handful of social media connections, the Texan managed to have a deeper and more all-encompassing sumo experience over the course of two weeks than most do in a lifetime.<\/a>
\nMorrison also took advantage of former Texan rikishi Wakaichiro\u2019s coincidental visit to the capital by tagging along to watch training at Ikazuchi stable. Morrison was delighted when the stablemaster \u2014 who had extensive experience in amateur and international sumo \u2014 agreed to let him join practice.<\/a>
\n\u201cI barely even have time to stretch and, before I know it, my first bout is against Ikazuchido, who I\u2019ve rooted for on TV and I\u2019m like \u2018what the hell is happening.\u2019 It was surreal.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n…<\/p>\n