Sumo

From MartialTalk Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia Project

 This article is a Stub and needs to be expanded.

Sumo (相撲 Sumō, alternatively 大相撲 Ōzumō), or Sumo wrestling, is a competition contact sport wherein two wrestlers or rikishi face off in a circular area. The sport is of Japanese origin and is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budo: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.

The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements from when Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.