Would sumo wrestlers make good offensive linemen?

Edition #633

Good morning.

Last night the Knicks crashed out of the NBA playoffs thanks to a handful of dv injuries, and when I say handful I mean basically their entire starting line-up was either missing completely or playing through significant injuries. Just like last year, injuries have the the potential to derail even the best laid plans for the 2024 Jets.

Now we’re entering a real quiet period I may go off on some tangents here at TJW as there’s only so many times I can talk about the new offensive line, the importance of Aaron Rodgers or the incompetence of Nathaniel Hackett. Last week we took a look at three new Jets, and if you didn’t catch those you can read them here: Braelon Allen, Andrew Paisley, Brady Latham. Today I’m asking, would sumo wrestlers make good offensive linemen?

Mike Florio believes the NFL are putting two much strain on the Jets: “The truth is, the broadcast partners are clamouring for Aaron Rodgers,” said Florio. “So they loaded it up early before the Jets have the wheels come off, The problem is they’re kicking the wheels off by doing this. By having them hopscotch the country and play short weeks twice and all of these prime-time games. There’s an extra layer of stress and strain that goes into all of these stand-alone games and all of this travel early in the season.” Like many here I believe the schedule is the schedule and you play the hands you’re dealt, but that is going to put a lot of strain on some of these players.

Sauce Gardner is looking forward to the challenge. Speaking to the official Jets website he said: ‘It’s great to be able to have those prime time games. A lot of people are expecting a lot out of us, we expect a lot out of ourselves.’ ‘It’s prime time everybody is going to be watching so we love to have those types of games, I know I love to have those types of games. It’s going to be competitive & I’m a competitor.’

Mike Clay is going all in on the Jets this year and wrote a big feature piece on why he believes the Jets will win the Super Bowl this season. It includes an elite defence, a much-improved offence, a formidable offensive line and of course, Aaron Rodgers. Here’s just a small snippet on the receiving room: “At wide receiver, the Jets have an ace. Wilson is the real deal. The 2022 first-rounder is fourth in the league in targets (315) since he was drafted, trailing only Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb. Of course, he's 14th in receptions (178), 19th in yards (2,145) and tied for 59th in touchdowns (7) during that span mainly because of the team's dreadful quarterback play. During the offseason, the Jets signed big man Mike Williams and drafted short-range after-the-catch specialist Malachi Corley, which provides a big upgrade on last season's secondary receivers Xavier Gipson, Allen Lazard, Jason Brownlee and Randall Cobb”

Rich Cimini spoke to Jets legend D’Brickashaw Ferguson about new Jets tackle Olu Fashanu: "The NFL has gotten to the place where they want immediate impact, but I think for people to learn what that transition is like to the league, it just benefits you," Ferguson told ESPN. "I'm excited for a player like him," he added. "This is a ripe opportunity to grow in. Had the Jets not made so many moves, I think the expectation would've been even harder because now if he doesn't perform, they're going to look for other ways to make fixes. But I think they put him in a position to have success. I'm happy and excited to see where this goes."

As most of you know, I have a real love for Japan. My wife and I spent time there after we got married for our honeymoon and we travelled from Tokyo to Kyoto, then to Fuji before heading to Osaka and Nara before finally landing in Okinawa. If I could convince my wife to make the move, I’d permanently move there tomorrow.

Part of my love for Japan is the sport. I’m a avid Vissel Kobe football fan and a regular watcher of Japanese baseball. I penned an article on Masanori Murakami for Still Alive magazine last year which you can read here if you wish. He was the first Japanese baseball player to play in the majors.

I’m also a sumo fan. So imagine my surprise when I saw a popular theme pop up on X this week asking whether sumo wrestlers would/could make good offensive linemen in the NFL, and more questions asking why NFL teams have yet to try it.

I had a fair few thoughts on this as someone who watches both quite closely. My first response is always to talk about Wakanohana, a former Yokozuna (the highest rank in Sumo) who tried out for the Arizona Rattlers in 2002 after retiring from the Doho at the age of 29. That didn’t really work out and he returned to Japan pretty quickly to open up a chain of chanko nabe restaurants (Japanese hot pot that is the staple food of sumo wrestlers).

But just because it didn’t work for Wakanohana doesn’t mean it couldn’t work for others. But when I was asked about the idea of professional sumo’s making the transition to the NFL, two immediate problems came to mind:

1. Sumo is not just a sport for many who choose that lifestyle. It’s heritage, it’s tradition and it’s religion. Sumo can trace its origin back to ancient Shinto rituals, which can be seen with the referees (gyōji) wearing full ceremonial kimono (shōzoku or the hitatare). So when you choose to get into sumo, you’re choosing a lifestyle. Sumo wrestlers also often wrestle well into their 30’s, so once they retire it’s often too late to make a transition to another sport.

2. American football isn’t overly popular in Japan. I’m fortunate to work in sports and Japan is one of the main territories that I work. Football (soccer) and baseball dominate the country and like in the UK, rugby is significantly more popular. It’s estimated that only around 17,000 people are participating in American football in Japan, where as over 125,000 people are participating in rugby. Japan has a pretty good rugby team too, so there just isn’t a culture of American Football.

So I wouldn’t expect an influx of sumo wrestlers to be hitting our screens when we turn on NFL Network this year. But would they make good offensive linemen?

Personally I think there are a fair few similarities in terms of movements and body composition. But not all sumo’s are designed the same. Some are big, some small. Some are tall, others are short. Some are slow, some are quick. Some are powerful and rely on strength, some are wily and rely on intelligence.

Sumo wrestlers do have to have a strong base, they need to understand leverage and balance. They need to have some pop in their hands and they need to understand when to engage and when to disengage and move. They also tend to have legs like tree trunks which gives them an incredible anchor. When the aim of Sumo is to either push your opponent out the ring or make them touch the ground with any part of their body other than their feet, having a strong base is vital.

But while there are a ton of similarities, there are also stark differences, not just in the sports but in the lifestyles as well. NFL players earn a lot more money and it being a team sport need to work in unison with their linemates. While sumo wrestlers live in sumo stables with fellow wrestlers, this is a very individual sport with different techniques and tactics, and the focus is solely on the opponent in front of you. #

One good test subject is Hidetora Hanada. If you’ve not heard of him then that would surprise nobody. Hanada is a 21-year-old former amateur sumo wrestler who rose to the top of the amateur ranks. He’s now plying his trade over in Fort Collins as a defensive lineman for Colorado State and by all accounts he’s adjusting very well.

"While competing sumo in Japan, I started thinking that I wanted to fight many strong athletes worldwide. Football is the most popular sport in the United States and I wanted to see how I can compete in that environment," Hanada explained through a translator. "I wanted to see my limit. That's why I decided to challenge football."

How Hanada does may open the floodgates down the line. So while you won’t see a lot of professional sumo’s making the switch, will college teams start trying to draw players from the amateur ranks? Hanada was a amateur Yokozuna (grand champion) and won gold at the 2022 World Games in the heavyweight division, so he may be a special case. But if he can show that sumo skills translate to the gridiron, I could see a crop of young Japanese athletes making the move. While sumo wrestlers earn a good living and gain real fame and cult like status in Japan, the earning potential in the NFL blows sumo money out the water.