Is there an average height for Sumo wrestlers? Most that I've seen don't look tall enough for the NFL. It seems like opposing DL would be able to reach up and knock down more passes at the LOS against them.
How did you develop such a love for Japan and interest in Japanese sports?
The one thing I love about Sumo is the variety of body types you get and the fact they all fight each other, there are no weight classes or anything else in professional sumo. The lone Yokozuna right now Terunofuji is 6'2, Hakuhō who is a former Yokozuna was 6'4, most of the top guys are around 6 feet to 6'4 - but one of my favourite guys at the minuet (Ura) is only 5'9. So there is a huge variation but I would say the average height must be around 6'1 or 6'2.
I'm not entirely sure to be honest Craig. I always loved Japan for its gaming and anime scene and as I loved sport it seemed a natural combination. We used to have Sumo highlights on one of the free TV channels when I was a kid and so I took an interest then, and then we spent some good time in Japan before I took a job that allowed me to work in Japanese sport.
Based on their heights, I would say that probably none of them would make effective OL, but I could see one who is 6'2' or better and weighing over 300 lbs being a very good, if not great, immovable NT.
Really enjoyed this. You're right as well about in terms of the profile of the sport in Japan. They've got the X-league ,but compared to Sumo it just doesn't have the same significance to draw guys who would be talented enough to succeed at both in the football direction.
yessir, that is correct! He was a multiple-time world heavyweight champion wrestler, winning it twice (2nd time winning it back) and wrestled professionally until the age of 52.
in his prime, he stood 6'2" and weighed 235 pounds, played 60 minutes and was seleected to the 1929 All-America team (he played college as a Minnesota Gopher) at TWO positions; Tackle and Fullback.
and there's a pretty good site with stories about him, my favorite which I copy below:
- A time-honored and perhaps apocryphal story about Nagurski is a scoring gallop that he made against the Washington Redskins, knocking two linebackers in opposite directions, stomping a defensive halfback and crushing a safety, then bouncing off the goalposts and cracking Wrigley Field's brick wall. On returning to the huddle for the extra point try, he reportedly said: "That last guy hit me awfully hard." -
the two greatest sports names imho - Bronko Nagurski from NFL... and Sataharu Oh in baseball. The history on both is fascinating; both are larger than life figures who dominated their sport when they played, and in the case of Nagurski, damn near unstoppable.
Would sumo wrestlers make good offensive linemen is probably the second toughest question ever asked in a Jet Way article.
The toughest question being Can Hackett actually coach offense.
The NFL has a bevy of NFL players who excelled at college wrestling currently earning a good living tangling in NFL trenches.
One would think after viewing the usual pictures of sumo wrestlers that their body type would not be complementary to NFL bodies.
After consulting with my friend Mr Miyagi, he informed me that contrary to what we see, there have been very tall sumos, some as tall as 7 feet. Of course we know that sumos can pack on the poundage, the heaviest ever weighed 645 pounds.
So the question would be training methods, are their training methods comparable to NFL standard.
I doubt in their sumo training they are asked to do the forty yd dash or the three cone shuttle.
Do sumos make enough money wrestling to want to try the NFL. Do NFL riches eclipse what a sumo makes.
We can’t even be sure if a sumo excels in the NFL that others will follow.
So to answer David’s question, they probably could be successful in the NFL.
One thought on Rich Cimini’s column yesterday.
He wrote.
The Jets streamlined their coaching staff. In 2023, Saleh had 24 assistants. Now he's down to 20. The biggest changes:
They no longer have a quarterbacks coach after moving on from Rob Calabrese; those duties will be inherited by passing-game coordinator Todd Downing.
Hasn’t the party line been that they want to develop quarterbacks. Isn’t that why Jordan Travis was drafted.
I don’t know if Calabrese was a good fit but wouldn’t anyone surmise that a young up and coming quarterback coach could be a fit here.
This offensive staff hasn’t exactly filled the Torch and Pitchfork brigade with confidence.
Attention Attention, the NY Jets have just announced that Jet green with Jet logo Mawashi will be available by June 15th in anticipation of the arrival of sumo wrestlers trying to make NFL rosters. A Mawashi is the loin cloth that a sumo wears when he is applying his trade.
They would be the perfect thing to wear at hot September games plus for away games at Miami and Phoenix.
To reward fans for their purchase, they can also purchase for just $9.99 a Zach Wilson or Mekhi Becton Jersey.
Also Jet fans, I’m sure the little lady will absolutely love you in your NY Jet Mawashi.
Hi David…I must say this is an extremely unique article! Certainly watching a Sumo match, one can see the power and short area quickness! I wonder if the stamina is there as the matches that I have watched have been relatively brief. As to whether Sumo skills translate to the NFL it is hard to say. I suppose we can see how Hanada does with his college career at Colorado State.
Stamina would certainly be a big concern. They're training is incredibly intense spending hours and hours a way working in the gym, but in terms of the actual competition they run a tournament every other month (in the odd months) and they fight once a day for 14 days with the bouts usually lasting between 5-15 seconds. So that's definitely something to consider.
My question would be, is their anything in their training, that an NFL lineman could use to increase explosion , and improve their hand fighting ? Worth investigating.
Their training is intense, they probably work 6-7 hours a day. A lot of it is improving leg strength by doing shiko (where they lift and stamp down their leg). Other is a lot of resistance work using other sumo's, so one sumo will stand and the other will push him across the ring. I can see that being beneficial to linemen who need to move defensive players.
Interesting, David. Thanks!
Is there an average height for Sumo wrestlers? Most that I've seen don't look tall enough for the NFL. It seems like opposing DL would be able to reach up and knock down more passes at the LOS against them.
How did you develop such a love for Japan and interest in Japanese sports?
The one thing I love about Sumo is the variety of body types you get and the fact they all fight each other, there are no weight classes or anything else in professional sumo. The lone Yokozuna right now Terunofuji is 6'2, Hakuhō who is a former Yokozuna was 6'4, most of the top guys are around 6 feet to 6'4 - but one of my favourite guys at the minuet (Ura) is only 5'9. So there is a huge variation but I would say the average height must be around 6'1 or 6'2.
I'm not entirely sure to be honest Craig. I always loved Japan for its gaming and anime scene and as I loved sport it seemed a natural combination. We used to have Sumo highlights on one of the free TV channels when I was a kid and so I took an interest then, and then we spent some good time in Japan before I took a job that allowed me to work in Japanese sport.
Based on their heights, I would say that probably none of them would make effective OL, but I could see one who is 6'2' or better and weighing over 300 lbs being a very good, if not great, immovable NT.
Thanks!
Really enjoyed this. You're right as well about in terms of the profile of the sport in Japan. They've got the X-league ,but compared to Sumo it just doesn't have the same significance to draw guys who would be talented enough to succeed at both in the football direction.
I'm sure its been proposed in the past but why not incorporate more sumo basics into OL teaching at developmental levels below the NFL?
yessir, that is correct! He was a multiple-time world heavyweight champion wrestler, winning it twice (2nd time winning it back) and wrestled professionally until the age of 52.
in his prime, he stood 6'2" and weighed 235 pounds, played 60 minutes and was seleected to the 1929 All-America team (he played college as a Minnesota Gopher) at TWO positions; Tackle and Fullback.
and there's a pretty good site with stories about him, my favorite which I copy below:
- A time-honored and perhaps apocryphal story about Nagurski is a scoring gallop that he made against the Washington Redskins, knocking two linebackers in opposite directions, stomping a defensive halfback and crushing a safety, then bouncing off the goalposts and cracking Wrigley Field's brick wall. On returning to the huddle for the extra point try, he reportedly said: "That last guy hit me awfully hard." -
the site: https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Bronko_Nagurski
Legendary, David, Nagurski is right up there with Babe Ruth, Jim Brown and other immortals.
CGVet58
hey David -
the two greatest sports names imho - Bronko Nagurski from NFL... and Sataharu Oh in baseball. The history on both is fascinating; both are larger than life figures who dominated their sport when they played, and in the case of Nagurski, damn near unstoppable.
I'm right in saying Nagurski was a professional wrestler as well wasn't he?
I've seen plenty of Oh as a Yomiuri Giant, and he's still working as an exec with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Would sumo wrestlers make good offensive linemen is probably the second toughest question ever asked in a Jet Way article.
The toughest question being Can Hackett actually coach offense.
The NFL has a bevy of NFL players who excelled at college wrestling currently earning a good living tangling in NFL trenches.
One would think after viewing the usual pictures of sumo wrestlers that their body type would not be complementary to NFL bodies.
After consulting with my friend Mr Miyagi, he informed me that contrary to what we see, there have been very tall sumos, some as tall as 7 feet. Of course we know that sumos can pack on the poundage, the heaviest ever weighed 645 pounds.
So the question would be training methods, are their training methods comparable to NFL standard.
I doubt in their sumo training they are asked to do the forty yd dash or the three cone shuttle.
Do sumos make enough money wrestling to want to try the NFL. Do NFL riches eclipse what a sumo makes.
We can’t even be sure if a sumo excels in the NFL that others will follow.
So to answer David’s question, they probably could be successful in the NFL.
One thought on Rich Cimini’s column yesterday.
He wrote.
The Jets streamlined their coaching staff. In 2023, Saleh had 24 assistants. Now he's down to 20. The biggest changes:
They no longer have a quarterbacks coach after moving on from Rob Calabrese; those duties will be inherited by passing-game coordinator Todd Downing.
Hasn’t the party line been that they want to develop quarterbacks. Isn’t that why Jordan Travis was drafted.
I don’t know if Calabrese was a good fit but wouldn’t anyone surmise that a young up and coming quarterback coach could be a fit here.
This offensive staff hasn’t exactly filled the Torch and Pitchfork brigade with confidence.
Attention Attention, the NY Jets have just announced that Jet green with Jet logo Mawashi will be available by June 15th in anticipation of the arrival of sumo wrestlers trying to make NFL rosters. A Mawashi is the loin cloth that a sumo wears when he is applying his trade.
They would be the perfect thing to wear at hot September games plus for away games at Miami and Phoenix.
To reward fans for their purchase, they can also purchase for just $9.99 a Zach Wilson or Mekhi Becton Jersey.
Also Jet fans, I’m sure the little lady will absolutely love you in your NY Jet Mawashi.
Hi David…I must say this is an extremely unique article! Certainly watching a Sumo match, one can see the power and short area quickness! I wonder if the stamina is there as the matches that I have watched have been relatively brief. As to whether Sumo skills translate to the NFL it is hard to say. I suppose we can see how Hanada does with his college career at Colorado State.
Only in May and June right lol
Stamina would certainly be a big concern. They're training is incredibly intense spending hours and hours a way working in the gym, but in terms of the actual competition they run a tournament every other month (in the odd months) and they fight once a day for 14 days with the bouts usually lasting between 5-15 seconds. So that's definitely something to consider.
My question would be, is their anything in their training, that an NFL lineman could use to increase explosion , and improve their hand fighting ? Worth investigating.
Their training is intense, they probably work 6-7 hours a day. A lot of it is improving leg strength by doing shiko (where they lift and stamp down their leg). Other is a lot of resistance work using other sumo's, so one sumo will stand and the other will push him across the ring. I can see that being beneficial to linemen who need to move defensive players.
Whitecotton & Ulbrich to Japan