Better late than never! As noted in my recent post about Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup, I am still traveling regularly for my job, so my posts are starting to get uploaded a little later than usual. I am still dedicated to posting one a week, but I apologize to all readers that the posts may not appear until Monday or Tuesday. . .but this should get better once we get into Fall (if not sooner!).
To get ready for the imminent Nagoya Basho 2019, this post is a recap of Brodi Henderson’s (aka Homarenishiki Yasokichi) performance in the Nagoya Basho 2015. As readers likely know, Brodi Henderson was a much acclaimed sumo wrestler from Canada. He competed several times in the US Sumo Open, winning gold in the openweight division during his last appearance. He then transitioned to Japanese professional sumo, and the 6’7″ colossal Canadian had a very fine start to his career. He went 3-1 in his mae-zumo matches. He then went 4-3, 6-1, and 6-1 during the next three basho. It seemed like the sky was the limit for Brodi Henderson.
However, he then went 3-4 and 3-4 in the next two basho, and then he left the world of Japanese professional sumo. I hope to interview Brodi one day about his experiences in sumo, as there are a lot of rumors surrounding him. Perhaps the most common is that he was injured during these two final basho, and, when mixed with homesickness, he realized that Japanese professional sumo wasn’t the career path that he wanted. Maybe we will eventually find out for certain.
Below are gifs of his second basho. It is clear in these matches that he is still learning the craft. He makes some mistakes, and he is uneasy on his feet. Nevertheless, he still manages to grab the kachi-koshi, and he shows a large amount of potential. It is no wonder why there was so much discussion surrounding him during this time.
I hope you enjoy this post. If you have any questions or comments about sumo, please email me at NorthAmericanSumo@Gmail.com.
Brodi Henderson Match 1 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Aratora Mitsuhiro (21 West ; 5-2) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs18rOVWQAA
Brodi Henderson Match 2 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Iwagami Taishi (22 West ; 3-4) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL45bY33dc0
Brodi Henderson Match 3 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Kiribayama (20 West ; 5-2) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–4q0__O2aM
Brodi Henderson Match 4 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Fukuazuma Yuta (25 East ; 3-4) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40zPVecqYyg
Brodi Henderson Match 5 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Asanoshima Jiro (17 East ; 4-3) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyyQlFV_R4o
Brodi Henderson Match 6 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Fujita Reisen (23 East ; 5-2) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqmi22yHgtw
Brodi Henderson Match 7 Gif – Nagoya Basho 2015
Fukamachi Shogo (16 East ; 3-4) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjpxxKPwaJc
As you can see above, Brodi lost his first match, won his second match, lost his third match, won his fourth match, won his fifth match, lost his sixth match, and won his seventh match. This put his record at 4-3, and he found himself in jonidan during the next basho.
My favotire match of these is probably the fifth against Asanoshima. While Brodi won most of his matches in this basho with his sheer size and strength, he really had to grit out the victory in this match. It shows that he was tough, dedicated, and maybe had what it take to advance to the top. While we will never know if this was indeed the case, I really hope we see Brodi back in sumo one day.
North American Sumo 
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