TGIFriday New Experiences: Sumo training at Ikazuchi stable

As part of our special tour during the unveiling of the Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 watch and clock event in Tokyo recently, we were treated to a special glimpse of how Sumo wrestlers do their morning training.

TGIFriday New Experiences: Sumo training at Ikazuchi stable

The visit was to Ikazuchi Stable, a stable formerly known as Irumagaw a stable from 1993 to 2023. Sumo stables are known as a a heya or beya (部屋; lit. ’room’, but most commonly translated to English as stable). This is the organisation where the wrestlers train and live in a militaristic lifestyle.

Sumo morning training usually start at 7am, and can typically last until 10am. At 10, the sumos break for their heavy first meal.

The focus of this morning session is on building lower body strength, flexibility and explosive power. The routine emphasises foundational movements – Shiko (stamping), Teppo (pushing), and Suriashi (sliding)—before moving into sparring matches. 

We arrived at Ikazuchi Stable at about 9am. By then the sumos would have had 2 hours of hard training. 

Sumo is a one-on-one competitive sport. The bout occurs in a ring known as a dohyo. This a raised surface made of clay. The actual ring (tawara) is marked by rice straw bales forming a circle measuring a diameter of 4.55m. This ring is defined by 16 shōbu-dawara (main competition bales), with 4 toku-dawara acting as markers at the cardinal points.

There are two ways to win. The first is to force the opponent to put a foot out of the ring. The second is to cause any part of the body other than the soles of their feet to touch the ground within the ring. The ruleset is simple, but the world of the sumo is deep and rich in tradition, spiritual energy and mastery of technique.

After the training, we had a Q and A session. The rikishi were mainly 16 to 21 years old (except for 1, more on him later), and though they were big and looked powerful, were just regular boys – funny, cheeky, playful. There were 6 rikishi training that morning. We observed that 5 of them had black mawashi. These are belts are worn during matches and training. Higher-ranked wrestlers (Sekitori) wear colored, silk mawashi, while lower-ranked wrestlers use black cotton. Only one rikishi wore a white mawashi.

He is Shishi Masaru, a 29 year old Ukranian (Serhii Sokolovskyi) with current rank of Maegashira. Shishi is one of two Ukrainians currently competing at the highest levels of sumo, the other being Aonishiki (Danylo Yavhusishyn), a 21-year-old refugee who fled the 2022 invasion, who currently ranks as ozeki (second-highest rank) training for a potential promotion to yokozuna. 

The training was intense. Most of the sumos were pushed to exhaustion, taking huge breaths and almost having to lie down to recover. We observed many had bandages on their body, particularly their hands and feet. And as they bash their head onto the opponent’s chest, at one sumo had nose bleeds. As they went about the session, we could sense that these young men had great will power to endure the tough training. And at each clash, we could feel the immense power and stability these athletes possess.

It was a rather interesting morning, learning about a sport and observing these young men in training.