Diabetes - obesity often indicates lack of discipline

Author

obesity often indicates lack of discipline

tigerlilly@privacy.net.org.com

2005-06-07, 5:45 pm

Becoming a Sumo wrestler

Sumo wrestling is not an occupation – it’s a way of life. It can take up to ten
years to become a professional fighter, and requires a lifetime’s dedication.

Sumo wrestlers usually begin as teenagers. They join schools which teach the
basics of Sumo, history, and technique. Scouts from professional Sumo ‘stables’
tour the schools to find the most promising recruits. The first criterion is
weight. A Sumo wrestler weighs up to 280 kilos, so the scouts look for athletic
boys with stocky builds and big bones. They do not recruit obese boys, because

obesity often indicates lack of discipline,

and the scouts do not believe they will be able to withstand the punishing Sumo
regime.

Once the recruits are selected, they are committed to years of strict training.
Sumo wrestlers are called rikishi. The youngest rikishi rise between 4 – 5am.
They begin with stretching and exercises.

The high ranking rikishi start training at around 9am. The junior rikishi assist
them with their exercises or start preparing their meal.

Sumo Exercises

Shiko: A stomping exercise strengthens hips and legs. Most Rikishi do about 500
a day.

Teppo: An exercise for the arms and shoulders. A rikishi faces a large wooden
pole and strikes it with the palms of his hands.

Suriashi: Another leg exercise, is performed in a crouching position with the
hands bent at the elbows. The rikishi slides his feet forward, alternating legs.

Matawari: A stretching exercise, where a rikishi sits on the floor with his legs
as far apart as possible, and then leans forward until his stomach touches the
floor. Usually they require assistance, so, another rikishi will push him down
farther or hold his legs apart.

Challenge Matches: These matches take place after warming up. They are just like
the bouts you watch in tournaments, without the ceremonies. This is also an
opportunity for lower ranked rikishi to challenge higher-ranked rikishi.

Sumo Food

The diet of Sumo wrestlers is legendary. There is no weight division in Sumo, so
an important part of the training gaining as much weight as possible. It can
take years for a rikishi to become a respectable weight for a fighter, usually
over 200 kilograms.

Rikishi don’t eat breakfast, firstly because rikishis cannot train hard on a
full stomach. Secondly, by midday, the rikishis are starving and can eat up to
five to ten times the meal of an average person. Over eating late in the day
causes a drop in metabolism and encourages the body to store fat.

The traditional meal is a stew called chanko-nabe. It has some kind of meat
(fish, seafood, chicken, pork, or beef) and is served with rice and vegetables.
Although the meal is high in protein for rapid weight gain, Chanko-nabe itself
is not fattening. The secret is in the sheer amount that Sumo wrestlers consume.

Rikishi Takamisugi, a Sumo champion, could drink 65 bowls of stew, which
contained around 13 kilograms of beef. Konishiki, one of the heaviest rikishis
in history at 285 kilograms, could eat 10 bowls of stew, eight bowls of rice,
130 pieces of sushi, and 25 portions of barbecued beef. And he still had room
for desert!

Sumo wrestlers also drink large quantities of beer. Alcohol increases cortisol
levels which leads to fat deposits around the abdominal area, creating the ‘beer
belly’. This is desirable in sumo wrestlers since a large stomach makes them
more stable in the ring.

After their enormous meal, sumo wrestlers sleep for around three hours so that
most of the calories they eat will be deposited as fat. They also have special
massages to move the intestines and allow them to eat more food.

The negative effects of the rikishi’s lifestyle becomes dangerously apparent
later in life. Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy of 65, 10 years less than
the average Japanese male. They often develop chronic diabetes and high
cholesterol, and are prone to heart attacks. The excessive intake of alcohol
leads to liver problems and the stress on their joints causes arthritis.
Recently, the standards of weight gain are becoming less strict, to try and
increase the health of Japan’s greatest heroes.

BlackShadow

2005-07-20, 12:04 pm

On 06/08/2005 08:31:28 tigerlilly@privacy.net.org.com wrote:

> Becoming a Sumo wrestler

> Sumo wrestling is not an occupation – it’s a way of life. It can take
> up to ten years to become a professional fighter, and requires a
> lifetime’s dedication.

> Sumo wrestlers usually begin as teenagers. They join schools which teach
> the basics of Sumo, history, and technique. Scouts from professional Sumo
> ‘stables’ tour the schools to find the most promising recruits. The
> first criterion is weight. A Sumo wrestler weighs up to 280 kilos, so the
> scouts look for athletic boys with stocky builds and big bones. They do
> not recruit obese boys, because

> obesity often indicates lack of discipline,

> and the scouts do not believe they will be able to withstand the punishing
> Sumo regime.

> Once the recruits are selected, they are committed to years of strict
> training. Sumo wrestlers are called rikishi. The youngest rikishi rise
> between 4 – 5am. They begin with stretching and exercises.

> The high ranking rikishi start training at around 9am. The junior rikishi
> assist them with their exercises or start preparing their meal.

> Sumo Exercises

> Shiko: A stomping exercise strengthens hips and legs. Most Rikishi do
> about 500 a day.

> Teppo: An exercise for the arms and shoulders. A rikishi faces a large
> wooden pole and strikes it with the palms of his hands.

> Suriashi: Another leg exercise, is performed in a crouching position with
> the hands bent at the elbows. The rikishi slides his feet forward,
> alternating legs.

> Matawari: A stretching exercise, where a rikishi sits on the floor with
> his legs as far apart as possible, and then leans forward until his
> stomach touches the floor. Usually they require assistance, so, another
> rikishi will push him down farther or hold his legs apart.

> Challenge Matches: These matches take place after warming up. They are
> just like the bouts you watch in tournaments, without the ceremonies.
> This is also an opportunity for lower ranked rikishi to challenge
> higher-ranked rikishi.

> Sumo Food

> The diet of Sumo wrestlers is legendary. There is no weight division in
> Sumo, so an important part of the training gaining as much weight as
> possible. It can take years for a rikishi to become a respectable weight
> for a fighter, usually over 200 kilograms.

> Rikishi don’t eat breakfast, firstly because rikishis cannot train hard
> on a full stomach. Secondly, by midday, the rikishis are starving and can
> eat up to five to ten times the meal of an average person. Over eating
> late in the day causes a drop in metabolism and encourages the body to
> store fat.

> The traditional meal is a stew called chanko-nabe. It has some kind of
> meat (fish, seafood, chicken, pork, or beef) and is served with rice and
> vegetables. Although the meal is high in protein for rapid weight gain,
> Chanko-nabe itself is not fattening. The secret is in the sheer amount
> that Sumo wrestlers consume.

> Rikishi Takamisugi, a Sumo champion, could drink 65 bowls of stew, which
> contained around 13 kilograms of beef. Konishiki, one of the heaviest
> rikishis in history at 285 kilograms, could eat 10 bowls of stew, eight
> bowls of rice, 130 pieces of sushi, and 25 portions of barbecued beef.
> And he still had room for desert!

> Sumo wrestlers also drink large quantities of beer. Alcohol increases
> cortisol levels which leads to fat deposits around the abdominal area,
> creating the ‘beer belly’. This is desirable in sumo wrestlers since a
> large stomach makes them more stable in the ring.

> After their enormous meal, sumo wrestlers sleep for around three hours so
> that most of the calories they eat will be deposited as fat. They also
> have special massages to move the intestines and allow them to eat more
> food.

> The negative effects of the rikishi’s lifestyle becomes dangerously
> apparent later in life. Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy of 65, 10
> years less than the average Japanese male. They often develop chronic
> diabetes and high cholesterol, and are prone to heart attacks. The
> excessive intake of alcohol leads to liver problems and the stress on
> their joints causes arthritis. Recently, the standards of weight gain are
> becoming less strict, to try and increase the health of Japan’s greatest
> heroes.

And your point is?