The day started with a nice 2.5 hour drive to Fukuoka. A friend Dustin drove us, along with Rhianna and her friend Mike. When we got there we
finally found some parking and made our way to the arena. When we first got there there was a (lower class) sumo wrestler there. We got a picture with him. When we went to our seats we were surprised to see how empty the place was. We found our seats with our group. There were probably about 30-40 JETS in our section. We were, as many younger adults are, rather noisy. There was a Japanese man in front of us. He kept turning around and looking at us like we were doing something wrong. We (Erika and I) were not loud at all but because we were speaking 
English plus 30 other English speakers chatting at the same time, Im sure it SEEMED a lot louder than it actually was. Half way through, the crowds grew until the arena was packed! Everyone one else was just as noisy as us. (for the most part). Eventually our lil Japanese friend in front of us went and got a worker. The worker came to us and wrote a txt and showed it to us that said something to the effect of "It would be good to keep more quiet". So we tried.Sumo is quite an interesting sport. We learned quite a bit about it. The basic is this: Get your opponent either on the ground or out of the ring. This is actually not as hard as it sounds. If ANY part, other than feet, of your opponent touches the ground - you win. If they step out - you win. Obviously there is skill involved but one slip or trip and you're out.
It starts with about 15 Sumo's coming out and "presenting" themselves. The all come out around the ring, do a little hand jig and then leave. The first two come out, battle then the next two, etc... You only get ONE chance to defeat an opponent. When the two get to the ring, there is a ritual that is completed first. A man comes to the center and sings their names. They enter and stomp a couple times (traditionally to get rid of evil spirits), then throw salt into the ring for good luck. 
They face each other, stomp again, bend down and intimidate each other facially. Then one stands up, goes back to the side of the stage, the other returns to his side. They repeat the process, stomp, salt, face, stomp, bend over, then back to the corners. This happens about 3-5 times. Finally when they are both ready they run at each other. The match is over within 5-30sec. Preparation usually took about 5 minuets, if not more. To rise in the ranks you have to win. The more matches you win the higher in rank you become.
We had a LOT of fun! There are, surprisingly, very few Japanese sumo wrestlers. Most are from Mongolia, America, Hawaiian, Samoan, and other nationalities. One wrestler told a friend that his breakfast typically consisted of 1 whole chicken, 2 bowels of rice, and 6 eggs. Many eat stews. Their days are long with much training and preparation for their matches. Many begin around 5am and last until 10:30. They typically only eat 2 times a day and often sleep after their meals to gain more weight. Surprisingly, many of the Sumo's, even though EXTREMELY LARGE, are quite strong. They can pick each other up!
The winner (of the top 2 ranking) does a "victory dance" at the end. It was a type of Karate staff routine.
