Wakatakakage film study: positional awareness and the under arm swing down

Wakatakakage doesn’t force openings, he creates them.

Too big for small-man sumo, yet too big for the acrobatics of an Enho, Wakatakakage must remain a balanced wrestler. For the most part, he has.

Today I want to look at how Wakatakakage utilizes his craftiness and ring awareness using an example from day 2 of the 2025 Natsu basho. We will look how the kumusubi rikishi sets himself up for success despite losing key positions.

Wakatakakage and dohyo awareness

First, our clip…

There is a lot to unpack in this short, 6-second GIF.

From the tachiai, Wakatakakage and Tamawashi (1) meet in the center of the dohyo. You will notice that Wakatakakage hits initially with his left foot forward and Tamawashi with his right foot. (2) Wakatakakage grabs the under with his right arm but fails to do secure his left. Tamawashi gets his right hand under Wakatakakage’s neck and will begin to push up on his head.

From this point on, Wakatakakage, is planning what’s next. He knows Tamawashi has the advantage on his left side but that he has control with the under on the right. He will step back with his lead leg, putting his right forward. In boxing terms, he switches from an open stance to a closed stance matchup.

(3) As Tamawashi pushes forward, Wakatakakage will change his angle of retreat and begin to circle out to his right. Tamawashi fails to keep the push on Wakatakakage’s head and Wakatakakage covers the hand to prevent it further. (4) Keeping his under, Wakaktakage continues to circle out and grabs across with the shoulder crunch, what’s called an under arm swing down in sumo. While circling (5) Wakatakakage pulls down Tamawashi and secures the victory.

Now the under arm swing down is something we covered before. Let’s briefly go back to that.

Midorifuji and countering the overhook of Shodai

Midorifuji is a master at the under arm swing down. Previously we talked about his use of the technique.

From that article…

When Midorifuji and Shodai clash in the middle, Shodai (1) immediately corrals Midorifuji’s right arm. He wrenches it in, like Terunofuji does to Ura. What Shodai did not do was control the left arm of Midorifuji. He (2) swims his left arm over and uses the right, corralled arm as an underhook and (3) throws Shodai to his left side guiding with his arms.

But this isn’t possible without Midorifuji’s footwork. Let’s examine that next.

(1) We start again after the initial contact between the two rikishi. With his arm controlled, Midorifuji will (2) shift his footwork to that side. Notice his grip in this frame. Midorifuji uses that to push Shodai out. But his footwork is not in the clear. Midorifuji will (3) shift to his right again to allow for Shodai to fall unimpeded.

You can read the full write up on Midorifuji and his counter of the overhook below:

What you will notice from Midorifuji and Wakatakakage is the importance of circling out. Committing both hands to one side of an opponent opens up the opposite side for control. The circling keeps a rikishi away from that weak side control and gets their opponent overcommitting with the sudden change in direction.

Misdirection and ring awareness

A major part of sumo is, of course, the push out. With a finite fighting surface, it’s imperative to know where one’s self is at while wrestling.

We will start our section with Tamawashi (1) pushing on Wakatakakage’s head. With all his force going forward, Wakatakakage will circle out to his right, set up by the change in footwork touched upon earlier. Instead of cutting the ring off, Tamawashi will follow Wakatakakage. (2) Tamawashi loses the push on the head and Wakatakakage covers the hand. Notice where his positioning is in relation to Wakatakakage. Tamawashi is following Wakatakakage, turning into him. This allows Wakatakakage his escape and to grab (3) the shoulder crunch.

One more thing of note. Notice how close Wakatakage was to stepping out.

At the very edge, Wakatakakage avoids disaster. Should his heel touch the ground on the other side of the rice-straw bales, he loses. But the Arashio competitor feels the bales and avoids the accidental step out.

This is what makes Wakatakakage one of the most fun rikishi to watch. He can do it all, and does. He’s smart. He’s exciting. And when push comes to shove (pun intended) he wins spectacularly, be it with his brains or brawn.