One might find it odd for a Japanese sumo tournament to be held during a celebration of the Chinese New Year. But the Lunar New Year festival features all of the Asian cultures that celebrate the new year with the lunar cycle, even if there are differences in styles of celebrations or zodiacs. Anyways, the Year of the Pig was a perfect time for demonstrating the true way of sumo wrestling.
There has been quite a bit of misconception about sumo wrestling and the wrestlers themselves. For starters, sumos are not just fat. Beneath that thick exterior is a solid mountain of muscle. In truth, much of their girth is made up of distended muscles. The layer of fat on top of it served two purposes. First, it made the sumo heavier and a lot harder to push or lift. Second, it acted as protective padding against blows that could seriously hurt a smaller man. This was similar to Ancient Greek boxers and Roman gladiators, who had a layer of fat on their bodies for protection. Another thing was that sumos actually lived by a very strict regiment and diet to keep their physique. It was a lot harder work than one would think to be a sumo wrestler. Also, they wore loincloths/belts called mawashi, not diapers.
Much of the information regarding sumo wrestling was provided by a visiting oyakata, a sumo coach and former wrestler known as Mr. Harry Yama. He had an interview with Abby and Samson to discuss the training of a sumo and their cultural significance. The broadcasted interview contained more than a few clips of Double D saying "In Japan".
Before the actual sumo tournament began, a demo match was presented to demonstrate just what to expect in these matches. The wrestlers in the demo match were a pair of hippo Animalians. While hippos weren't really related to pigs, the hippo Animalians had a near-ideal physique for sumo wrestlers. As none of the participants were professional sumos, the rules were simplified. Wrestlers could not hit with their legs or their closed fists. They could slap, grab, and grapple with their opponents. To win a match, they had to either push their opponent out of the ring, force them off their feet, or, most ambitiously, throw them out of the ring or onto their backs. Sumo is closely related to judo and they shared similar moves.
As opposed to western styles of wrestling, sumo matches tended to be rather short because of the rules for winning the match. And while the various boars participating were still amateurs, it was still an interesting enough event to watch. It may not be held during the next Lunar New Year festival, but it was something worth remembering.