Terunofuji: Sumo Breakdown

TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 21: Komusubi Terunofuji prepares for his bout against Shimanoumi on day fourteen of the Grand Sumo November Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 21, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

The following article is a guest submission from friend of the site and Discord patron Leo West (@leo__west), a former Division 3 collegiate wrestler, amateur kickboxer and a grappler with over six years of experience. Leo has a passion for the fast-paced and technical art of sumo wrestling.

Opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Fight Site staff.

Terunofuji Haruo is the latest wrestler to be promoted to sumo’s top rank of yokozuna. Teru’s rise through the sport was meteoric, and in 2015 he became the third-fastest rikishi to join sumo’s top division (makuuchi) only 25 tournaments after his professional debut. Sadly, he would go on to lose his place in the top division only two years later because of injuries.

After an extended absence due to knee problems, Terunofuji was demoted to the sport’s second-lowest division (jonidan) for his return tournament in 2019. He blazed his way back to the top, earning his spot in the makuuchi division back in only a year. From there, Terunofuji went on an absolute tear, winning the July 2020 basho and following it up with victories in March and May 2021. He fell just short of winning another tournament in the July 2021 basho, but his performance was good enough to earn him a promotion to the coveted rank of yokozuna. 

At 6 feet 3.5 in (1.92m) and 390 lbs (177kg), Terunofuji is relatively large even in comparison to his peers. Much of his game is centered around leveraging this advantage. He is often able to simply bulldoze lesser opponents, running them out of the ring off his initial charge (tachi-ai).

In addition to his massive frame, Terunofuji is very positionally sound. During the battle for grips, the big man keeps his hips well back from his opponent, making it difficult for them to create leverage against the taller man. He also does a wonderful job of maintaining inside elbow control. Terunofuji uses this not only to prevent opponents from obtaining many of the grips they want, but he also creates leverage that he can use to move opponents around even without ideal grips. 

Against better competition, the newest yokozuna looks to slow down his man so that he can dictate exchanges. Terunofuji keeps his hands low off the tachi-ai, looking to prevent grips on his belt and intercept potential underhooks before they become a threat. Often, this will lead opponents to seek higher grips, allowing Terunofuji to punch his underhook. Terunofuji is incredibly skilled with his underhooks and uses his height to elevate and off-balance opponents from this position. When his opponent prevents him from tying up, Teru looks to slap his opponent’s head down and quickly re-engage with his beloved underhook.

It is not entirely uncommon for Terunofuji’s opponents to secure a grip on his belt or an underhook, but he employs a powerful overhook in response. Teru looks to secure an overhook on the side of the grip and clamp down on it, neutralizing or even breaking a powerful grip. From here, Terunofuji targets the over-under bodylock to control his opponent and win by push out or off-balance his opponent. 

Terunofuji struggles most against opponents who prevent him from establishing his lock and controlling the pace. His July 2021 match with Hakuho demonstrates Teru’s flaws to a T. Hakuho prevents Terunofuji from tying up firmly off the tachi-ai and instead draws him into a slapping match. Looking to get out of this battle and enforce his own game, Terunofuji accepts an inferior position simply for the sake of getting into the clinch. Hakuho gets his own hips back, preventing Terunofuji from using his underhook to force him up. Hakuho cranks his own overhook, using it to threaten a throw and finally topple the bigger man.

(Match starts at 1:23)