<div dir="auto">Moti</div><div><br clear="all"><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Best regards,<div dir="auto">Gai</div><div><br></div><div>For of all sad words of tongue or pen,</div><div>The saddest are these:</div><div>It might have been.</div><div>- John Greenleaf Whittier</div></div></div></div></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Moti Dichne</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:niramiai@gmail.com">niramiai@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Aug 3, 2026 at 9:24 AM<br>Subject: [Sumo news] - 15 year old new recruit<br>To: Sumo Newsletter2 <<a href="mailto:sumo-newsletter2@googlegroups.com">sumo-newsletter2@googlegroups.com</a>><br></div><br><br><div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;display:flex;color:rgb(113,128,150);padding:20px 0px;font-family:Inter,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";font-size:13px"><div style="box-sizing:border-box;min-width:0px;margin:0px"><span style="font-size:14px;color:rgb(53,60,65)">The athletic ability test for new recruits for Aki was held on the 3rd at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, and 15-year-old Shinmichi Teiken (Takadagawa) took the test. He completed seven stations, including a 50-meter dash, handball throw, shuttle run, and sit-ups, and cleared the standards set by the Kyokai. He was delighted to pass, saying, "I was incredibly nervous, but I was able to give it my all." He is small, standing at 164 cm tall and weighing 55 kg. He did not meet the physical standards of being 167 cm or taller and weighing 67 kg or more (165 cm or taller and 65 kg or more for those expected to graduate from junior high school), so he had to take the athletic ability test. "I'm self-conscious about being small. I want to become a rikishi so that I can grow bigger and stronger," he revealed, explaining his reason for joining the sumo world. He has been practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts since the 6th grade of elementary school, but has no prior experience in sumo. At his grandfather's suggestion, he joined the heya on June 1st, saying, "The Oyakata is known as a training demon. I thought I would get stronger if I trained there." He has solidified his fundamentals, such as suriashi and teppo, and is also doing some butsugari. His goal is to reach 100 kilograms, aiming to "double" his weight. He weighed 48 kilograms when he first joined the heya, and has already succeeded in gaining 7 kilograms in about two months. His favorite food is the heya's specialty, okonomiyaki. He said that his Oyakata Takadagawa (former Sekiwake Akinoshima), has advised him to "eat and go to sleep right away," and revealed, "I eat more than 2 kilograms in one meal. There is no particular quota, but I am doing my best. On a good day, I can eat as many as six bowls of rice." His idol is Wakatakakage. He said that Wakatakakage's speed is appealing, and confessed, "I want to use my speed with this body as well. I like Wakatakakage." Furthermore, he mentioned Enhou, saying, "Like Enhou, I also want to reach Juryo," and vowed to do well.</span></div></div>
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