Strongman Survives Sumo Wrestler Lifestyle For 72 hours - Strength Unknown Japan

Entering a gym, you may be met with loud shouts, grunts, and boisterous displays of dominance all demanding attention. Stepping into the sumo stable was unlike anything I've experienced in strength and martial arts alike. A quiet energy greeted me. It was not nurturing, nor soothing. A cold chill could be felt down my spine as if a room of predators had their gaze locked onto me and I was the prey. The only sound that broke the silence was that of repetitive thumps and counts reminiscent of a swordsmith crafting the blade of my demise. Join us as we explore this world where tradition and discipline turn man into bulldozing machine. Sumo, one of the world's most ancient sports with roots extending over 2,000 years back. At first, it emerged as a religious Shinto ritual designed to entertain the divine and secure a bountiful harvest. Over centuries, as it evolved, it became a martial art practiced by samurai warriors, garnered patronage from the aristocracy, and eventually grew into a popular sport boasting elaborate tournaments in a sophisticated ranking system captivating thousands of spectators. Today, it's revered across the world for its show of athletic behemoths clashing with lightning speed and animalistic strength. It endures, carrying on its back a rich history, becoming synonymous with Japanese tradition, discipline, and might. The term rikishi literally translates to strength man, was once used to denote strongmen and wrestlers alike. In our previous episode on Chikara Ishii, we glimpsed into this world of Japan's old-time strength. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest you check it out. Thanks to our friend David, we were able to secure unprecedented access to the world of sumo wrestling. As the training session came to a close, these stoic and majestic warriors made their way to greet us, and despite their archetypical reserved nature, we were able to form a wholesome bond immediately. And I mean really truly wholesome. They were asking if he had a large ding dong. Yes, and I translated for him, and their trainer was like, watch out, he's got an interpreter. He's still small. Is there a bigger one? There is. There is? He's huge! He's like a hammer. Can you carry him? He's a tiger. Tiger? Of course. Oh, so he's a brass guard. He's a panther. People with big ding dongs, when they put on the diaper, it can flip out the side. They said it's fair game to grab, so. I'll have to learn to use my third leg as a weapon here. With practice for the day complete, we had thought our day over. It turned out this was a special moment to seize, for not too far from the stable was a high caliber tournament taking place with all the best sumo wrestlers apart from the Yokozuna themselves. Even more exciting, one of the top secondary wrestlers from the Tatsunami stable was about to compete. This is kind of a last minute planning kind of thing. We didn't think we'd be seeing any kind of competitive sumo wrestling tournament. This whole video is last minute planning by the way. But to see the same scenery that I just saw in Sanctuary. I mean, I feel like I'm in a movie or an anime of some sort. You're in YouTube. What a place. Their top wrestler is here today. Just one. They're Ozeki. His name is Ho Shoryu and he's Mongolian. Yeah, he's the nephew of Asa Shoryu. This is a once a year tournament. Very exclusive in the sense that only the top ranked wrestlers get to compete in this. It does not affect the rank, because their rank is dependent on how many wins or losses they get. This doesn't affect that. But it is a special tournament because the best sumo wrestlers are going to be here competing for the tournament title. And that's going to be a spectacle to see. It felt like the force of gods. Forging thunder could be felt from across the stadium. This day was a treat. I had my adrenals racing as if partaking in a demolition derby. I was especially honored witnessing Meisei, one of the secondary wrestlers from our sumo stable, securing second place. As the day drew to a close, I couldn't help but dwell on the impending training session awaiting me the following day. Restful slumber eluded me as thoughts of rigorous challenges ahead danced through my mind. Before moving on, I'm sure some of you are wondering why out of the blue I'm able to speak Japanese. It's a bit broken and I've got some way to go to fluency. The fact is I've been able to go to Japan and converse. Learning a language has been amazing and helping me immerse myself in the culture on a much deeper level. Thanks to Pimsleur. Prior to our trip to Japan, I went through all of the Pimsleur courses in Japanese and there's been no schooling, no other method, and no other app that's been as effective and easy to use in rapid language acquisition. For one, the lessons are only 30 minutes long. Two, the bulk of the learning is purely auditory. That means whether you're commuting to work, going for a walk, or warming up for a workout, you could be learning a language. But that's not all. There's flashcards, games, and writing lessons as well. For someone like me that's busy all day, that gives me no excuse not to learn. This video has been made possible thanks to Pimsleur. So go into the description, click the link, and sign up and start learning from one of the many language options today. I can't be grateful enough for this service. Now back to the show. So I woke up around 5 a.m. and spent the last hour and a half kind of just sitting around shivering in fear. I didn't think I'd be this nervous to do sumo. I can do this. Come on Martins, you got this. Oh god, they're really dexterous in this position. Oh god, I got a lot of learning to do. Okay, and we're off. My heart's already beating. Feels like I'm getting ready for a competition. It's unreal. I've always wanted to try this. Okay, now the first time I get to try sumo. I'm in Japan with one of the current top staples. That's the way I get to start. My expectations, my hope is that they're like, wow, you're really cool, you should join our team. So that's my ultimate goal, is just to hear that. But if that doesn't come to be, I mean just to learn sumo, to know what it feels like, to know what they go through in the full session, just to get a taste of that. This isn't even going to be one of their harder sessions. This is still like on the deload side of things. To be honest, I think definitely the garb. That's what I'm most nervous about. I'm gonna be revealing quite a bit of myself. Why does it have to be a public thing? The training methodologies in Japan, they come from the U.S. They take from the stuff that we've got, but they come like 10 years late. So stuff that was popular in the U.S. 10 years ago is just coming to Japan now. And Japanese people are like, wow, this is a cool new training methodology. And people from the U.S. are like, I'll throw you up there. Just step over it and pull. Do this thing guys. What I'm about to drape around my waist is a Mawashi. It's the traditional silk belt of sumo warriors rock. And let me tell you, comfort is not exactly its strong suit. But hey, I sign up for the full experience. So apologies in advance, or who knows, maybe this is what the fans want to see. I was really hoping it stays in there. Adorning my combat uniform, I was ready to dive into the action. But first we had to warm up our legs with a little traditional sumo exercise called Shiko. Just air squats with a stomp, right? Well, that's what I thought. I've squatted hundreds of kilos for reps upon reps and have been at the top of the world when it comes to heavy squats for repetitions. This should be a breeze. 10 minutes in, all around, not too bad. Smooth sailing. 20 minutes in, the room was hot. Sweat was dripping down my face. And I realized I had made a big mistake. 30 minutes in, with legs feeling as if made of lead, we hit the ground for some relaxing planks and push-ups. And with the warm-up finally over, oh it's not over, more Shiko. 60 minutes in, I am one with pain and eternity. With stomp after stomp, I have finally accepted my place in the universe. With breath in and breath out, I was at peace. It was time to begin practice. Suriyashi, a balancing warm-up that involves a sliding motion of the feet across the surface of the ring. We performed practice pushes straight on, with hands moving in a flow, as if swimming in reverse. Lateral shuffling to mimic controlling the perimeter of the ring. The grace that the others moved with was astounding, graceful, effortless. With the drills over, it was time to give these bouts a go. A head-on charge with Rhinoceros, like being thrown into an American football line without a helmet. Next thing you know, it was my turn. My technique of choice to face these human bulldozers, pure fear. Charging head first, flailing arms and legs in hope of victory. Although effective, this approach did come at a cost. Upon collision, an immediate sharp pain radiated down from my neck into my arms. Oh whiplash, a familiar friend visiting me from my wrestling days. Luckily, we still had one more day remaining, and by no means was I done. I retreated for the day to lick my wounds to fight another day. So that was, that was an incredible experience. I don't know what happened. My head got knocked up, got a major whiplash, and my nerve tingling went right down my arm immediately, like lightning. But those warm-ups are no joke. At first when I'm watching it, it was going slow, but you're doing that for over an hour. Squat, after squat, after squat, and eventually my legs started cramping. And you know what, that thing where you bring up your leg before you stomp, you know, in the beginning I don't feel anything, but after half an hour or so, my abductors were just lighting up. I think that is legitimately a fantastic warm-up for a leg day. Today, go? Shower, shower, and eating, and karaoke. Let's all eat together. Well, I just got my shower in. That felt really nice to get off all the dirt and whatnot. What a hell of an experience today. First time doing sumo, and it kicked my ass. I'm so slow off the line. It's been years since I've done American football, and it shows I don't have that speed off the line right now. So if I do this again tomorrow, I'm going to really have to anticipate for when the start is, and hopefully not mess up my neck more, because that really hurt today. He invited me to go do my hair, bro. Oh, let's do it. I guess my hair is going to get done up nice and pretty right now, like a sumo's. Oh, I can't wait to eat, but first this hair stuff that's got to get up. Roll mic. We're about to do my hair. Could you tell me exactly what the rules in sumo are? People. People. People. Push, push. Circle. Push. Leg. Oh. Just asking them how often they wash their hair. So every day they wash it with hot water without shampoo, but only once a week they use shampoo to really try to get the stuff out, because it doesn't come out easily apparently. Why did you start doing sumo? Love me. These guys are so flexible. I'm like, my back is seizing up just sitting here eating food. 116 kilograms. Name. Month. Some people quit in like two years, some will be here for 13, 14. But if you hit the top ranks, the dude you're all in above, you get to move out and live in your own place. So even if they continue sumo, they won't be here anymore. With our stomachs filled to the brim, no procrastination would get me out of what followed. Something far more terrifying than the battleground I barely survived. Karaoke. Why oh why must this be their number one joy? No way. Although my internal introvert goblin would rather have me hiding in embarrassment for my attempt at channeling Johnny Cash, my adventurous side won the battle. We pushed onward for some sightseeing. If you want to watch the entire embarrassing experience, become a member of our YouTube page by clicking the link in the description. It's so cool. I'm just thinking my, my adventure has only begun. I'm going to be seeing so many more cool places like this. Guys, it's been a dream of mine to go to Japan for so long and it is more than surpassing my expectations. I'm overjoyed. Finally, with the day coming to an end, it was time for some much needed secluded me time to recover for the following day's training. Just as of the previous day, Shiko stomps were front and center for the first hour of practice. Only this time, I had no more fear. A war drum beat in my chest. I was confident, eager and ready to be thrown into the circle with focus on quickness and precision. It should be said that the rikishi I faced here were the greenest of the green from the Tatsunami stable. Not even of drinking age and facing them was no easy task. Undoubtedly, if I were to be put against the veterans from here, it would have been a totally different story. However, after the tournament we witnessed, they had duties elsewhere in Japan. I hope one day to have the honor of returning and facing them. Sumo, I've discovered, transcends mere sport. It's an artistic expression. A martial art steeped in rituals like purifying salt and earth-shaking Shiko stomps that press demonic forces back down to hell. This lifestyle demands immense commitment and the path is arduous. The act itself can be brutal, but the rewards these warriors claim from their hard work are that of dreams. Upon attaining status as a professional sumo, one can expect to receive a respectable salary and open the doors to freedom of choice as to where they live and how they master their art. If one is lucky enough to reach the legendary rank of Yokozuna, they are adored beyond imagination and even regarded as a deity. Japan has charmed me, perhaps even tempting me to stay. This land with its honorable warrior traditions will always have a piece of my heart. Sumo has captured my imagination, leading me to wonder, could I embrace this life? Would I find acceptance even success? The thought is alluring, but for now, these dreams must wait as I return to the world where my strength finds its best use. Strongman. The holidays are here, so make sure you get your Strength Unknown merch by visiting barbellapparel.com or become a member of our YouTube page for $1 a month. Our goal is to hire more editors and crew to help us create better and better videos as we explore the world of strength. Thank you guys for the support and make sure you like and subscribe.