Female sumo wrestlers of Mongolia
Sumo wrestling is a very popular sport in Japan, this form of wrestling has survived in the country for many years and looks all set to remain popular in the future. Mongolia is also a country, which has a long standing tradition of wrestling, and their
version of the sport is also very popular.
Over the years, a large number of Mongolian wrestlers have gone over to Japan and competed in sumo to great success and acclaim. Recently though women have started to take up the sport in the Asian country and it is causing quite a stir among the traditionalists.
With increased participation, maybe one day sumo can shed its sexist rules and women will be able to compete. It might be Mongolian women leading the charge in the future.
Sumo is an ancient sport that originated in Japan and today the only place in the World where the sport takes place professionally is Japan. It is a form of Japanese martial arts and it is a very popular sport among fans and participants. Sumo today maintains
a large portion of the rituals and practices that were found in the ancient activity, the salt ritual is intact as it was in the days of the start of the sport. Another ancient tradition that remains till this day is the practice of barring women from taking
part in the sport.
Women and the sport of sumo have had a tumultuous relationship over the years. At certain points in the history of the sport, women did take part in the competition but it was only at an amateur level and never at the professional level.
The strange thing about the sport is that women were not allowed to touch the ring or even step into it, as this would constitute a violation of the sport and would lead to the ring becoming impure.
Many women have strongly protested over the years of this discriminatory practice but the protests have so far fallen on deaf ears. It seems some Mongolian women are now going to try and break through the barrier.
Wrestling in Mongolia is also an ancient and traditional sport. It has gone on for almost 7000 years and has survived in the country to this day. The traditional Mongolian version of the sport is similar to sumo wrestling but it differs slightly in the size
of its participants and also in certain ritualistic tendencies.
Over the years because of the strong wrestling traditions in Mongolia, a lot of the country’s wrestlers have moved to Japan and become very successful sumo wrestlers in their own right. Some of them have even managed to reach the highest levels of the sport
and have become grand masters or yokozunas. As of 2005, out of the 61 foreign born sumo wrestlers competing in Japan, 35 of them were from Mongolia.
In the amateur circles of sumo wrestling in Mongolia a new trend has emerged; the trend of female sumo wrestlers. Even though there are no female sumo wrestlers at the top levels of competition, they have a healthy presence in the amateur levels of the sport.
In Mongolia at the moment, a lot of women are coming forth to compete in the sport. They say it has a large number of benefits from helping them become healthy, achieve high levels of stamina and it is also great exercise.
Now days, it seems according to a coach of sumo wrestlers, thousands of young women are taking part in the sport from all over the country. A large age range is also represented among the wrestling women, from as young as 15 years old to women wrestlers
who are 30. These strong and powerful female sumo wrestlers are nothing like the dainty divas of the WWE, but are proper wrestlers, who just want to be given a chance to compete professionally.
It does not seem likely because the backwards policies of Japanese sumo will probably continue for a long time to come, but maybe one day women will be able to compete in the sport as well. When that day comes, we can be sure that Mongolian women will be
at the forefront to claim the top spot of the sport.
Tags: