January 2016, Day 14, Kitataiki v Takayasu.
Lot of things to watch in this great match-up near the middle of the banzuke. Kitataiki dives low at the tachiai, but gives up a belt grip to Takayasu’s left arm. Meanwhile, there’s a desperate fight on the other side of their bodies for opposing belt grips - Kitataiki wants left-under, Takayasu wants right-over. But in this position, reaching too aggressively for your opponent’s belt means giving up your own, so there’s a delicate balance of defense and offense happening with hips and arms and hands. Finally, they both just go for it and simultaneously secure solid belt grips, which Takayasu immediately uses for a throw attempt. But Kitataiki stays upright and sees his chance to push out Takayasu, so he releases his hold on the belt, puts a hand under Takayasu’s chin, and attempts with all his might to remove Takayasu’s head from his shoulders. This doesn’t work for two reasons. One, it’s really hard to push someone’s head off of their shoulders. Two, Takayasu has defended by getting both hands on the front of Kitataiki’s belt, and he uses this grip to slip to the side and push Kitataiki down and out, while balancing with one heel on the tawara. Look at Kitataiki’s face when he sees which way the referee’s fan is pointing! It’s a display of emotion rarely seen in sumo. Kitataiki drops to 7-7, needing to win on the last day to avoid demotion, and Takayasu improves to 10-4, a nice double-digit result that should see him promoted near the top of the Maegashira ranks.
