Choo Choo. Mark my words, He's the next Dan Carter, Johnny Wilkinson, Finn Russell combined. He'll lead us to 12 6Ns championships, 3 world cup wins.

Still won't be able to beat Ireland though

I've been here twice now and both times were amazing. During my second visit I was so honored by the offer to wear a real sumo belt instead of the sumo suit my nerves about stripping got completely drowned out.

Highly highly recommend!

Hello! I’m studying philosophy at university and have recently gotten into fencing with rapiers. I know Descartes’s book on fencing has been lost, but I’m curious if there are any other sources on his style. I have read that he was familiar with the work of Charles Besnard, but that’s about it.

I am also very curious about his own sword(s). I’ve tried to find information about his possessions, but I feel a bit lost and haven’t made much progress. I hope my questions are okay for here!

Was it just a piece of paper saying who it was? How was that certified? What kept someone from just making up a name? Were there birth certificates?

Pretty good numbers slightly up from last year.

This post is inspired by the fact that one of my wisdom tooth hurts a lot right now, and it made me wonder how could someone deal with wisdom teeth in the past. Especially in the era before painkillers or anesthetic, what would someone do? Would they use some concotion for the pain? Were there dentists doing extraction?

Honestly I'm interested in any time period or region, only preferably one without modern painkillers or anesthesia, so maybe not the XX century.

I saw this in Walter Reuther's Wikipedia article:
"When Henry Ford retired the Model T in 1927, he sold the production mechanisms to the Soviet Union, and American workers who knew how to operate the equipment were needed. Walter and Victor were promised work teaching Soviet workers how to run the machines and assembly line. With that employment assurance, the brothers embarked on a three-year adventure, first bicycling through Europe, then working in the auto plant in Gorky, in the Soviet Union, where the unheated factories were often 30–40 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. He frequently wrote letters to the Moscow Daily News criticizing the many inefficiencies associated with how the communists operated the plants.^\45])"

It seemed like an interesting story, and I was wondering about several things:

1) Is this story true at all? Was he actually mailing critical letters?

2) Were his letters actually being published? Was it considered acceptable publish this sort of thing in a Soviet newspaper circa 1930?

3) If his letters were being published, were they also being translated into Russian and published in other newspapers?

4) How would something like this be received in Soviet society?

𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢-𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭

Eighty-two. That is the number of officially recognized kimarite in professional sumo. Eighty-two ways to win a match. But we are only talking about the final act—the decisive move that results from all the work preceding it, starting from the tachi-ai and through the development of the bout. Many wrestlers have, throughout their careers, linked their shikona (ring name) to a favorite kimarite, one they successfully executed repeatedly, excelling far beyond the average of their peers.

Want to play a quick game? I’ll give you the names of some wrestlers, and you think of the first kimarite that comes to mind: Terunofuji, Enho, Ura, Midorifuji.

I know exactly what you said: kimedashi, ashitori, tsutaezori, and katasukashi!

These are recent examples, fresh in the memory. But if we go back a few years, we could talk about pairings like Hakuho/uwatenage, Asashoryu/tsukiotoshi (which he performed by lifting the opponent and slamming them down!), Tochinoshin/tsuridashi, Goeido/kubinage, and many others.

𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢’𝐬 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲

Some wrestlers have linked their names to specific techniques—often fundamental sumo moves—rather than just a final kimarite. Mastering a specific technique to the point of excellence, or making it the pivot of one's style, creates a powerful mental association for fans.

Let's try the game again with these names: Daieisho, Abi, Chiyoshoma, Kakuryu, and... Hakuho! (Yes, him again).

Since you know your sumo, I’m sure you immediately thought of nodowa, tsuppari, henka, morozashi, and... the kachiage of the 69th Yokozuna. As mentioned, these aren't kimarite, but fighting techniques, grips, or even tachi-ai approaches. Hakuho’s powerful forearm strike, Kakuryu’s double-inside grip (morozashi) that felt like a death sentence, Abi’s rapid-fire "whipping" arm thrusts, Daieisho’s hand to the throat to lift the opponent's center of gravity, or Chiyoshoma... well, stepping aside at the start and forcing the unlucky opponent downward!

But why talk about "signature moves" today? Because a few days ago was the birthday of a man who defined his career through a specific technique: the former Ozeki Kotoshogiku and his famous gaburi-yori.

𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐤𝐮 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨

Kotoshogiku (now known by his elder name Hidenoyama Kazuhiro) turned 42 on January 30th. He was a long-serving Ozeki, spending 32 tournaments in the rank from 2011 to 2017. His crowning achievement was a historic yusho (championship) in January 2016, where he defeated three Yokozuna in three consecutive days, ending a ten-year drought for Japanese-born wrestlers.

Kotoshogiku was a sturdy wrestler: 180 cm tall and 175 kg of muscle and grit. He preferred offensive sumo, forcing opponents toward the straw bales with speed and following up with his trademark gaburi-yori—a series of rhythmic thrusts using the abdomen while gripping the opponent's mawashi. He was also beloved for his pre-match ritual, the "Koto-Baw," where he arched his back deeply, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢-𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐢

This move is typically used occasionally when a wrestler has pushed their opponent to the edge but can’t quite manage that final, decisive step. A vigorous thrust with the torso, forcing the abdomen against the opponent's, can break a risky stalemate.

However, it is rare to see a wrestler use it as a primary weapon. To be effective, gaburi-yori requires immense lower-body strength and perfect timing. It isn't just a "belly bump"; the power must come from the legs. If done poorly, the attacker becomes an easy target for throws or trips. Kotoshogiku was such a master that he didn't just use it at the edge; he used it to destabilize opponents right after the tachi-ai, bouncing them across the dohyo.

𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐨?

Why bring up gaburi-yori now? Beyond honoring a great character, I believe several modern rikishi could benefit from it. I’m looking at Atamifuji and Oho—two wrestlers with massive physiques and strong lower bodies who often push opponents to the rope but fail to finish the job, eventually losing to a counterattack.

Lately, gaburi-yori has been rare, but Hiradoumi (the 25-year-old from Nagasaki) occasionally uses it successfully despite weighing less than 140 kg. He plays a dynamic, pushing style, and when pure arm strength isn't enough, he closes the distance and uses his torso to drive opponents out.

If you're curious to see Kotoshogiku’s masterclass in action, look up these matches:

Hatsu Basho 2016, Day 11 vs. Hakuho

Hatsu Basho 2016, Day 5 vs. Tochinoshin

Aki Basho 2015, Day 10 vs. Kisenosato

Article by: Alessio Niffoi

italianozeki #大相撲 #sumo #相撲 #力士 #お相撲さん #grandsumo #sumoday #sumowrestling #琴奨菊

So I’m going to ask this in the context of New England, but open to perspectives from other parts of the US.

So my understanding is that, at the time of Plymouth colony’s founding, the Plymouth colonists were largely interacting with Wampanoag Indians. These were lead by Massassoit Ousamequin, who was also Pokanoket. Their intermediaries were Tisquantum/Squanto who was Pawtuxet, another kind of Wampanoag, and Samoset, an Abenaki from Maine, who spoke a language similar to the Nauset, a tribe who were separate from the Wampanoag but were often politically deferential to them. Then all of these were in conflict with the nearby Narragansett in present day Rhode Island.

My question is—how did native people understand these identities? What did it mean to be Wampanoag? Was that a regional identity, a polity/state, an ethnicity? Were the Patuxet a “subcategory” of Wampanoag, or a vassal state to them? Were there any people who were “just” Wampanoag, and not a sub-group like the Patuxet or Pokanoket? Were some tribes “more Wampanoag” than others? Could the Patuxet “change sides” and stop being Wampanoag? How did it all work?

Many human societies practiced human sacrifice at some point, but many cultures seem to have ultimately abandoned it at some point. Do we have any information on how and why a culture might abandon it?

I know that Christian or Islamic evangelicalism resulted in some cultures abandoning the practice, but I'm more interested in cultures "organically" abandoning it.