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**GinaIsWild** · 05-17-2007, 01:46 PM

[slightly off tangent]
I think sumo as a professional spectator sport has survived pretty intact over the decades. By this I mean that the particularly Japanese cultural forces, rituals, and lifestyle, permeate sumo very deeply, even during the reign of non-Japanese yokozuna. As highly competitive as it is, you do not see any hooting and hollering by the wrestlers and no pumping of fists after a victory. Their rei at the beginning and end of each match seem very sincere to me.

I know that sumo is not in the running to be the next olympic sport, but I thought it might be a good example of how a "professional spectator sport" can still retain the reigi that we believe would be lost in kendo should it become primarily sport-oriented.

-michael

I agree with this point about sumo remaining a traditional sport with reigi, even with widespread commercialization and being a popular spectator sport. However, I'm not sure about sumo being a good comparison to kendo. Sumo is not an international sport, in terms of spectating and the vast majority of players. The governing body of sumo is very conservative and traditional, but only has to deal with the sport in Japan. Native Japanese sumo display reigi easily, because Japanese society teaches everyday Japanese to act with a certain degree of politeness and restraint. The foreign sumo in Japan are under immense pressure to conform to traditional Japanese values and norms (which stress a type of reigi both inside the sumo ring and in everyday life).

Kendo is different in that it has started to break out of Japan, and is gaining international membership. More and more Westerners (with their own views of competition, etiquette, and manners) are taking up kendo. Even if people around the world are taught what are polite manners in Japan and kendo, a kendoist will always bring their own cultural background to the way they approach competition.

Despite being taught how to act "right" in kendo (which of course is entirely influenced by what is "right" in traditional Japanese culture), some Westerners in the stress of competition break with the reigi that they are taught and slip into the reigi that they know and grew up with (which is Western-style competition that some may say places more emphasis on winning, getting even, and celebrating victory in comparison to traditional Japanese reigi).

I'm not saying that kendo will lose its traditional Japanese emphasis on reigi if it were to become an international sport, but I think it definitely will be a struggle to retain it in a global arena with so many views on how to properly carry oneself in competition.

05-17-2007, 01:46 PM	#33
GinaIsWild Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 526 Senior Member	[slightly off tangent] I think sumo as a professional spectator sport has survived pretty intact over the decades. By this I mean that the particularly Japanese cultural forces, rituals, and lifestyle, permeate sumo very deeply, even during the reign of non-Japanese yokozuna. As highly competitive as it is, you do not see any hooting and hollering by the wrestlers and no pumping of fists after a victory. Their rei at the beginning and end of each match seem very sincere to me. I know that sumo is not in the running to be the next olympic sport, but I thought it might be a good example of how a "professional spectator sport" can still retain the reigi that we believe would be lost in kendo should it become primarily sport-oriented. -michael I agree with this point about sumo remaining a traditional sport with reigi, even with widespread commercialization and being a popular spectator sport. However, I'm not sure about sumo being a good comparison to kendo. Sumo is not an international sport, in terms of spectating and the vast majority of players. The governing body of sumo is very conservative and traditional, but only has to deal with the sport in Japan. Native Japanese sumo display reigi easily, because Japanese society teaches everyday Japanese to act with a certain degree of politeness and restraint. The foreign sumo in Japan are under immense pressure to conform to traditional Japanese values and norms (which stress a type of reigi both inside the sumo ring and in everyday life). Kendo is different in that it has started to break out of Japan, and is gaining international membership. More and more Westerners (with their own views of competition, etiquette, and manners) are taking up kendo. Even if people around the world are taught what are polite manners in Japan and kendo, a kendoist will always bring their own cultural background to the way they approach competition. Despite being taught how to act "right" in kendo (which of course is entirely influenced by what is "right" in traditional Japanese culture), some Westerners in the stress of competition break with the reigi that they are taught and slip into the reigi that they know and grew up with (which is Western-style competition that some may say places more emphasis on winning, getting even, and celebrating victory in comparison to traditional Japanese reigi). I'm not saying that kendo will lose its traditional Japanese emphasis on reigi if it were to become an international sport, but I think it definitely will be a struggle to retain it in a global arena with so many views on how to properly carry oneself in competition.
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