Grand Sumo Breakdown Podcasts

Ah yes, exactly what we predicted on our midway... Even if it took till the second week to heat up, the Haru basho absolutely delivered. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

***SPOILERS THRU DAY 7*** Does this basho deserve a midway episode? Well, yes, but we're still going to whine about it. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

We go quite a ways off the rails on our coverage of the March tournament, but stick with it. There's gotta be some actual sumo content in there somewhere. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Another basho with a wild upper banzuke. Ryan's predictions for this one start off great but end up bordering on dumpster fire. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Are you a new wrestler looking to compete at your first nationals? Are you a veteran looking to get an idea who your competition is? Kyle and Ryan fill us in on all the details for Orlando. More info and signups here: Smoothcomp Link Event will stream live on the Grand Sumo Breakdown YouTube channel March 11. Theme music by David Hall via SoundClou…

So this next banzuke will have a normal-looking san'yaku, right? RIGHT? Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Our second installment of the GSB Hall of Fame, where we revisit stories that are worth talking about but might not be worth a full bonus episode. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

As Midwesterners, there's no place GSB would rather be in February than Southern California, and though we can't make it there in person, Honu Sumo's Justin "JJ" Jones and Mengkin Ragan give us the next best thing: a US sumo tournament! The SoCal Open takes place February 25th in San Diego, so find Honu Sumo on Instagram or go to bit.ly/socalopensd…

Tom Zabel and Caleb Baccus join us to talk about the next US sumo event: February 11th's Mighty Eagle Team Tournament in San Antonio. Go to mightyeaglesumo.com for more info and make sure to watch the stream at noon central on the Lonestar Sumo YouTube channel! Theme Music by David Hall via SoundCloud…

To promote, or not to promote? That is the question that we spend far too long debating. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

***Spoilers thru day 8*** Pretty solid basho so far. Some great technical battles, some brutal striking matches, and best of all HENKAS! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

2023 looks to be an interesting year. Will we get any new yokozuna or ozeki? Will we even keep the ones we have? Ryan, Mak, Flyric, and Hakuh- I mean Jake discuss. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

This was a rough one. Ryan tries to pick up the pieces while Jake tries to podcast and parent. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

2022 was a wild year in sumo. Every tournament had a different champ, covid demolished the July basho, Mitakeumi gained and subsequently lost ozeki status, Takayasu broke a million hearts... Join the GSB crew to discuss the best and worst of the year! Stay tuned after the credits for our punishment of the year replay. Also make sure to check out ou…

With 2022 coming to a close, all of us US sumo enthusiasts should look back with pride on one of the biggest growth years our sport has ever seen. Mak and Jake are joined by Caleb Baccus - sumo black belt and Sake & Sumo podcast host - as well as the SUMO PUNX! Congratulations to all our award winners and thank you to everybody who helped make 2022…

After hundreds of responses, the 2022 popularity poll results are in! Find out who are the most and least liked rikishi of the year in GSB's 4th annual event. Oh also Jake's baby is here. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Five junior san'yaku slots? Eight?! Who the hell knows? Ryan takes his best guess. Also Jake apologizes in advance... Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

It's time for the Kyushu Review-shu! The guys scrape the depressed pile of Jake off the floor and discuss the final heartbrea- I mean basho of 2022! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud Ad music: "Easy Lemon" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License…

Sometimes an event feels cursed, like the whole universe is conspiring to keep a good thing from happening. The Houston Open was one such event, but the sumo way is to keep moving forward! Nick Ton and Shogeki Sumo powered through to make the tournament a great one no matter what. First-time competitor Nate Hudson joins us to talk about how it went…

***SPOILERS THROUGH DAY 8*** Which of the co-leaders can continue their dominance into week 2? We have some shoddy guesses for you. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud Ad music: "Epic Unease" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

GSB's better-late-than-never preview is here! Enjoy our long, meandering opinions that even manage to stay on topic some of the time. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Ahead of this Saturday's Houston Open, Jake and Mak are joined by Brandon and Al to preview the next US sumo event: December 3rd's Ronin Sumo Tournament! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Ryan and Jake review the first ever... Christmas Tree banzuke? Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Jake sits down with Nick Ton and Paul Gutierrez, two of the founding members of Houston's Shogeki Sumo. Watch for the Houston Open on GSB's YouTube channel Saturday November 12th! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Mak recaps the 2022 Beer City Sumo Open with sumo wrestlers Gabe Unick of Grand Rapids, Matt Shields of Chicago, and…. Jake of Iowa? If you’d like to try wrestling with these folks, make sure to come to Davenport IA on 10/15 for a training seminar! More details on Facebook under the event “Quad Cities Sumo Training.” Feel free to reach out to any o…

Ryan walks a very sore Jake through a banzuke that is simultaneously really messed up but somehow also predictable. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Just in time for his All American Sumo Classic, Jake and Mak are joined by Sumo Dan! The event will be held October 8th at the Mr. America Sports Festival, find @SumoDanUSA on Instagram for more info! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

***Book review at 1:27:28*** A dramatic and chaotic and, dare we say, "wacky" Aki basho is in the books. Hearts were broken, henkas were henka'd, hype trains were derailed. Stay tuned for Jake's review of Ash Warren's new book, The Way of Salt, a great read on sumo and Japanese culture. Available now! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud…

***Spoilers thru day 8*** Settle down, Ryan. Settle down. There's still a whole week to go... Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Dark Circle Sumo's premier event of the year is in the books! Head coach Justin Kizzart and heavyweight Ben Marquez help us go over the results and talk about about the day. Check out full event video on Dark Circle's youtube page Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

When the GSB boys don't get to hang out much during an offseason, we tend to go long... Enjoy our epic, rambling preview of the Aki tournament that starts this Sunday. Special thanks to our musical guest, JWags! Check out the mrjwags channel on youtube Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

No getting around it, this one's a mess.... Enjoy! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Only a few days left before one of the biggest amateur sumo events of the year! Mighty Eagle Sumo's Caleb Baccus joins us to preview the Consulate's Cup, happening this Saturday in Austin, TX! Watch over 50 wrestlers collide live on Dark Circle Sumo's youtube page from 11-4 central with play-by-play commentary from GSB, Sumo Kaboom, Sumo Punx, Sake…

With the 2nd annual Iron Belly tournament now behind us, who better to help us recap the action than some first time competitors? Oscar and James of New York Sumo Club join us to talk about traveling to their first ever tournament and about practicing sumo in NYC. Full video for the Iron Belly II tournament on the Grand Sumo Breakdown YouTube chann…

What on earth are we supposed to do with this banzuke? Ryan does the painfully in-depth research so you don't have to. Here's the calendar of upcoming amateur events that Jake mentioned: 8/6 - Iron Belly II, Orlando FL 8/28 - Seminar w/ Gagamaru, Dallas TX 9/3 - The Consulate's Cup, Austin TX 9/10 - US Sumo Open, Los Angeles CA 10/1+2 - Beer City S…

Adding to an already excellent upcoming stretch of amateur sumo events, Grand Rapids Sumo Club's Gabe Unick fills us in on the Beer City Open, as well as his start in sumo and their recent tournament at the JAFAX convention. Lots going on this Fall, make sure to update your calendars! 8/6 - Iron Belly II, Orlando FL 8/28 - Seminar w/ Gagamaru, Dall…

Sorry we're late, but we simply could not record until Ryan shotgunned a beer on camera. It'll make sense I promise. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

After half a year out of the ring, Mark Jones is back! The heavyweight AND openweight gold medalist at last year's Iron Belly Tournament will look to defend his titles next weekend in Orlando. In classic GSB fashion though, we still end up managing to spend half the time talking about anime and crab legs. Make sure to tune in for the Iron Belly II …

Ahead of Florida's next big tournament, Brandon and Al of Ronin Sumo-Beya take a break from their dohyo on the beach to tell us more about their new club and what else is on their calendars. Make sure to tune in for the Iron Belly II Tournament coming up on August 6th at noon Eastern in Orlando. Keep an eye out for more info soon! Theme music by Da…

***Spoilers through day 8*** Hairpulls? Loose mawashis? No one with less than 2 losses? What a weird one so far... Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

The World Games in Birmingham was an incredible experience, both for our USA wrestlers and fans. Since GSB couldn't be there in person, we thought we'd check in with Brenda, who had a front row view of all the action and helped the rest of us watch the preliminary matches. Make sure to check out highlights on YouTube, especially on the Sumo Punx ch…

After The World Games, the next chance to see our American amateur wrestlers will be the 2nd annual Iron Belly Tournament, hosted by Ironwave Sumo! We check in with Ironwave to recap last year and talk about what to expect next month. The Iron Belly Tournament takes place August 6th at 10Ten Brewing in Orlando at noon local with livestreaming by GS…

Wait a sec, that's not Jake and Mak! Enjoy a new lineup that is, on average, much funnier than normal. Catch Jake on the next episode of Sumo Mainichi and Mak on the next Sumo Kaboom, we'll bring them home to GSB on the Midway. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

With just a few days left until The World Games in Birmingham AL, we sit down with Team USA lightweight Elizabeth Salazar out of Mighty Eagle Sumo. Make sure to watch the highest level amateur sumo event of the year this Saturday, July 9th on the Olympic Channel! More info HERE. Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud…

Today we check in with one of the newest American clubs, Ronin Rikishi Sumo out of Dallas/Fort Worth. Coach and sambo expert Julian Sanchez tells us about their sumo journey so far and their debut at the Cowboy Cup. Theme Music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Ryan gets to boast about an all-time great banzuke performance while Jake limps through new video controls. Averages out to a passable episode I suppose? Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

The hungriest man in sumo is on the prowl, pity the fools who will have to face him at The World Games! The legendary Trent Sabo takes some time off the road to sit down with GSB and deliver possibly the best beans-related wrestling promo of all time. Sumo at The World Games takes place July 9th and 10th in Birmingham, Alabama, more info at twg2022…

THE COWBOY CUP WAS FRICKIN' AWESOME. GO WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE. THEN LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST. THEN SHOW UP NEXT YEAR. HAKKEY'ALL! (Full stream on the Dallas Sumo Club channel) Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud

Today we're joined by one of the best wrestlers in the country, reigning women's heavyweight champ Kellyann Ball. Kellyann brought home plenty of hardware to the trophy case of Yamamoto Sumo Dojo at this year's Nationals, and next she's headed to the World Games in July! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud…

Ryan has a huge amount of research for this banzuke, and Jake is finding unhealthy ways to cope. Watch the Cowboy Cup this Saturday, June 11th at noon central on Dallas Sumo Club's youtube page! Theme music by David Hall via SoundCloud