00:00The mawashi is the belt worn by sumo wrestlers during training and competitions.
00:05Description, the mawashi is a strip of fabric 9 meters or more in length and in various colors.
00:10It can weigh up to 4 kilos.
00:12Silk and colored mawashi are reserved for competitions and wrestlers in the two highest divisions of the
00:16Sumo, the Sekitori.
00:18The way in which the opponent's mawashi is gripped, with one or two hands, is often decisive for the outcome.
00:22of the fight.
00:23The use of mawashi gripping techniques is one of the two main combat techniques taught in
00:28sumo beya
00:29literally, sumo stable.
00:31In other words, clubs or schools, such as yorikiri or yoritaoshi,
00:35The other being the art of tsupari, destabilizing the opponent by pushing with the hands to the face or the
00:40the opponent's body.
00:41A good mawashi grip is a considerable advantage in a fight.
00:45It allows one to lift, push, throw, swim, or resist an attack.
00:50According to an old rule related to modesty, if a wrestler loses his mawashi during the fight, he is
00:55automatically declared the loser.
00:57During competitions, a decorative apron made of cords is attached to the mawashi, but it often falls off during the
01:03combat.
01:04These cords are rigid for sekitoris.
01:07The sekitoris, who participate in the ring entrance ceremony, wear a ceremonial mawashi for the occasion.
01:12called keisho mawashi.
01:14The most beautiful keisho mawashi cost at least 800,000 yen, about 5,000 euros.
01:18In position, the assistants of a sumo wrestler, also called rikishi, surround him around his pelvis.
01:24passing under wool in very tight loops.
01:26The mawashi is then tied behind the back, at the lumbar level.
01:29Subtitling by Radio-Canada
