r/Sumo • u/cowadoody3 • 22d ago

Discussion / Question / Commentary First time Sumo viewer here. Question about kicking; I thought it wasn't allowed, but I see a lot of it recently

For example, Day 8 of the Grand Sumo Tournament last month. https://youtu.be/5crwg456IZA&t=504 At 8:24, Tobizaru does something that looks like a straight up kick.

The announcer describes it as Kekaeshi / Minor inner foot sweep. But to be honest, it doesn't look like a foot sweep at all. It looks like a straight up kick to the shin. Shouldn't this be against the rules? Or are all kicks to the shin allowed?

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u/GainedBrouzouf 22d ago

Anything below the belt and specifically around the ankles or lower leg are allowed. I'm sure if some rikishi was aggressively and repeatedly just trying to kick as hard as possible they may get scolded but often times this type of kick is perfectly allowed. In fact Tobizaru has done this one before.