Also in attendance were Mandeep "Deep" Singh-Kundi of Iver Heath, Richard Riggs of Barnsley, George Young of Nottingham, and Rob Godfrey and Alex Wilson, trainee coaches from Oxfordshire and London respectively.

The day covered the core skills of coaching, alongside technical development training for the whole spectrum of sumo skills.

The British Sumo Federation runs a coaching program constructed in line with the UK Coaching Framework, requiring coaches to undertake in-person training and self-directed study to complete awards at Levels 1 and 2.

Coach development days are scheduled to run throughout the year, to facilitate the highest quality of training for all who take part in Sumo in the UK.

The 37 th Festival des Arts Martiaux, hosted by Karaté Bushido Magazine, was held at the new Olympic Addidas Arena in Paris, France on 27 April 2024. This annual event

showcases popular and lesser-known martial arts from across France and the rest of the world. 2024 was the first time sumo had been invited and was eagerly anticipated by the 6,000+ crowd in attendance and the tens of thousands tuning in live.

The BSF’s Mandeep “Deep” Singh Kundi (Deep Sumo, London), George Young (Inoshishi-beya, Aylesbury) and Richard Riggs (Sumo Gymnasium, Derby) joined sumo wrestlers from across France, Hungary and Georgia to put on a sumo showcase. The exhibition balanced the traditions and ceremony of sumo’s heritage with the wrestlers’ raw power and a range of stunning winning techniques.

Richard, who co-directed the sumo demonstration, said:

“Being invited to the festival was an incredible opportunity to show sumo to the world and that it belongs in an Olympic stadium. We are grateful to Karaté Bushido and the French Sumo Federation for inviting us to showcase the best

of British sumo and to strengthen our international sumo friendships. We hope that this event will be the catalyst to grow sumo in France, at home and around the world.”

The festival livestream can be found here: 37e Festival des Arts Martiaux.

French Sumo Training Session – 28/04/2024

After the festival, the BSF team were invited to train with the Paris Sumo Club. This session was a great way to share training methods and provide new competition for both teams. The session was hard fought and despite the often-considerable size differences, the tenacity, skill and passion of the French wrestlers shone through.

The BSF is looking forward to hosting the French Sumo Federation in the UK in the near future.

The BSF attended the UK Martial Arts Show (UKMAS) at the Doncaster Dome for a 2-day exhibition over the 4th and 5th May 2024. The BSF was invited to join an international partnership of different martial arts styles, groups and practitioners for a weekend dedicated to growing participation in martial arts and putting sumo in the

spotlight.

Rob O’Neill (BSF Vice-President (South)) and Richard Riggs (BSF Vice-President (North)) took British sumo to the show for the first time in its history.

Speaking about the show, Rob said: “We spoke with hundreds of people from across the UK, Canada and East

Asia about sumo and how the BSF is working to grow sumo’s profile and participation at home and abroad. We were able to build hugely promising relationships with martial arts club leads to increase participation at our

existing BSF clubs. We’re also very excited that due to sumo’s popularity at the show, we are now looking to expand our club offer in Wales and elsewhere across the UK.”

Sumo was one of the star attractions of this year’s UKMAS with dozens attending our 4 oversubscribed seminars and training sessions. We are delighted to have been invited back for next year’s show with a bigger and more renowned

presence, plus extra sessions on the demonstration dohyo to really showcase what British sumo has to offer.

https://forms.gle/mRnVfdVs4RNGpKpN6

Coaches’ Report

On 7 and 8 September, the British Sumo Federation took a team of 6 athletes to the World Sumo Championships in Krotoszyn, Poland:

Vicky Lamb – Women’s Openweight

Sebastian Wray – Men’s Lightweight

Rob O’Neill – Men’s Middleweight; Men’s Team (Substitute)

Chay Hext – Men’s Light Heavyweight; Men’s Team

Geroge Young – Men’s Heavyweight; Men’s Team 

Jonathan (Johnny) Templeton – Men’s Openweight; Men’s Team

2024 represented the largest team Great Britain had sent to a World Sumo Championships for some time and expectations were high, despite this competition being the first major international tournament for the majority of the team. 

Saturday evening saw Rounds 1 and 2 of the Men’s Team event. Team GB had a bye in Round 1 and due to the no show of Tajikistan, Round 2 saw Great Britain face European sumo powerhouse Germany to progress to the quarter final stage. 

Up first was George showing his dominating strength as he made light work of his opponent and carried him out of the dohyo to rapturous applause from our friends from the USA, Brazil and Portugal in the stands. Chay followed, overcoming a strong throw attempt and counter with a throw of his own to give Team GB an unassailable 2-0 lead. With the pressure off, Johnny stepped up to face a much larger opponent. Unfortunately, he was unable to make it a clean sweep but showed promise at the tachiai which was a sign of things to come. 

With a 2-1 win over Germany, Team GB booked their place in the quarter finals to face one of the tournament favourites, Georgia. Unfortunately, the sheer size and strength of the Georgians was just too much with Team GB bowing out of the Men’s Team competition with a 0-3 loss at the quarter final stage. 

In the singles competitions, both Seb and Rob were unable to progress through their first-round matches against very strong Finnish and Hungarian opposition respectively. Despite this, they both showed outstanding fighting spirit and made a positive impression on the international sumo community. Disappointingly, neither were afforded a repechage match to show what they’re truly capable of.

Vicky had arguably the toughest draw of them all, fighting Japan in the first round of her Women’s Openweight competition. Vicky’s tachiai was strong and she held her ground to the much shorter and technically proficient Japanese wrestler. After soaking up the Japanese tachiai, Vicky saw an opening for a hip throw attempt to end the match. Unfortunately, her opponent was able to counter and win by force out. Vicky’s repechage match against Chinese Tapei followed a similar pattern and despite a strong start, she was unable to progress further. Despite the losses, Vicky’s physical dominance on the dohyo impressed everyone as she gave Japan one of her toughest matches of the entire Women’s Openweight competition. 

Chay had the unenviable task of fighting Ukraine in the first round of the Men’s Light Heavyweight competition. No matter the weight category, Ukraine are always up there with the pre-tournament favourites and went home with several gold medals in 2023. The Ukrainian was quick off the mark and slipped by Chay who missed his tachiai. From there, the result was expected with the Ukrainian’s speed and ringcraft winning the day. A repechage bout followed but unfortunately Chay wasn’t able to overcome his much more experienced opponent. 

George was out to make amends in the Men’s Heavyweight as he fought one of the Hungarians who beat Team GB in the Team Event in 2023. George went for a powerful tachiai to finish the match early but the Hungarian was quick to adapt and avoid the impact. A quick readjustment by George initiated a yotsu-zumo belt grapple which he successfully converted into a throw, taking the Hungarian down to the clay. In Round 2, George faced the hosts, Poland. Despite a good tachiai, Poland was able to take the upper hand and overcome George’s gameplan taking the win. In his repechage bout, George faced Japan who was out to prove a point after losing to Poland in Round 1. Following a clear false start which was not referred to a mono-ii (Judges’ conference) Japan progressed towards the bronze medal match. After the fight, George mused that he had never felt power like the Japanese tachiai!

Johnny, weighing in at 83Kg, fought in the unrestricted Men’s Openweight competition. Up first was a familiar opponent from Germany. Following a strong tachiai and a bit of jostling back and forth for position, Johnny dipped his shoulder into his opponents abdomen and tackled him off the edge of the dohyo. A spectacular win and popular winner with the crowd. Up next for Johnny was Hungary. Clearly outsized and outweighed, Johnny put up a valiant effort against his very successful Hungarian opponent. A Hungarian win was always expected, but Johnny made him work hard for it by putting up a fierce tactical resistance. 

The World Sumo Championships 2024 was about consolidating the growth of British sumo and setting out manageable and clear expectations for Team GB to provide a springboard for future success. The coaches could not be prouder of all the Team GB athletes and their performances throughout the competition. A quarter final finish in the Men’s Team, individual wins, and outstanding fighting spirit were more than we could have hoped for at this stage of our development cycle. Team GB proved we belong on the international stage and can compete with the best sumo wrestlers in the world. What a foundation we now have to build from! We can’t wait to go again at the World Sumo Championships 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.  

Richard Riggs | Kim Humphriss

British Sumo Federation | Team GB National Coaches

Alongside our world championship team, who were in attendance to polish their skills before the worlds in September, we had 11 current and trainee coaches working at various stages of the coaching pathway.

The day covered the core skills of coaching, alongside technical development training for the whole spectrum of sumo skills. Alongside this we covered the new rules for the tachiai ready for the worlds, and to begin training referees.

The British Sumo Federation runs a coaching program constructed in line with the UK Coaching Framework, requiring coaches to undertake in-person training and self-directed study to complete awards at Levels 1 and 2.

Coach development days are scheduled to run throughout the year, to facilitate the highest quality of training for all who take part in Sumo in the UK.

A huge thanks to all the wrestlers, officials, families and supporters who came out and made it a great event!

Our 4 England-based clubs have each been awarded a certificate confirming we meet Sport England's high requirements for safeguarding, a huge statement supporting our commitment to quality and safety in all aspects of our provision.

We take every element of safeguarding seriously, as with all other areas of policy and governance, and we're thrilled to have had that recognise, joining 1700 other clubs across England who have displayed a similar high standard.

Congratulations to Mr. Alex Wilson and Mr. Rob Godfrey!

The British Sumo Federation runs 2 coaching awards at Level 1 and Level 2 of the UK Coaching/QCF Framework, which cover the range of skills required to coach sumo wrestling. The courses require not only several hours of in-person coaching training, but also a full written portfolio and a live teaching assessment.

We run coaching development days throughout the year (the current schedule being Spring, Autumn, and Winter) to enable not only a wide range of sessions to be run for new coaches, but also to ensure we are helping engage current coaches in a process of continuous professional development.

We're very proud that Rob and Alex have achieved this first step on their coaching journey, and we can't wait to see where they go from here!

on 7 th December 2024 in Penistone, Barnsley. The tournament was attended by

wrestlers and clubs from across the country to fight it out for the inter-club trophy.

After a hard-fought day of sumo, the final standings were:

Men’s Lightweight

1 st : Sebastian Wray (Deep Sumo Club, London)

2 nd : Rob Godfrey (Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury)

3 rd : James Frederick (Barnsley Sumo Club)

Men’s Middleweight

1 st : Damien Gardach (Deep Sumo Club, London)

2 nd : Rob Godfrey (Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury)

3 rd : Andy Marsden (Barnsley Sumo Club)

Men’s Light Heavyweight

1 st : Damien Gardach (Deep Sumo Club, London)

2 nd : Chay Hext (British Sumo Federation)

3 rd : Gareth Regan (Barnsley Sumo Club)

Men’s Heavyweight

1 st : Mandeep Singh Kundi (Deep Sumo Club, London)

2 nd : George Young (Barnsley Sumo Club)

3 rd : Chay Hext (British Sumo Federation)

Men’s Openweight

1 st : Mandeep Singh Kundi (Deep Sumo Club, London)

2 nd : George Young (Barnsley Sumo Club)

3 rd : Chay Hext (British Sumo Federation)

Teams

1 st : Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury

2 nd : Deep Sumo Club, London

3 rd : British Sumo Federation

Overall Club Standings

1 st : Deep Sumo Club, London

2 nd : Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury

3 rd : Barnsley Sumo Club

Special Prizes

Technique:

Rob Godfrey (Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury)

Fighting Spirit:

James Frederick (Barnsley Sumo Club)

Outstanding Performance:

Damien Gardach (Deep Sumo Club, London)

Officials’ Outstanding Performance:

Vicky Lamb (Inoshishi-beya Sumo, Aylesbury)

Tournament organiser and Barnsley Sumo Club Lead Instructor, Richard Riggs, said:

“What a fantastic day for British sumo! The wrestlers treated us to some incredible

sumo and forged new friendly rivalries that I’m sure will carry over to next year’s

competition to make it even more exciting. I’m immensely proud of each of the

competitors, officials and supporters who volunteered their time to make the

tournament such a success.

We can’t wait to bring national level sumo back to Yorkshire in 2025 and take the

inter-club trophy home to Barnsley. We are working with the BSF to make the Inter-

Club Basho an annual fixture in the UK sumo season to provide friendly competition for BSF members and clubs across the country as British sumo continues to grow.”

Saturday, 31 st May 2025 | Penistone, Barnsley

Our annual blue-riband event, the British Sumo Federation Championships, were

hosted this year by Barnsley Sumo Club. The tournament attracted athletes from all

across the country, both seasoned sumotori and complete novices alike. In all,

upwards of 30 people signed up to compete with a similar number of spectators and

supporters. These Championships were by far the biggest yet. Sumo is still a niche

sport in the UK but it is growing quickly and the enthusiasm for it amongst its

supporters is second to none!

The tournament was also supported by a range of partners. SUMO Massage were

once again on hand to fix the battered bodies. MA24.co provided video capture to

run alongside our recent podcast appearance as they seek to become one of the

leading martial arts magazines. We were also thrilled to welcome Jack Tennant

(freelance photographer) as well as Reuters and ITV to cover proceedings and

spread the word about sumo’s growing popularity in the UK.

This year’s event saw a huge step up in the level of sumo on display from every

participant. The bouts were fast-paced, hard-hitting and technically astute. New

names arose as ones to watch for the future with long and fruitful sumo careers

ahead of them. The breadth of wrestlers’ sporting backgrounds (or lack thereof)

made for exciting and unpredictable match-ups with a wide range of kimarite

(winning techniques) on display. Sumo is also one of the most inclusive martials arts

and is open to anyone with an interest in the sport. The age range of the competitors

at the tournament spanned from 18 – 62 years old; each bringing their own brand of

sumo to the dohyo.

Tournament referee and Lead Instructor at Barnsley Sumo Club, Richard Riggs said:

“This year’s Championships were the best I’ve ever been involved in. The quality of

sumo was worthy of any international competition and the atmosphere on the day

was electric. Everybody played their part to make the tournament the biggest and

best yet for sumo in the UK. It’s amazing to see the exponential growth of the sport

in the last couple of years and this trajectory is set to continue as new athletes and

clubs get involved across the country. I can’t wait for next year’s British Sumo

Federation Championships to see the next generation of British sumotori dominate

on the dohyo.”

This year’s British Sumo Federation Championships marked a clear gear change in

the landscape of sumo in the UK. There has never been a more exciting time to get

involved with sumo either as an athlete or supporter. If you’d like to find out more and

become part of one of Britain’s fastest growing and most inclusive martial arts, visit

www.britishsumofederation.co.uk to find a club near you and start your sumo

experience today!

Richard Riggs

Vice-President (North)

British Sumo Federation

vpnorth.britishsumo@gmail.com

www.britishsumofederation.co.uk