[sumo] Tachiai question

[David Luke]

Minor spoiler alert in case there is anyone who doesn’t yet know the outcome of the Aki basho…

Question: How “simultaneous” does the touch down need to be at the tachiai?

I was re-watching the tournament-winning bout of Onosato and Hoshoryu on day 14, and noticed in the slow-mo replay that Onosato started charging forward significantly before Hoshoryu touched down — at least 18 video frames, or 0.6 seconds, when Hoshoryu’s hands were still a good foot above the ground. Onosato kept his hands in contact with the dohyo while moving forward for another 12 frames, but even so his hands left the ground six frames (0.2 seconds) before Hoshoryu touched down, when Hoshoryu’s hands were still about 8 inches up. By the time Hoshoryu started to move forward, Onosato already had the better part of a second of acceleration going — which was certainly the key to his quick victory.

So, by how much can a rikishi jump the gun and still have it be legal?


(I’m guessing the answer will be “as much as they can get away with without the gyoji calling them on it”…)