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Sumo wrestling must be one of the fastest sports in the world. Not in the way it is played – squash is a much more obvious choice, but in the time the fight actually takes – a long one might last up to 30 seconds. This can make it hard for western sport commentators to deal with. A few facts before I proceed:

The two contestants, known as rikishi, wear a silken loincloth called the mawashi and colorful silk glue enforced strings that bounce up and down. More happens in the minutes of preparation than in the fight itself. The senior fighters have up to 4 minutes for the preparation that involves a lot of leg raising, slapping chest and buttocks and throwing a descent amount of salt around. The actual fight lasts between 10 and thirty seconds. No wonder the Japanese bring so much food with them to the events.

No giant LCD screens are allowed in the arena, so all sponsored commercials are done with flags, just like in the days of Will Shakespeare.

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Here’s what I mean!

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