ONE OF just a handful of sumo wrestling clubs in England has recently opened in Barnsley and its founder is hoping all kinds of people from the town can enjoy what he says is not ‘just a sport where big lads clash into each other.’
The club opened in August and runs sessions in Japan’s national sport on the second and fourth Saturday mornings of every month at KBOX Academy on Eldon Street in the town centre.
It was founded by Richard Riggs, from Higham, who started competing in the sport two years ago and has already represented Great Britain at the World Championships in Japan and recently coached at the latest World Championships in Poland.
Richard said: “I set up the club to provide access to sumo in Barnsley and Yorkshire more widely as the sport’s popularity is growing quickly across the country.
“There is another club in Doncaster but it’s a different federation.
“Other than that, there is nothing else across the whole of the north of England.
“We have guys coming from North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
“We have people who have been to the World Championships and people who have only just started.
“There are ten people on our books at the moment but we’ve only done a couple of training sessions.
“It’s very, very new. We have new people coming down all the time and it’s steadily growing.
“It would be nice to get more people from Barnsley involved.”
Richard is keen to stress that, although the classic image of sumo wrestlers’ body shape is true of professionals in Japan, the amateur sport in this country is very different.
“Sumo isn’t just a sport where big lads clash into each other.
“There is a lot of skill and technique involved and it’s great for improving balance, flexibility and stamina.
“It’s important to explain the difference between professional and amateur sumo.
“It’s only professional in Japan, for men, and they are all big lads.
“But at amateur level, literally anyone of any shape or size can do it. The most popular category at the recent British Championships was men’s lightweight which is under 85kg.
“People come over from a rugby, martial arts or strongman background but one of our World Championship team had no sporting background at all before he started sumo.
“You don’t have to do it to compete, you can just train, but most people end up wanting to compete.
“No one gets thrown in at the deep end. We take it steady and introduce a syllabus of techniques, how to fall safely and how to do the different styles.
“We’re a member club of the British Sumo Federation which is the national governing body for sumo in the UK as recognised by the International Sumo Federation.
“We have a safeguarding mark from the British Sumo Federation.”
The club is organising a national competition on December 7 at Penistone Grammar School.
The British Interclub Basho 2024 will see all the clubs in England compete.
Richard said: “It’s really exciting.
“Most of the recent World Championship team have confirmed they will be there.
“There will be multi international medalists right down to guys who have only just started.”
Any interested in joining the club can email: barnsley.sumo@gmail.com.
