KYODO NEWS - Jun 22, 2017 - 19:36 | Sports, All

American football star Tom Brady visited the Sakaigawa sumo stable in Tokyo on Thursday and went through a training session with ozeki Goeido.

Brady, a quarterback for the New England Patriots in the National Football League, asked stablemaster Sakaigawa questions such as what the secrets to the initial charge in sumo are and what kinds of training the wrestlers carry out.

At the urging of Sakaigawa, Brady went into the dohyo ring and engaged in "butsukari geiko" with Goeido, taking turns to push one another from one end of the enclosure to the other.

The 39-year-old, who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl title last year and was named MVP of the annual championship game for a record fourth time, said the opportunity to learn about sumo was "incredible."

He described the pushing training as "very" hard and the grapplers as "strong in mind and strong in body."

"For them to welcome me means very much to me. It's hard to describe in words how special that was," he said of his visit to the stable.

Goeido, the 31-year-old winner of last September's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, said of the NFL superstar, "He has a lot of explosive power. I feel energized. It's stimulating to have an opportunity to come in contact with athletes from a different sport."

Sakaigawa said Brady was a man of "great presence" but was also "humble" and asked many questions about sumo.