Photographer Thomas Mocka whisks you away to the mysterious world of the Sumo wrestler; we have the story behind the photographs for you on GoSee.Shop

Berlin-based photographer Thomas Mocka now offers you his latest Sumo works in his GoSeeSHOP. The interesting work certainly caught our eye, and we were curious about the stories behind the photos. Here is our GoSee QUEST:



Where was the spread shot? On a visit to Japan, a Japanese girlfriend called the local Sumo Dojo for me to ask if I could stop by during training. I have to admit, I was somewhat nervous. I had secretly hoped that she would come along, since I do not speak Japanese. But she had to do what all Japanese do most that day: work.



And were you nervous? As an outsider and with no knowledge of the Japanese language, it did make me a bit nervous. Japan is a country full of unwritten rules for behavior, which are often not intuitive to a stranger, and I did not want to come across as the rude ignorant foreigner. I went to the training room early in the morning before the agreed time – and I realized that I was indeed late. Training had already begun.



You mentioned the rules of behavior – what was your first mistake? The first mistake I made was trying to enter the training room, a room with a round sand court in the middle. One of the young Sumo fighters immediately came up to me and gestured to me to take different entrance leading to another seat in a gallery. For the rest of training, I sat there and was no longer noticed. But I could also photograph how and what I wanted. I liked that, being in the role of the unnoticed observer. Nothing was staged by the fighters, nor did they pose. None of the Sumo wrestlers spoke English. Apart from the coach, no one talks during training. There were probably several unwritten behavior rules on how to behave in the training room, and there was a hierarchy among the wrestlers. Things into which I, howerver, had no insight.



What was that most memorable moment for you? I was particularly impressed by the young Sumo fighters. One notices their will to belong and to prove themselves. For them, training on this hot summer day must have been particularly hard. The movement of those huge bulky bodies in the heat. Sweaty faces, the impact of her body masses on the opponent seemed to hurt. The skin jolted up; blood even flowed. One of them lost consciousness, probably due to exhaustion. Stood facing the coach almost about to cry later on. From my point of view, there were words of motivation, perhaps some father-son-like talk and a large bowl full of rice afterward. The young fighter listened to every word, acknowledging with a humble nod.



Training with that kind of body mass, is that at all possible? In the West, the word "fat" is directly associated with being unfit and clumsy. This experience has changed my view though. The wrestlers are amazingly mobile and flexible. They do the splits to warm up, for example, and move effortlessly and, as I find, with a certain elegance.



And how can we imagine the Sumo wrestler? The coach was allowed to disregard every rule. A good-humored, surprisingly young, strong guy who talked loud and ate during training. He was allowed to keep his shoes on and seemed very casual. And yet he seemed to have an eye on everything at the same time. He judged the technique of the fighters in the sand arena, gave them advice and instructions, and at the same time, he paid attention that the other wrestlers at the edge of the arena did their weight training properly.



What was your final lasting impression? My last impression was a certain stir of emotion. What I saw and documented was a community. Sumo is in that sense not a hobby sport, but instead, fighters dedicate their entire lives to the sport. One actually lives in the community of wrestlers. The older fighters support the younger ones. So in the end, a certain sense of human warmth overweighed the respect for the athletic performance of these heavy men and the martial side of sport. Despite the strictness of the rules, the friendship among the wrestlers and how they cared for one another became palpable.



I was also grateful that I, as a stranger, was granted insight into this very special life without the expectation of anything in exchange – without even asking me who I was.



About - Thomas Mocka is a photographer and filmmaker who lives in Berlin. GoSee.us/thomasmocka



About - Sumo or sumo wrestling is a competitive full-contact wrestling sport where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with anything other than the soles of his feet. The characters 相撲 literally mean "striking one another". The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. It is generally considered a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), but this definition is misleading, as the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables, known in Japanese as heya, where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.



About – GoSee.Shop stands for photography with a story to tell and supports photographers with a platform to present their unique artwork to editors, agencies and photography aficionados for editorials, campaigns and fine art. The GoSee.Shop ensures a smooth transaction from the first purchase request to the acceptance of the purchase by the shop owner. GoSee.Shop/ThomasMocka