Two weeks ago, I made a post about the Lone Star Sumo 12th Annual Texas Classic, which was held in San Antonio, Texas. In the post, I mentioned that I wasn’t able to obtain any video footage of the matches. Well, given that Cornelius Booker competed in the event, I should have guessed that he recorded tons of videos. Cornelius was kind enough to gather his footage, combine it with footage he obtained from other competitors (Pearson Cooper and Will Robinson), and provide it all to me. I must say, there were so many good matches to watch. Because I don’t want to overload visitors’ computers with too many gifs, I picked out some of the best matches of the lightweight and heavyweight winners (Cornelius Booker and Shawn Jackson, respectively), and I provide them below as gifs. I also picked out some other interesting matches, which are provided at the very end as bonus matches. Lastly, be sure to check out North American Sumo on Twitter, as I will be tweeting out some of the other fantastic matches.

If you have any questions or comments about the event or anything else, feel free to email me at NorthAmericanSumo@Gmail.com. I’ll be updating the upcoming events page soon, so be sure to check back within the next week. Not to spoil anything, but there are some great opportunities for aspiring rikishi coming up in the next few weeks!

Cornelius Booker

Cornelius Booker won the gold at the Lone Star Sumo 12th Annual Texas Classic in both the lightweight and openweight divisions. Cornelius is a multi-time semi-finalist of both the U.S. Sumo Open and the U.S. Sumo Nationals, and he was clearly the most experienced rikishi at this event. Going undefeated, he demonstrated great skill in all his matches. In the gif below, he is competing against Pearson Cooper, a relative newcomer to sumo from Houston, Texas. Both rikishi competed in the lightweight division.

Both rikishi were able to obtain good grips early in the match; however, it was Cornelius that was able to do more with it. Pearson tried to resist the hip toss, but it was too much for him in the end.

In the next gif, Cornelius faced the heavyweight John Horst in an openweight matchup. John is also a relative newcomer to sumo from San Antonio, Texas. I must say, however, John demonstrated skill beyond his tenure in sumo. He successfully executed many advanced techniques in his bouts, and I look forward to seeing him compete in the future.

John almost had Cornelius, but Cornelius was able to fight back from the edge. He transitioned a last-effort save into a hip toss, landing on top of John for the win. Great match for both rikishi!

Cornelius went up against Pearson again in the openweight tournament. I must say, Pearson also showed great promise in this event. Yet again, he was able to get a good grip on Cornelius, but it was Cornelius who better knew what to do with it. Another hip toss gave him the win.

Shawn Jackson

Shawn Jackson finished first in the heavyweight division and second in the openweight division of the Lone Star Sumo 12th Annual Texas Classic. Although I would have never guessed it, Shawn has competed in sumo for only a year. In that time, he has clearly learned a lot about the sport, as he demonstrates an array of techniques in his bouts. I chose the matches below, however, because they demonstrate his best attribute: his strength.

Shawn faced Kevin Bittner, who is also a newcomer to sumo from Houston. This was an openweight matchup, as Kevin competed in the lightweight division.

Wow! Shawn got the grip, the positioning, and went for the win. He even leaped at the end to ensure that Kevin hit the ground first. Although not shown in the clip, Kevin and Shawn high-fived afterwards to celebrate the great match.

The next gif is Shawn against John Horst, who was featured in a gif above.

Shawn really showed off his techniques here, incorporating an array of shoves and slaps. John tried his best to counter the momentum, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

The Big Match

Below is the big match of the openweight division: Cornelius vs. Shawn. Who would win? Experience or Strength?

In the end, experience won! Really great match. Both rikishi had a stable base and went for their proper positioning, but Cornelius was able to use his more effectively.

Bonus Matches!

The gif below features Person Cooper against Kevin Bittner. Both are newcomers, but both show a lot of promise. Pearson is great at getting solid positioning, which he uses to his advantage in the gif below.

Next up is Will Robinson against John Horst. I really love how sumo can bring together many types of people, no matter how young or old! I think Will can be the Aminishiki of North American sumo, and he shows that he has the strength for it in the gif below.

This last gif demonstrates that Will also has the technique to match his strength. I’d love to see him in more events. Maybe the U.S. Open this year?

Thanks again to Cornelius Booker, Pearson Cooper, and Will Robinson for providing these videos! This post would not be possible without them!