Musashikuni Manu finished the Kyushu Basho 2018 on Day 13. To be honest, I didn’t even know that Musashikuni was in the basho until day 5 or 6, because he sat out his first match due to injury. Well, I am happy that he decided to enter the basho late, because he finished with a 5-1-1 record! This is an extremely good performance for the young rikishi. I predicted that he would have a 4-3 record, and he proved me wrong even with forfeiting his first match.

From his performance, Musashikuni will return to the middle of the makushita ranks. He competed at M53 in this basho, and I predict that he will be in the low M30s for the next basho. I hope that he gets healthier before then. After several of his matches, he walked with a limp out of the arena. If he performed this well while injured, imagine what he could do while healthy!

Below is a table that summarizes Musashikuni Mamu’s Kyushu Basho 2018 performance, followed by gifs of his matches. I provide some commentary after the gifs, and I provide links to the matches at the bottom of the page. If you would like to see anything else involving Musashikuni’s performance in the Kyushu Basho 2018, please contact me at NorthAmericanSumo@Gmail.com.

Opponent Ranking Current Record Result Method N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Higoarashi

Yuta 53 East 3-3 Loss Hatakikomi Yamaguchi Masahiro 56 West 2-4 Win! Oshitaoshi Fujita

Reisen 52 West 2-4 Win! Hikiotoshi Oazuma Norihiro 55 West 3-3 Win! Yorikiri Obamaumi

Koki 51 West 3-3 Win! Uwatenage Daishoiwa Shinichiro 54 East 4-3 Win! Uwatenage

Musashikuni Mamu Match 1 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

Musashikuni forfeited his first match of the Kyushu Basho 2018 due to injury.

Musashikuni Mamu Match 2 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

Not the best start to the basho. To be honest, I was really worried when I saw this match. After entering the basho late, it seemed that Musashikuni was nowhere close to 100% healthy. I was hoping for three wins at best!

Musashikuni Mamu Match 3 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

But nothing to fear! Look at that smooth step aside, followed by the daring pushout. This may be my new favorite Musashikuni match!

Musashikuni Mamu Match 4 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

Such a close victory! It came down to milliseconds!

Musashikuni Mamu Match 5 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

Musashukuni showing a great deal of strength in this match. Very impressed with how easily he seemed to lift his opponent out for the victory. I hope it wasn’t too much of a strain for the injured rikishi!

Musashikuni Mamu Match 6 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

This match was very long, so I had to cut off the beginning portion. Again, a great performance for Musashikuni. Very impressed with how he held on the the mawashi and again lifted his opponent to where he wanted – with a little hip toss at the end.

Musashikuni Mamu Match 7 Gif – Kyushu Basho 2018

I think this was my second favorite Musashikuni match of the basho. He quickly reacted to the henka, and he kept an extremely firm base. When he engaged, he again got a firm grip, rotated his hips, and got the victory. Yay for Musashikuni!

Final Thoughts

Although he entered the basho late due to an injury, Musashikuni looked extremely strong – perhaps the strongest that I’ve ever seen him. He also had his best center of gravity that I’ve ever seen from him. Usually he has a little bit of an unstable base. This time, he was solid as a rock. I really hope that we see more of this from him! Along with his slaps that he occasionally pulls out, I think his offensive toolbox has developed greatly. Let’s see how he does back in the middle of the makushita division!

Links to Musashikuni Mamu’s Kyushu Basho 2018 Matches

Match 1 – Musashikuni sat out the first match due to injury.

Match 2 – https://youtu.be/3N33eeljFus?t=523

Match 3 – https://youtu.be/DH37j0C7WE4?t=589

Match 4 – https://youtu.be/_49ZwdFka4M?t=320

Match 5 – https://youtu.be/GjjGvlVCB8U?t=424

Match 6 – https://youtu.be/LQN3yJseIwE?t=287

Match 7 – https://youtu.be/xWZZkuZjxrQ?t=43