What are the rules of sumo wrestling?
In short: knock your opponent out of the 15-foot diameter ring or make your opponent touch the ground with any part of the body other than the soles of the feet. Punching, gouging, and kicking are prohibited, but slapping and tripping are allowed. Techniques, “kimarite” are very important in sumo, since technical expertise allows “rikishi” – to defeat opponents who are larger, stronger, or faster. There are about 70 kimarite, but almost all victories are achieved by the most popular dozen. A nice background story can be found on http://ky.essortment.com/sumowrestlingw_rkdo.
