Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall put his strongman skills to the test in sumo.
2017 World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall recently tried his hand at a new sport as he battles a sumo champion. Inspired by his desire to try something new and push his limits, Hall found himself in a mawashi loincloth setting out to prove if his strength could translate over to the world of sumo.
A former professional strongman hailing from the UK, Eddie Hall is a multiple-time champion with a few world records under his belt. Perhaps his most impressive win is his 2017 victory in the World’s Strongest Man competition. At that very show he would beat out the likes of long-time rival Hafthor Bjornsson, a victory that he is likely very proud of considering their bad blood.
When he’s not competing in strongman or beefing with his rivals, Eddie Hall is trying his hand at one new athletic endeavor or another. It keeps his blood pumping and gives him a reason to remain active after retiring from strongman competition. He’s even participated in a boxing match versus Hafthor Bjornsson that lived up to the hype.
Now, Eddie Hall finds himself in a new arena. The strongman decided to try his hand at the ancient Japanese wrestling art of sumo. Putting on a mawashi loincloth and bolstering his pride, Hall recently set out to see how far his strength can take him in the sumo arena.
Hall’s Sumo Training
Under the guidance of veteran sumo wrestling champion and coach Steve Pateman, Eddie Hall endeavored to improve his knowledge of the Japanese art. Where strongman competition requires a tremendous amount of strength, sumo wrestling is more intricate. While the rules may be simple, toss your opponent outside of the sumo ring, the application can be difficult. Sumo wrestling is as much about technical prowess as it is about strength. Smaller, less powerful sumo wrestlers are able to defeat their bigger, stronger opponents by using their strength against them.
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Being tossed outside the sumo ring time and again throughout his training, Eddie Hall would eventually catch on. As coach Steve Pateman states in the video: “Strongman is perfect training for sumo”, and it showed as the YouTube episode progressed.
But no need to take my word for it. Take a look at the full episode below. Eddie Hall acquits himself well and by the end of the episode has a solid understanding of sumo wrestling.
What do you think of Eddie Hall trying sumo?
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
