Sumo wrestlers hit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk ahead of Saturday’s big showdown

It’s not every day that one gets to hang out with three professional sumo wrestlers, let alone at the beach, in the sand, on a beautiful Santa Cruz day.

But that’s how I spent my Thursday afternoon when three of the wrestlers who will compete in the World Elite Sumo’s upcoming event – set for Saturday at Kaiser Permanente Arena – arrived in Santa Cruz. 

“This is America,” said Iwasaki “Hidenoumi” Takuya, of Japan, as he looked around Santa Cruz’s world-famous Beach Boardwalk. “It feels like America.” 

This is the 6-foot-3, 413-pound warrior’s first time in the country. Despite having to use Abdelrahman “Ōsunaarashi Kintaro” Shalan as a translator, his English was good for the sentiment. 

A stranger in a strange land, Takuya is introspective, taking in everything around him. However, as he, Shalan and fellow wrestler Josh “The Ox” Ortiz shot photos in their traditional mawashi belts, Takuya’s humor shone through. 

At one point, Shalan told Takuya in Japanese to “look badass like John Wick,” a reference to the international action film franchise. 

Takuya lit up.

“Oooooh, John Wick!” he said before giving his best Keanu Reeves furrowed-brow angry frown.

But don’t mistake Takuya’s deep laugh and giant smile for weakness. As Lookout photojournalist Keven Painchaud’s photos show, Takuya can mean-mug with the best. 

“How would you like to have that coming at you?” Painchaud said as he showed a photo of Takuya making the face of a bloodthirsty grizzly fresh out of hibernation and ready for his first taste of flesh.  

Takuya and Ortiz arrived in town earlier in the day, at 10 a.m., but “spent the day sleeping,” according to Takuya through Shalan. However, Takuya said he was “so happy to fight here.” 

For Ortiz, it was a homecoming of sorts. 

“I lived in Sunnyvale,” he said. “So I know the Boardwalk well and look forward to seeing it again.” 

A Bronx native, Ortiz is currently a strength coach out of Mount Vernon, New York, and works with the New York State Department of Education on maintaining the state’s high school gyms. 

Unlike Takuya, who went into sumo straight after school, Ortiz got into sumo only three years ago when he saw Shalan at a competition in the Bronx. Prior to that, he was a professional bodybuilder for eight years and then became heavily involved in the Strongman competition. 

When talking with Ortiz, it’s clear that he’s focused on the task at hand. He’s a man who knows what he’s doing and why he is here. Ortiz was once a passenger in a car collision that required removal of his L5-S1 spinal disc. 

“With Strongman, I was able to strengthen my back in ways I never did before,” he said, adding that because of the sport, he can now do a 900-pound car deadlift and an overhead press with a 300-pound log. “Strongman is a great, functional sport that transitions well to sumo.”

The driving force behind World Elite Sumo, Shalan was directing the video promos with his own brand of humor and style. Sumo has been a part of the 34-year-old’s life for the past two decades, and his love for the sport is evident.

While the three burly guys goofed around during the video shoot, it was almost easy to forget that on Saturday, they will be taking each other down in hand-to-hand combat. 

As the sun began to set and the golden hour light faded, the shoot wrapped up. Ashoka McCormick,  a civilian who had been watching from the steps of the Boardwalk,  approached when it was all over. 

“Can I get a picture with you?” he asked the champions. “I’ve got tickets for Saturday and I’m taking my nephews.” 

A fan of the sport and other martial arts, this won’t be McCormick’s first time seeing the sport in person. He’s previously attended the Sumo + Sushi tour in San Francisco. So when he saw the ads saying a sumo event was coming to his hometown, he immediately bought tickets. 

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “A lot of people are talking about it around town. It’s going to be a fun night.” 

Tickets for Saturday’s event can be purchased here; fans can attend a free pre-event weigh-in at Woodstock’s Pizza, 710 Front St., Santa Cruz on Friday at 6 p.m. 

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