To say that the 2020s have been somewhat tumultuous so far is a drastic understatement. Beginning with a global pandemic that uprooted the lives of most, the effects of that period of quarantine are still being felt today. However, while the prolonged isolation brought with it a myriad of issues, one silver lining is the fact that many people used that time to themselves for self-discovery, picking up new hobbies and interests. Some learned to bake bread, some took on DIY home projects, and some learned the art of Japan’s national sport: sumo wrestling.
“It was near the end of the lockdowns, and I had been bored in Jacksonville up to that point. I wanted to look for new things to do around Florida, when I saw an ad for Florida Sumo. And here we are now,” says Dustin Hawkins, a member of Florida Sumo Association, a sumo sports club based out of Panama City, Florida.
The Florida Sumo Association has been slowly growing since 2017, and attracted new members in the aftermath of a post-pandemic world that saw many people using their isolation for self-exploration. But the growth of the club can’t be attributed solely to lockdown curiosity. Cornelius Booker, one of the leaders of the club, has had an interest in the deceptively simple sport — to win a sumo match, all a grappler must do is push their opponent out of the ring; to lose takes only a touch of the ground with any part of the body other than the foot — since high school.
“I always had an interest in grappling sports and Japanese culture, so combining the two was perfect. I couldn’t pursue it fully back then though, so I did wrestling in high school instead. But I never gave up on the idea of it,” Booker says.
Booker has already seen success in the sport. He is a two-time U.S. Sumo National Champion, and in 2019, he was the U.S national champion in the lightweight division, earning a spot on the world team that year. As a result, he was able to travel to Japan to compete, one of his favorite memories of his time sumo wrestling so far.
While some of the newer members of Florida Sumo may have joined the club out of an interest that is still nascent (when compared to the more experienced members), that’s not to say they take the sport any less seriously. Having recently won his first medal within three years of taking up sumo wrestling, Hawkins follows a careful training schedule in order to maintain the strength needed to compete.
“On the days when I train, it can be pretty tough. I wake up at 4 a.m. to run a mile, and then train further by doing powerlifting in the evenings. I also try to make it out to practice sumo wrestling itself once a week if I can,” he says.
And while stamina and strength training are important to keep up with, a veteran member of the club shared that one of the most important things to train is something that comes as a shock to most outsiders: flexibility training.
“Being limber and flexible is arguably the most important thing to succeed, and a lot of people don’t realize that part. They think you just need to be fat to succeed, which is not the case at all,” Alejandro Santana explains. This misconception is one that still unfortunately dominates the space when sumo wrestling is brought up from those not familiar with the sport.
“A lot of people just think it’s the ‘fat guys sport.’ But in order to succeed you need to be in shape and athletic, just like any other sport,” Hawkins says.
Despite this lingering fallacy, the club is proud of the work they’ve done in helping to bring attention to the sport in Florida.
“I feel like awareness of the sport has spread a lot; 10 or so years ago there was almost no presence here in Florida, and now there are clubs and events for people interested here to join,” Santana says.
While some other teams around the country may harbor doubts about the legitimacy of the club because of the fact that they are based out of Florida, there are also many that make them feel welcome. As someone who openly identifies as gay, Hawkins attests to how encouraging the sumo community has been, and even says he has been able to connect with other LGBTQ+ sumo wrestlers.
“Thankfully my time in sumo hasn’t had any pushback about my LGBTQIA identity. Most have been super welcoming and have never made me feel ‘other than’! I actually run an Instagram group chat with other LGBT sumo members,” Hawkins says.
Participating in the sport together has also given the team a strong sense of camaraderie, and Booker particularly takes pride in the things they have accomplished together. Seeing the growth of his teammates is one of the most rewarding aspects to the club for him, even outside of the context of the sport.
“Seeing Dustin finally achieve his goal in winning a medal when he came in with hardly any experience in sports was very rewarding. He’s been working very hard, and it made me very proud to see him achieve one of his goals in winning a medal. In general, I feel pride when seeing us all working together and supporting each other.”
