Amateur Sumo
アマチュア相撲Sumo as a sport under the International Sumo Federation (IFS), outside the Japanese professional circuit. It has weight categories, a women's competition and world championships since 1992.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Amateur Sumo
About Amateur Sumo
Amateur sumo is the sporting form of sumo practised outside the Japanese professional circuit. It follows the same basic rule, whoever touches the ground with any part of the body other than the feet or leaves the ring loses, but the organisational framework is different. Professional sumo is run by the Japan Sumo Association, is closed and has no weight categories, while amateur sumo is open, club-based and contested in an annual tournament calendar.
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The International Sumo Federation (IFS) traces its origin to an international tournament in Japan in 1980 and to a predecessor founded by Japan and Brazil in July 1983, and it regards 10 December 1992, when the tournament was named the World Championships, as its founding date. The first World Championships had 73 competitors from 25 countries and territories. Six continental federations were created in 1995, IFS has been a member of ARISF since 31 January 1998, and by its own account the IOC recognised it provisionally in 2001 and fully in 2018. The number of members differs by source: Olympedia gives 84 members as of January 2026, the IFS website 88 countries and territories. Sumo was a demonstration sport in the budo showcase at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and has never been on the official programme of the Games. The main difference from the professional form is weight categories and a full women's competition, which Japanese professional sumo does not have. Bouts are fought in the mawashi on a dohyo 4,55 metres in diameter, and according to the International World Games Association they last from seconds to just under a minute. At the World Games sumo was an invitational sport in Akita 2001 and an official sport from Duisburg 2005 to Birmingham 2022. Of Czechs, it was Pavel Bojar who made it into professional sumo, entering the Naruto stable in August 2001 as the first Czech.
History
We know the history of amateur sumo outside Japan mainly as told by the International Sumo Federation (IFS). According to it, the first international amateur tournament, an All-Japan championship with invited foreign teams, took place in Japan in 1980. In July 1983 Japan and Brazil founded a predecessor of the federation, the tournament was renamed the International Sumo Championships in 1985, and its tenth edition was held in São Paulo in 1989. On 10 December 1992 the tournament was named the Sumo World Championships to commemorate the founding of the IFS, and the first edition was attended by 73 competitors from 25 countries and territories. Six continental federations were created in 1995. The first major Japanese national women's championship took place in 1997, the first junior world championship in Tokyo in 1999 with 16 countries taking part, and the first junior women's world championship in Rakvere, Estonia, in 2008. English Wikipedia places the first women's world championship in Aomori in 2001, alongside the tenth edition of the men's, and we have not read an IFS document on this. Sumo was a demonstration sport in the budo showcase at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
How it differs
Compared with Japanese professional sumo, IFS sumo has weight categories and a women's competition, neither of which professional sumo has. According to Sumo Fan Magazine the rules are otherwise essentially the same, with a few differences in equipment: the ceremonial kesho-mawashi is not used, men may wear elastic trousers under the mawashi and women wear a leotard. Professional sumo is a closed circuit of stables run by the Japan Sumo Association, while amateur sumo is a club sport with national federations, continental federations and world championships, and in Japan it is run by the separate Japan Sumo Federation.
Technique
Whoever pushes the opponent out of the ring or makes the opponent touch the dohyo with any body part except the feet wins. A bout begins when both wrestlers place their hands on the dohyo behind the starting lines and the referee calls hakkeyoi, the gyoji declares a false start with the word matta, and the tachiai charge is repeated. IFS regulations set the officiating team at six people: the chief referee, the gyoji and four referees at the dohyo. The dohyo has a diameter of 4,55 m.
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Sources differ on bout length: per the sumocup.com summary of the IFS refereeing regulations in force from 6 September 2024, a bout lasts 3 minutes and without a decision a repeat, torinaoshi, is ordered, while the World Nomad Games sumo rules give 3 minutes for ages 13 to 15 and 5 from 16. We could not retrieve the primary IFS regulations text. The same summary lists as forbidden acts, kinjite, punching, finger-poking, kicks to the chest or abdomen, hair-pulling, grabbing the throat, biting and slapping the face. IFS categories for men are lightweight up to 85 kg, middleweight up to 100 kg, light heavyweight up to 115 kg, heavyweight over 115 kg and open, and for women up to 65, 73, 80 and over 80 kg and open. The fifth World Championships in 1996 had only three weight classes, up to 85, up to 115 and over 115 kg, plus open and a team event. The European Sumo Federation had seven weight classes and open for men and women at the 2023 European Games. At the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, men and women competed in lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight and open.
Ranks and progression
The International Sumo Federation knows no grades, belts or individual ranking for individuals. In its sources we found only a ranking of the European Sumo Federation, which decided qualification for the European Games 2023 in Kraków and the disputes surrounding it. The path leads through age categories: the 2025 European Championships in Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary, were contested for seniors, U23 and U21 under the Regulations on Competition and Regulations on Refereeing of the international and European federations. The Junior World Championships have been held since 1999, the Junior Women's World Championships since 2008.
Today
The International Sumo Federation is based in Tokyo, in the Shinjuku district. Olympedia gives 84 members as of January 2026, the IFS website 88 countries and territories. IFS has been a member of ARISF since 31 January 1998, of SportAccord (formerly GAISF) since 16 October 1999 and of the International World Games Association since 22 November 2002, and by its own account the IOC recognised it provisionally in 2001, fully in 2018. Japanese amateur sumo is run by the Japan Sumo Federation, founded, per the IFS, on 1 September 1946. At the World Games sumo was an invitational sport in Akita 2001 and an official sport in Duisburg 2005, Kaohsiung 2009, Cali 2013, Wrocław 2017 and Birmingham 2022, where the all-time medal table stood at Russia 14 gold, Japan 11 and Ukraine 9. Sumo is not on the 2025 Games programme, English Wikipedia links this to incidents at the 2022 Games, and we have not read the primary reports. Sumo was one of 13 sports at the first World Combat Games in Beijing in 2010.
Did you know
Pavel Bojar from Prague entered professional sumo in August 2001 as the first Czech, joining the Naruto stable in Chiba. At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo sumo was part of a budo demonstration alongside kendo and kyudo, but has never been on the official Games programme.
Frequently asked questions
Is sumo an Olympic sport?
No. Sumo has never been on the official Olympic programme, and in Tokyo in 1964 it was only part of a budo demonstration. The IOC does recognise the International Sumo Federation.
Can women compete in sumo?
In amateur sumo, yes. Women have their own IFS World Championships and competed at the World Games from 2005 to 2022. Japanese professional sumo has no women's competition.
How do you win in amateur sumo?
As in professional sumo: the winner is the one who pushes the opponent out of the dohyo ring or forces them to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the feet.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.