Valéria and Diana Dall'Olio do not care about the prejudices that surround the practice of sumo by women. On the contrary, this mother and her daughter turn them into fuel in their daily lives.
Sitting alongside other fighters of different ages and builds around the Sao Paulo "dohyô" for a round of the Brazilian championship, Valéria, 39, and Diana, 18, wait to fight in this 4.55 circular ring m in diameter from which you have to push your opponent out.
In Japan, where this sport with 1,500 years of history linked to Shintoism (set of Japanese religious and mythological beliefs) was invented, professional practice has been prohibited for women since its origins. Mentalities have however evolved with women's amateur meetings and the holding since 2011 of a women's world championship.
In Brazil, a major nation in Latin America, half of the 600 licensees are women.
"Barriers have fallen", rejoices the president of the Brazilian Sumo Federation, Oscar Morio Tsuchiya, "with the creation of the light, medium and heavy categories in an attempt to become an Olympic sport". At Tokyo-2020, sumo was a demonstration sport.
Valéria Dall'Olio practiced judo and jiu-jitsu, two popular disciplines in Brazil, then tried sumo in 2016, introduced to the country by Japanese migrants at the beginning of the 20th century.
And, she says, she had to deal with "prejudice." "When I said that I practiced sumo, people thought that for that I had to be fat. And in martial arts, women are not very visible because it is generally the men who fight," she says.
On the contrary, she believes that women are "more combative than men" in competition because they do not have "as many daily tasks" to face.
Mother of two children, she says she finds it difficult "to combine with (her) multiple occupations" and the simple fact of competing "is already a real victory".
Valéria Dall'Olio, however, left her mark on Brazilian sumo with three Brazilian championship titles (2018, 2019, 2021) and the 2021 South American continental title in the middleweight category (between 65 and 73 kilos).
His 18-year-old daughter, Diana Dall'Olio, says she was drawn to the explosiveness of sumo bouts that rarely last more than 30 seconds, where strength, strategy and technique defeat larger opponents.
She donned a "mawashi", the leather belt covering the private parts, for the first time in 2019 and competes in light weight (up to 65 kilos). The heavyweight category starts from 80 kilos.
Like her mother, she also says she has to face "prejudices". "A lot of people say that women are fragile, that they don't have the stamina, that if they get hurt they stop... But that kind of talk isn't just in sumo, it's everywhere" , sweeps the young woman. "But you learn to fight against it," she says, saying her "generation is rising up."
In the dojo of Sao Paulo, the Dall'Olio did not particularly shine at the end of the day of qualifying fights for the South American championship.
Diana won one of her three fights and Valéria lost in her only duel against Luciana Watanabe, eighteen times Brazilian champion and twice world vice-champion (2013, 2017).
The face of Brazilian sumo, Luciana Watanabe, 37, shares her passion by mentoring young men and women in Suzano, 50 kilometers from Sao Paulo.
"It's usually the men who give the lessons, but I think the students are inspired by me, because I show them my accomplishments," she says.
She also wants "to break down prejudices, so that people respect this sport more, because there are still many who think that it is only made for men, for fat people".
03/21/2023 15:44:07 - Sao Paulo (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
