Toki Susumu
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Toki Susumu (闘牙 進), born July 4, 1974 as Tamashiro Jun, is a Japanese sumo wrestler.
Toki began his career in January 1991 after joining the late Tochinishiki's sumo stable Takasago beya. Just like Yokozuna Takmiyama, who was a member of the same heya during the 1970s and 80s, Toki wears long sideburns as a distinctive feature.
In 1998 Toki managed to enter the Makuuchi division for the first time and quickly became a regular Maegashira, although his results were not sufficient to make him a Sanyaku wrestler (although he was a Komusubi for a short time in September 2003, but he could not retain this rank). In 2004, Toki suffered a shoulder injury which eventually led to him dropping to Juryo. Toki did not succeed in making a comeback to the Makuuchi ever since, although he managed to return temporarily twice. Now he is increasingly suffering from back problems related to spinal stenosis, which was the reason why he missed six days of Hatsu-basho 2006. After a disastrous make-koshi in March, Toki now faces demotion to Makushita.
Toki relies almost exclusively on slapping and pushing techniques, making his style very predictable, yet often surprisingly successful. However, he is very vulnerable when his opponent gets hold of his Mawashi, and he has not been been a great challenge to the top wrestlers in his Makuuchi days. Toki's pushing also seems to have become less powerful due to his recent spinal problems.
As of 2006-05-09, Toki is listed on the Nippon Sumo Association web site as "Retired".
