Kazafuzan Taiga

Kazafuzan Taiga - 風冨山 泰雅 (born April 6, 1984) is a former Turkmen-born Kazakhstani professional sumo wrestler from Aktau. He made his debut in November 2003 and wrestled for Nishikido stable. His highest rank was makushita 10 and he retired in September 2014.

## **Early Life**

Suyenesh Khudibayev was born in Turkmenistan on April 6, 1984. He moved back to Kazakhstan after it gained independence and lived in the city of Aktau. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler in Kazakhstan, so a member of the Kazakhstan Sumo Association recommended that he give sumo a try. He wrote a letter of intent to Nishikido stable and was accepted to the stable.

## **Career**

He made his debut in November 2003 and was given the shikona "Kazafuzan" (風冨山). He had an exceptional start and breezed through the bottom two divisions. However, he spent nine tournaments in sandanme and it was not until November 2005 when he reached the makushita division. He gradually rose through the ranks of makushita and reached a career-best makushita 10 in November 2008.

However, in March 2009 he sat out of four consecutive tournaments and was demoted back down to jonidan. He won all seven matches in jonidan, but lost the playoff for the yusho against an up and coming Aoiyama. He returned to makushita in January 2011. He then established himself as a makushita regular for the rest of his later career.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After his arrest (see controversy section), Kazafuzan lost his will to fight, even though he still put up respectable numbers. His retirement from sumo was announced after the September 2014 tournament. After retirement from sumo he returned back to his hometown in Kazakstan. As of 2020, he works as a youth freestyle wrestling coach at an Olympic reserve in Mangistau, Kazakhstan.

## **Controversy**

### **Vandalism Case**

Kazafuzan and a male friend were getting in some serious drinking at a bar in Tokyo's Roppongi district late on January 2, 2014. The pair became so drunk that the venue's owner was forced to kick them out early next morning. When Kazafuzan was refused re-entry, he flew into a rage and kicked down a Kadomatsu in front of the bistro's door. An employee subsequently called the police and officers rushed to arrest him on suspicion of criminal damage. Kazafuzan denied all charges during questioning and he and his stablemaster were given stern warnings by the Japan Sumo Association.

## **Fighting Style**

Kazafuzan was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His most common techniques were oshidashi (push-out), yorikiri (force-out), and hatakikomi (slap-down).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 234-185-29/418 (65 basho)
* **Makushita:** 148-139-7/287 (42 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 67-44-15/110 (18 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 13-1-7/14 (3 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **1st** Kazakhstani professional sumo wrestler

## **Gallery**

Kazafuzan during his time in maezumo (c. 2003)Kazafuzan with fellow foreigner Takanoyama (c. 2004)Kazafuzan wins his first Jonokuchi match (c. 2004)Kazafuzan prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2009)Kazafuzan defeats Kagayaki by hatakikomi (c. 2014)Kazafuzan's retirement ceremony (c. 2014)
## **Sources**

* Kazafuzan Taiga Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kazafuzan Taiga Rikishi Information
* NUR KZ Article on Kazafuzan