Noriko Yamamoto - Sumo practitioner seeking strong opponents!

Name: Noriko Yamamoto
Sex: Female
Age: 21
Eyes: Silver
Hair: Dark Brunette
Height: 5'9”
Weight: 154lbs
Nationality: Japanese
Alignment: Face
Entrance music:

Shamisen Under The Cherry Blossoms 2017 - Ki&Ki 輝&輝 津軽三味線:

Casual:

Recent Judo Training:

Gear:

Swimsuit:

Wrestling Information

Type: Sumo

Strategy: Noriko is a wall. While she isn't the largest or heaviest woman in the AFW by a Longshot, she is incredibly difficult to knock over unless physically lifted off the ground. A remarkable sense of balance and awareness, she guards her weak ground game by staying upright as much as possible.

A practitioner of sumo first, and a wrestler second, she focuses heavily on standing grappling. She makes use of her height, weight, and powerful stance to hold ground while mounting an offense. Strong takedowns and slams, along with viscous palm strikes make her a hard woman to approach from the front or sides.

Preferred Matches: She will do/try anything.

Physical Stats:
Endurance: ★★★★☆

Endurance:

Strength: ★★★★☆

Strength:

Speed: ★☆☆☆☆

Speed:

Defense: ★★★☆☆

Defense:

Technique: ★★★☆☆

Technique:

Wrestling Technique Stats:
Striking: ★★★☆☆

Striking:

Submissions: ★☆☆☆☆

Submissions:

Powerhouse: ★★★★☆

Powerhouse:

Aerial: ★☆☆☆☆

Aerial:

Countering: ★★★☆☆

Countering:

Favored moves:
- Palm strike/thrust
- Various kimarite take downs.
- Shove techniques
- Body assaults

Signature Moves:

Kazegafuku:

Finishing moves:

Owari:

Characteristics:

Personality: Noriko loves to be challenged. Physical competition in general just excited her to no end. She is always looking to be tested by stronger opponents so she can learn and grow from it. She is hard to get down in spirit, taking most forms of traditional trash talk in a good natured stride.

She fights honorably, following her own personal code of conduct in accordance with sumo practices. She will never willing arm herself with a weapon unless it is necessary, including in matches which freely allow for their use. She doesn't outwardly condemned their use as cowardly, but finds it distasteful in most cases.

She is at her best when she is on the losing end of things. She works harder, relies more on gut instincts rather than trained skill, and just seems to have more fun when she is forced to play things a little more loose than her rigid style often times allows for. She can be quite unpredictable like this, changing up her style almost completely to do whatever “feels right” at the moment.

Past/History: Sumo was a tradition passed down from father to son throughout the lineage of her family for generations. It's values governed the home and her father’s life. When Noriko was born a girl, it had been a disappointment to everyone. A misfortune that was thought could be corrected through the passage of time. Only it didn't. She had one more sibling, a younger sister before their mother proved unable to produce another child to carry on the family legacy. While initially this was taken as massive disappointment, ultimately the value of family as a whole healed the wounds left behind. Her father would be the last to bear their name of their direct family line, something he came to accept in time.

That never deterred Noriko however, while she couldn't be the son he had wanted, she was determined to try to fill the void left behind. She lived within her father's shadow, idolizing him and the values  he brought to her family. She could see everywhere they went how admired he was. Easily picked from a crowd by his build and garb, he was a respected figure of their culture, one often overlooked in this modern era. He was her hero, her inspiration, and much against the wishes of members of her father's heya, her teacher.

The world of traditional sumo was no place for a woman. So much so it is written in unavoidable law. In her youth it seemed like a petty grievance, one she swore to overturn someday. In time however, as she learned more about the culture and history of the time honored sport, she came to respect the ruling. Not for it's fairness, but because of the respect she had for those who practiced and carried it on. The life of a rikishi is a life of devotion to a craft. They life, breath, eat, and dream sumo. Seeing it first hand, truly coming to understand the sacrifices her father made to compete, was humbling to her.

Through her later years in second school she participated in the lightweight junior division of an amateur sumo league. Here she saw a great deal of success, touted as a breakout athlete and someone to look out for. Once she came of age, she joined the actual league and met far stiffer competition. At this time she had been bumped from lightweight to the low end of the middleweight division. No longer in school, she was able to spend more of her time to train and improve... but over time she felt something was missing. The wasn't the same as the traditional form she had come to know and love. Now that she had devoted all her time into it, she saw all the things she enjoyed of the culture stripped away for just the sport. She couldn't put her heart into it, there wasn't the same prestige or respect she saw from when her father competed. She felt like a side attraction now, something that could never live up to what her father had become to her.

She needed a new outlet. Somewhere doing something she could carve out a life for herself where the shadow of something she could never be would always loom over her. When she found out about the rising popularity  of a professional wrestling league known as AFW she was skeptical. It was a strange beast that took some convincing for her to get into, it seems outlandish at times but there seemed to be this underlying grandeur that caught her interest. Over time she drew comparisons to the world of sumo she loved so dearly and began honing her skills to adjust them for her new career path.

Noriko still isn't certain this is the career path for her, but she has always been willing to give it her best shot. She signed with the AFW, looking to bring a little taste of sumo back to the league, something it seemed to lack in its more recent years. She wants to show Japan, maybe even the world, that people who practice and love sumo don't have to fit into a single mold by breaking stereotypes surrounding the craft. While she will never be able to compete where she wants within a traditional circle, perhaps in time she will come to love the squared one instead.


Fun Facts:

Personal Handicap: Noriko has a personal code of conduct that falls in line with several rules within sumo. This limits her move versatility and in ring flexibility significantly.

Fighting Spirit: When things seem at their worst, Noriko can in true Babyface fashion summon up a second wind to get herself back in the action.

Firm Roots: When fighting at her own pace in her usual stance, she is incredibly hard to dislodge or knock over. She is capable of twisting, bending, and shifting herself around to maintain exceptionally strong balance in most circumstances.

Skirmisher: She does best in small quick encounters. She will utilize bursts of power to overwhelm her adversaries, but long encounters without breathers can wear down her stamina.

Holdout: Noriko is incredibly capable of powering out of submissions that make use of raw strength. Even so, her greatest weakness is her inability to break or counter holds outside of raw strength or rope breaks. Good submission artists and practitioners of “unconventional” holds found in AFW are her bane.

Big Fan: It goes without saying Noriko has an undying loves for traditional sumo. She will often attend competitions and events, especially those featuring her father who still headlines.


AFW Information

Record:
-Wins: 1

Wins:

-Losses: 0
-Draws/No Contest: 0

Championships/Accomplishments:

Friends: N/A
Allies: N/A
Rivals: N/A
Enemies: N/A
Crushes: N/A

Tag Key:

The Path of the Warrior:

1. [M] Moving Mountains:[Standard Match] A double debut, two strong competitors meet in the ring for the first time.
2. [S] Hot Spring Guardians: After a close match, Noriko offers to show Olympia one of the local hot springs at the other girl's request.
3. [M] Strength Against Sumo:[Standard Match] A showdown of muscle and mind.
4. [M] Conquering the Mountain: People wrestle... in oil?