Larger than life: Sumo wrestler ‘signs’ autographs with palm print (VIDEO)
What do you do when your hand is twice the size of a normal person’s? You sign autographs with a palm print, of course.
A sometimes overlooked aspect of a professional athlete’s life is the amount of selfies and autographs they get asked for on a daily basis.
The sheer size of sumo wrestlers, along with their occasional difficulty with legible penmanship, can make signing autographs more of a chore than anything - which is why a ‘tegata’, or palm print, has become the most popular piece of sumo wrestler merch.
And judging by the video below which shows the popular Takayasu Akira working a tegata assembly line, some of them have the practice down to a fine art.
Sumo wrestler Takayusu “signing” autographs pic.twitter.com/Lny4CgpeR9
— Spoon & Tamago (@Johnny_suputama) December 4, 2018
Per reports online, some sumo wrestlers can get through as many as 1,500 of these palm prints in a sitting - and we imagine that can translate to a whole lot of eBay dollars.
Akira isn't alone in his quick-handed method either, as it seems that many of his peers have also perfected the technique to a fine art.
Suddenly, E Honda's 'hundred hand slap' in the Street Fighter video game franchise makes a whole lot more sense.
宮城野部屋のチームワーク。白鵬の手形押し。今日はのんびりペースで、珍しく朱墨を使用。#sumopic.twitter.com/56z4xpcjBk
— スモートフォン (@azechiazechi) June 9, 2016
＜冬巡業＠久留米市＞色紙に手形を押す白鵬。#sumo#相撲pic.twitter.com/wdWcWB2LmM
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) December 4, 2018
時にはリズムを変えながら手形を押す白鵬(^^)#倉敷#ぽ〜んぽんpic.twitter.com/LICgCbH6lM
— スモートフォン (@azechiazechi) October 28, 2016
テガタ👋1500枚gariin hee 1500g darlaaNagoya hot pic.twitter.com/UqfxfSRhhT
— 白鵬 翔 M.Davaajargal (@HakuhoSho69) June 24, 2018
