N.J. Sumo Wrestler Must Shed 200 Pounds To Compete

MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- Even sumo wrestlers can weigh too much, as Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough can testify.

Yarbrough is trying to lose more than 200 pounds to improve his health and possibly take to the ring again in competitive sports.

The 42-year-old is a former sumo wrestling champion and nationally ranked judo competitor.
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The reason Yarbrough wants to shed the flab?

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to just get back to my life," Yarbrough said.

Under a doctor's watch, he's trying to drop from a starting weight of 752 pounds to about 550 pounds.

That would allow him to take part next year in the U.S. Olympic judo qualifying match as well as the Sumo World Championships.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/13767025/detail.html

Fat man in a little jacket!

on behalf of those men in the open division who thought they were large.... ouch!

Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough, a former sumo champion, is weighed Wednesday by Dr. Leah Solomon at her Morristown office.

'Tiny' fighting battle of bulge

By REBECCA SANTANA
The Associated Press

MORRISTOWN -- Even sumo wrestlers can weigh too much, as Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough can testify.

Yarbrough, a former sumo wrestling champion and nationally-ranked judo competitor, is trying to lose more than 200 pounds in an effort to improve his health and possibly take to the ring again in competitive sports.

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired," said Yarbrough, 42, describing why he decided to lose the weight. "I want to just get back to my life."

Under a doctor's supervision, he's trying to drop from a starting weight of 752 pounds to about 550 pounds, and hopefully take part next year in the U.S. Olympic judo qualifying match as well as the Sumo World Championships.

The deep-voiced Yarbrough is in some ways an oddity -- a 6-foot-7 black man in a predominantly Japanese sport where he outweighs even the other heavyweights.

But his battle with the bulge reflects that of many other Americans.

Yarbrough said he didn't intentionally gain the weight for sumo. He put on the pounds the same way most people do: not enough exercise and too much eating.

His already poor eating habits didn't help. Raised in New Jersey by two parents from the South, he grew up eating a lot of fried foods. By the time he was 14, he already weighed 320 pounds.

He said that with his weight, life is a daily challenge. Before going to a restaurant, he has to call to make sure they have chairs that can fit and hold him. His Suburban was specially modified so the seat moves back an additional few inches to accommodate his height and girth. Short walks tire him out.

"Seven hundred pound people probably weren't built for walking around," Yarbrough said.

His weight also led to a host of health problems including hypertension, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

Dr. Leah Solomon, a specialist in obesity issues who is treating him at her Morristown office, has had three meetings with him so far. She's recommended a combination of pre-made shakes and nutrition bars during the day and a meal consisting of half vegetables, a quarter starch and quarter protein in the evening. And he's drinking a lot of water.

One week into changing his eating habits, he's already lost about 26 pounds. Solomon gives him a 25-pound stack of weights she keeps in her office to give him an idea of the weight loss.

"I think you've had a great first week," Solomon told him. "I think the first 100 pounds are going to come off quickly."

Though Yarbrough said a reality television show featuring him is in the works, his size has made it almost impossible to find a traditional full-time job, so he's on disability.

Despite his weight, Yarbrough was always very active and involved in sports, including playing football and wrestling during college and becoming a brown belt in judo.

It was an invitation to the World Sumo Championships in 1992, an amateur event in Japan, that introduced him to a sport seemingly custom-made for his ample body and powerful legs.

"I thought sumo was two fat guys bumping bellies," Yarbrough said.

But he became fascinated by the rituals and culture associated with the sport. He placed second, and his sumo career took off. He captured the world amateur title in 1995, and landed guest spots on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and a profile on Nightline, to name a few.

Sitting in his doctor's office, Yarbrough said he knows that the odds are stacked against him competing again, but he wants to give it a try.

"I feel that at least I have a fighting chance," he said.

Former sumo champ hopes to lose weight, compete again.

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707270306


So it seems this is the guy from UFC 3. Whoa!!!

Are there any other A-level judokas that even come close to that weight

The biggest ones I know of are around 400.

Yeah, he's definitely a big boy.

But, good for him...hopefully he can lose the pounds and get back on to the mat and compete, just not against me. Although, other than for his own health and well being, is there really a reason for him to lose the weight? I mean, unlike wrestling, judo doesn't exactly have a cap on the maximum weight one can weight in the +100kg division...hence the plus in there. So, in *theory*, wouldn't it make him more difficult to move, and especially turnover, if he stayed at 750 pounds? I know he'd probably gas out quickly, but could anyone honestly picture moving that man if there's any bit of strength in his body? ...unless of course you're a modern day Ruska, Geesink or Yamashita that is.

So I am not that fat finally ! lol

you're assuming he'd actually be on his stomach on the ground....

I'd hate to reflexively pull guard on the guy....

Just because his arm is as big as my body (when I was 12) doesn't mean I couldn't give him a run for his money. Those small planetoids revolving around him, however, would be a different thing.

I'd just love to see Mongo looking like a flyweight....

Hes definitely got a long road ahead of him..but hey, if hes determined enough why not right? I believe his brown belt in Judo Came under Sensei Youneszka (spelling from the hip, sorry if wrong) and the cranford dojo so i'm sure those guys would be willing to help as much as possible. even though 26lbs is kind of a drop in the bucket to where he needs to be its a good start best of luck to him

Why doesn't he just get back into sumo? It'll be much easier.

"I mean, unlike wrestling, judo doesn't exactly have a cap on the maximum weight one can weight in the +100kg division...hence the plus in there. So, in *theory*, wouldn't it make him more difficult to move, and especially turnover, if he stayed at 750 pounds? I know he'd probably gas out quickly, but could anyone honestly picture moving that man if there's any bit of strength in his body? ...unless of course you're a modern day Ruska, Geesink or Yamashita that is."


I was one of the few luck folks to play Manny in his pre-Sumo Judo days when he was at 600 pounds. I forget if it was the 95+ or Open division. I watched Dewey Mitchell beat him once; something I did not do that day. Dewey got him moving, falling and got out of the way as he shoved Manny enough to get a minor score. At 12 inches taller and and 340 lbs more than me, it was a dangerous challenge. At this point in my life, if Manny came back, I'd rather play Yamashita again, it would be safer. Yamashita, at 5'11" would be giving up 8 inches and weighed only 280 lbs when competing. Yamahita would likely have taken him to the mat. The big Egyptian Rashwan (Olympic silver '84 and bronze '88) who Yamashita beat weighed around "only" 330lbs and was inches shorter.

You need to get Manny moving, wear him down and get him to stumble. AND don't be under him when he falls. Stalling/non-combativity is more heavily inforced now. I think he would have a hard time avoiding losing by penalty today. Had Manny stayed in Judo, I think there would have been rule adjustments.

BTW Manny's a nice guy.

If he actually still works out at the Cranford JKC, we should ask Dino to get a picture with him...then we'll have an idea how Dino, or myself as you mention here, would look as a flyweight.



Thanks for sharing this story, I found it very interesting. I really hope he can make a comeback and does well...and at the very least hits his desired weight.

Manny did not play in the 2008 Nartionals. Nor, did I see him there or at the Trials as a spectator.

All I'll add is that he is a very nice guy and has competed at a very high level in a number of sports over the years. I wish him the best of luck.