Masaru Hanada, better known as former yokozuna Wakanohana, surprised many when he declared his challenge to play for a National Football League team during a TV program in May.

Masaru Hanada working out, hoping to make the NFL

Since then, many questions have popped into my mind on the topic: Why football, why now, and, mostly, is he serious?

Hanada, who has been working out at a training facility in Arizona since April, returned to Japan briefly earlier this month and I had a chance to interview him.

I visited a fitness gym in Yokohama where Hanada works out. During a two-hour session, Hanada did weight training, aerobics and practiced some football steps.

To be honest, his movement was far from that of a football player. Although he has outstanding power -- the 180-cm, 123-kg Hanada bench-pressed 160 kg and pushed more than 400 kg with his legs -- he lacked the balance and quickness necessary for a football player. However, to be fair, he has never been coached to play football.

One thing that surprised me was his built-up body. It seemed as if he carried no fat at all. Sumo wrestlers need a lot of fat to soften the impact of contact. Sixteen months after he retired from sumo, Hanada's body has been greatly sculpted. His arms are bigger than many women's legs and his calf muscles are the size of handballs.

His body build tells us he is serious about playing football, but I still had many questions.

Why did you decide to take a shot at playing football?

I simply love American football. Since I watched an NFL game on TV as a junior high school student, football has been one of my favorite sports. I wanted to play football, but because of my circumstances, that I grew up in a sumo family (as the first son of former ozeki Takanohana, now stablemaster Futagoyama), I chose to enter the sumo world.

The sports I have done before are sumo and swimming. I've been hoping to play football, but I didn't know where to start. What I thought at that time was if I succeed in sumo, the scouts of pro football teams might get interested and come and inquire about me.

I heard that you were contacted by some NFL scouts when you were an active sumo wrestler. Is that true?

Some of the NFL coaches actually came to Futagoyama Stable, but only to watch our practice. After I retired from sumo, however, somebody told me that a scout from (an unidentified) football team had asked the Japan Sumo Association about contacting me a few years before my retirement. But the JSA did not let me know and kept it secret. I was very shocked when I heard it.

When I was 23 years old, I had a chance to talk with a scout from the Miami Dolphins and I jokingly asked him how much I would be worth in professional football. His answer was 30 million yen. I was confident I would make more money in sumo and I didn't want to quit sumo halfway to the top either. Once you start a sport, you should aim for the top.

Even when I was an active sumo wrestler, I kept telling my wife that playing football was my dream. When I quit, I spent a few months doing nothing. I really didn't want to do anything. I lost 25 kg and all the fat went from my body during that period. But I had a lot of time to consider my future and that was good for me.

How did people react when you declared your intention to try football?

I told just a few people about my challenge. I was watching football on TV with my wife in Hawaii last New Year's Eve. I told my wife, "I want to play this sport. Now is the last opportunity, considering my age. What do you think?" She replied, "If you want to do it, do it. Otherwise, you will regret not having tried." Soon after the conversation, I picked up a phone and called my agent. Then this project started.

Did you feel any regret when you quit sumo?

No, not at all. Soon after I retired, I started to think about what to do next. I have no regrets in sumo and I never want to do it again because I did everything I could with sumo.

How much do you know about football?

My knowledge is very limited. I learned some on paper or through books, but you can't really understand a sport without doing it. In football, all the positions are specialized. So focusing on one position is the best way to learn football quickly.

You've had some injuries during your time in sumo. Do you have any concerns about that?

I became more powerful than before, I gained more muscles and power. I'm not worried about past injuries. The most important thing is your mentality. Unlike when I was yokozuna, I feel no pressure now. Throughout the workouts I did in the United States recently, I had chances to talk with football players and learned many things from them. That should help me in the future.

(Hanada has been working out to make his body suitable for football. He has beefed up by adding muscle. But the toughest part of the workout is football steps, he said.

Sumo's fundamental steps are called "suriashi." To do suriashi, you stand with your feet parallel and a bit wider than shoulder width. Turn your toes 90 degrees outside, then bend your knees so that your hips are lowered to knee height, and step sliding your feet along the ground.

Hanada said transferring suriashi to football-type steps was the first thing he struggled with. But his fitness coach Koji Sakuma pointed out that football steps are more natural for Hanada's leg construction, which would decrease the chances of injuries to ankles or hamstrings that he suffered as a sumo wrestler. His next challenge is joining professional football training camps. He's had tryouts with two professional football teams -- the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons -- looking to get a berth at a training camp in June. The Rattlers have offered Hanada a berth at their training camp next March, while the Falcons were still undecided as of Thursday.)

How do you work out in the United States?

I hired an American strength coach who also coaches amateur and professional football players. I'm working out on the coach's program with young football players.

Your body has been built up by doing sumo, where you needed some fat as well as muscle. But for football, you need to change your body completely.

The most difficult thing is changing my feet angles. My body didn't naturally fit sumo steps, but I was forced to make it fit. Now I have to reform my body again. This is tough.

You're trying to play nose tackle. Why did you choose this position?

My coach and some NFL players I met at the Arizona facility advised me that nose tackle is the best position for me.

Some people say sumo's "tachiai" (opening face off) is similar to football. Do you agree?

There are some sumo techniques that are similar to those of football. But there are not many. In football, you put your hips a little bit higher. Sumo requires you to keep your hips low.

In sumo, you just hit the opponent straight ahead. But in football, you are asked to do more. The defenders have to hit the opponents and try to sack the quarterback or stop the run. Those are very different.

How about the hand techniques? One common thing between sumo and a football defender is use of the hands. Can you apply sumo hand techniques to football?

Well, that's difficult too. But coaches and players told me to make good use of sumo's hand techniques. My basic training is in sumo, so they insist that I should improve my techniques based on sumo fundamentals.

You saw Seattle Seahawks defensive linemen Lamar King and Jeremy Staat in Arizona and worked out together. What is your impression of making contact with them on the field?

They taught me a lot of techniques. Jeremy came to see one of my tryouts and gave some advice. We did one-on-one contact drills. Though I don't think they put out 100 percent, I didn't feel their hits were too heavy.

The impact of football contact is very different from that of sumo. While the hits are only straight ahead in sumo, in football, the hits come from every angle. Even if you are very powerful hitting straight, you are vulnerable against angled hits.

What is your strong point or best technique?

Because of my size, I'm good at getting under the opponent's body and pushing it upward.

Does your experience in sumo help you now?

Now I feel no pressure and really enjoy my life. My 13 years in sumo were kind of when I formed my personality. Sumo is a very traditional and restricted world. I learned patience and self-control through sumo before I retired at the age of 29. Now it's time to do what I really want to do.

Regarding training camps, which teams have you tried out for so far?

I took tryouts with the Arizona Rattlers and the Atlanta Falcons. Also the New England Patriots have offered a tryout for camp, which I haven't taken yet, and my agent is negotiating with the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.

My weak points are English language ability and lack of football experience. It is also a big problem that we were late to start this project. The NFL's training camps are only a few weeks away, and the teams don't have enough time to take special consideration of me, with no football experience. Some NFL teams suggested us trying again next year.

I'll be happy if I can join the NFL camps, but if I don't make the team, everything is meaningless. I should wait one more year and get some football experience. My goal is not just taking part in the camp. Playing football is the only thing I'm aiming for.

Do you insist on playing in the NFL, or will any other pro football league do? For example, the AFL or Canadian Football League?

My priority is playing football. It doesn't really matter where and which level I play at. I want to play football in Japan, too, but the NFL is my ultimate dream.

Do you plan to play in the X League (Japan's amateur company league)?

Yes. I've had a wish to play football in Japan. Actually, I've already contacted some teams. The X League players are really dedicated to football. If somebody comes out of the X League to play in the NFL, people will pay more attention to the X League.

You were at the top of sumo as yokozuna. Does that give you any confidence or are you proud of that achievement?

No. It's already over. I don't look back on my sumo experiences anymore.

You were one of only 67 people to become yokozuna in the 1,500-year history of sumo. Is being an NFL starter tougher than that?

You never know before you make it. Only once I make my career in the NFL can I answer that question. Surely both professional sports are extremely difficult. But, at the age of 30, I will be satisfied with the chance to play football. I came out of sumo, which many people think is a very special and closed world. When they see me playing football, they'll change their image of sumo. What is important to me now is to stand on the football field.