Five, 10, 20 years from now, whenever we look back at the career of the current yokozuna Hakuho, it will be hard to avoid a particular black mark against the name of one of the sport's most successful of grand champions.
That resume stain occurred on Day 14 of the recent Nagoya Basho when the man with 22 yusho to his name sidestepped ozeki Kisenosato at the tachiai, breaking a cardinal rule in the sport for men in his position.
Henka, as such a cowardly move is commonly called, is not an illegal technique, and for many a Russian and Eastern European rikishi in recent years it has almost become a routine "go-to" move. That said, for the men in the uppermost sanyaku echelons of the sport such moves are an unwritten no-no.
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