ROCKET NEWS


The golden ratio has been seen in mathematics, architecture, music, natural phenomena…and now sumo wrestling.

Despite how it may look at first glance, sumo isn’t just two hefty, near-naked men literally throwing their weight around. In a high-level sumo match, you’ll see nimble footwork, seamless transitions between striking and grappling techniques, and quite a bit of mental gamesmanship, in addition to the raw power that’s most commonly associated with the sport.

When all of that comes together, sumo can be extremely impressive to watch. As a matter of fact, sometimes it can be downright beautiful, as illustrated by this tweet from Japanese Twitter user @Zippporiii_

  “I was thinking that [professional sumo wrestler] Shohozan’s throw was just too beautiful. So I decided to look into it, and it’s a perfect golden rectangle.”

For those unfamiliar with the term, the golden rectangle is a rectangle with side lengths in the golden ratio. In the example below, both the pink rectangle itself, as well as the combination of the pink rectangle and the blue square, are golden rectangles.

 
Moreover, by drawing a spiral with the golden ratio as its growth factor, you’ll get a series of rotating golden rectangles.

  If you’ve got a compass and the mathematic wherewithal to understand what it means to “draw an arc that defines the height of a rectangle,” you can make a golden rectangle pretty easily.

Or, you can just step into the ring with Shohozan and let your guard down. He’ll do the rest.