How the ratings work

Every wrestler's ratings are the site's own, worked out from results since March 1958. Here's what each one measures, and how far to trust them.

Strength

The rating under the rest

Strength is an Elo rating, the system chess uses. Every decided bout since March 1958, in all six divisions, moves both men's ratings, and a surprise moves them more than an expected result does. A newcomer starts at the average of the division he first fights in, and moves faster for his first 30 bouts.

Before each basho every rating drifts 3% of the way back to the middle. A rating that stops being earned, through injury or retirement, fades. Without that drift the ratings spread too far apart and predicted results worse than a coin toss.

Wins and losses by default are left out, since nobody fought. They count only towards durability.

During a basho, strength moves as the results come in. The live feed looks for new results every ten minutes while bouts are on, and the ratings follow.

What each attribute measures

Scored 1 to 20

Physical

Strength
The rating itself. Every decided bout since March 1958 moves both men's ratings, more when the result is a surprise, so beating a stronger man gains more than beating a weaker one. An active wrestler's score is his rating going into his next bout, against every active wrestler in every division. A retired wrestler's is his peak.
Stamina
How he holds up over fifteen days: his wins on days 11 to 15 against what the ratings expected, less the same for days 1 to 5. Late in a basho the leaders are drawn against each other, so a plain late-basho record would mislead. Measuring against expectation allows for that.
Fast start
His wins on days 1 to 5 against what the ratings expected.
Durability
The share of the days he was due to fight that he lost to absence or to a default loss (fusen A default. One wrestler doesn't turn up, so the other wins without a bout. More on fusen). Fewer days lost scores higher.

Mental

Composure
Bouts that could settle his winning or losing record, like a 7-7 wrestler's bout on day 15, and playoffs for a title. His wins in them against what the ratings expected.
Big matches
His results against yokozuna Grand champion, the top rank. A yokozuna can't be demoted. More on yokozuna and ōzeki Champion, the second-highest rank. More on ōzeki, against what the ratings expected.
Giant-killing
Bouts the ratings gave him under a 35% chance of winning, and how many more of them he won than expected.
Consistency
How far his basho swing either side of what the ratings expected. A steady wrestler ends most basho close to his expected wins. A streaky one swings. Steadier scores higher.
Form
His last 15 bouts against what the ratings expected, the latest counting most. Active wrestlers only.

Technique

Push or belt
Of his wins that came by pushing and thrusting (oshi-zumo) or by force-outs and throws on the belt (yotsu-zumo), the share that came by pushing. It's shown as a lean on a line, because neither end is better.
Variety
How widely his wins spread across techniques: the number of techniques, each used equally often, his record is worth. A wrestler who wins almost everything by force-out scores low.
Balance
How rarely he's beaten by being pulled or slapped down: one less the share of his losses that came that way.
Pull-down wins
The share of his wins that came by pulling or slapping his opponent down. A high score means more of his wins come that way than most. Fans often count heavy reliance on it against a wrestler, so read it as a style, not a mark of quality either way.

Career

Climb to jūryō
Basho from his first appearance on the banzuke The official ranking list, published before each tournament. More on banzuke to his first in jūryō The second division, and the lowest that's paid a salary. More on jūryō, against everyone who got there since 1958. Faster scores higher. A wrestler who started in makushita or sandanme on the strength of his amateur record (tsukedashi) is timed from there, so he scores high. Careers already under way when our records start, in March 1958, aren't timed.
Climb to makuuchi
The same, to his first basho in makuuchi The top division: 42 wrestlers, from yokozuna down to the maegashira. More on makuuchi, the top division.

What's left out

The records hold who fought, who won and the winning technique. They don't hold the initial charge (tachi-ai The opening charge, when both wrestlers launch from the crouch. More on tachi-ai), grips or how long a bout lasted, so there are no ratings for those rather than guesses.

There's no rating yet for how far a young wrestler might go. That needs more work before it's worth showing.