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Frequently Asked Questions:
- I haven't time to read your whole
web site. What are the basics?
- What happens if it rains on
the day of my outdoor party?
- Are you insured and what is covered?
- If you work with children,
have you been police checked?
- How much space do you need
for a Sumo Experience event?
- How many people can a Sumo Experience
event cater for?
- How long does a Sumo Experience event run for?
- How long does it take to get the suits on?
- What are the secrets for a smooth Sumo party?
- How early should I book?
- Did I hear right? You do fire-breathing too!?
- Can you help me with invitations?
- Can you help me out with party bags?
- Can I drink and Sumo?
- Which suits are right for
me?
- I could hire the suits myself, so what are the extras you offer?
- What is not covered in a Sumo
Experience event?
- What are the future plans for
Sumo Experience?
 Q. I haven't time to read
your whole web site. Can you just tell me the basics?
A. OK, these are the essentials:
- Service - for
the distinctive of what we offer see Welcome.
- Space -
for how much room is needed see FAQ.
- Conditions - for who can and can't Sumo see
Safety.
- Costs -
for fees and our normal travel range
see Rates.
- Booking - for our
email, phone, etc.
see Contact
Q. What happens if it rains
on the day of my outdoor party?
A. You have a choice:
- You can go ahead with the party. The suits
won't be damaged by a little rain. It will just be a bit slippery.
- You can cancel. You will either loose your
deposit, or you can reuse your deposit to re-book.
Of course the real belt-and-braces approach is to reserve an appropriate indoors venue as a fall back. Sometimes you may find that your local hall or scout hut will let you hire on a sale-or-return basis. so that if it does stay fine, it doesn't cost you any extra.
Q. Are you insured and what is covered?
A. We have Public Liability Insurance to the
tune of £5,000,000.
This is standard Public Liability Insurance for the 'inflatables industry' to cover you against injury. But the gray men at the insurance company have included a mix of sensible and killjoy conditions that grows annually. The current highlights are:
- The Equipment cannot be used at the same licensed venue for more than eight consecutive days and only for four periods in year and never in nightclubs
- Male and Female adults (16 up) must not compete against each other
- Children (under 16) can only compete against others of a similar age and size
- The competition ring cannot be used on concrete, car park or similar.
Q. If you work with children,
have you been police checked?
A. Yes, see About
Us for details.
Q. How much space do you need
for a Sumo Experience event?
A. The crash mat is 12 feet by 12 feet and an
additional boarder is required for spills, spectators and waiting contestants.
This means that a clear flat area of at least 22 feet by 22 feet (6.7 meters by 6.7 meters) is
required. This is an important safety requirement as despite the thick padding of the suits a fall against a wall or pillar would be dangerous. So unfortunately, unless you live in a mansion and have your own ballroom you probably won't have a room big enough for sumo inside your house!
 Q. How many people can a Sumo
Experience event cater for?
A. This will depend on the people involved. Sumo
Experience runs a single "dohyo" (Sumo arena) so only two
people can wrestle at any given time. For adults especially, watching
can be as entertaining as joining in. There is no particular limit to
the number of reserved onlookers, and the headcount of "I'll-just-give-it-one-go"
people can also be quite high. For children's parties and for adult
parties where full participation is the aim, the ideal target number is 12. So anything from 10 to 14 works well.
Younger children tend to find the spectating/supporting part less enjoyable.
Also, evenly matched combatants make for the most fun, This is especially a
consideration for children's parties if there is a significant range of ages.
Q. How long does a Sumo Experience event run for?
A. For adult's and kid's parties we have found that 90 minutes is the ideal length for the Sumo bit. Any more is probably too much, any less and some might be left wanting another go. This can trim down as low as 75 minutes for 7 and 8 year olds who have a less developed attention span. The Sumo-Station always proves very popular at Fun days and Fairs and for this very reason we cannot serve for any more than two hours at these events. Your event may well be a four hour stretch but picking up combatants from the crash mat for that length of time would just be too much for the back of your "Gyoji" (Sumo referee)!
Q. How long does it take to get the suits on?
A. Putting on a sumo fat-suit is just like pulling in a big heavy vest, then all that is needed is the neck brace and helmet (both Velcro fastened) Take a look at this movie clip and you'll see that it takes as little as 15 seconds to get a suit off one combatant and another 15 to get it onto the next. So to swap out one pair for the next is about a minute; leaving more time for posing and fighting!
Q. What are the secrets for a smooth Sumo party?
A. We have found over time that there are some things that can help or hinder a sumo party and there are some things you can do to make sure yours runs smoothly:
 Getting the guests there on time - We can easily fit in late comers but it inevitably slows things down. So why not try putting the time on your invitations as five minutes earlier than you intend to start? (It's usually those that live the closest that are late!) - Minimise distractions - The best parties are when everyone is focused on the fighting; it creates a human amphitheatre. Children can be distracted by the smallest things when they are waiting for their turn so you will do well to keep things like balls and balloons out of sight. If the venue is your garden toys should be stored away where possible. A less obvious distraction is snacks and refreshments. In most instances these are unnecessary, but if you do want to have refreshments part way through it's better coordinate a break with you "Gyoji" than to offer drinks as a background activity. Fortunately, having the party table laid up ready doesn't ever seem to act a distraction.
- Chairs aren't needed - It is an important for safe Sumo that the area around the mat is clear of chairs. The children will be seated on the floor at the side of the mat supporting their team.
- Don't encourage the birthday girl or boy to pick teams. Your "Gyoji" will sort out the teams by height so that everyone has the best chance of a good fight.
- Sitting down - Your "Gyoji" is skilled at 'crowd control' but he is only one man in the midst of a dozen exited children. He will make a big deal about getting the children to sit down at the side of the mat whilst a fight is in progress. When the children keep this discipline he can spend more time on running the fights than on herding kids, resulting in more goes all round. Towards the end of the 90 minute session the attention of the children will start to wonder and the rule will be relaxed in response. Younger children will start to run around at this stage which is quite natural. Even for 7 and 8 year olds we would normally expect to keep them all engaged for at least the first 75 minutes.
Q. How early should I book?
A. We could say 'as early as possible' but that's not the answer you're looking for. Two months ahead would be a good policy. But never assume that you've left it too late. We have taken a booking at 20 hours notice before now and are looking to better that.
Q. Did I hear right? You do fire-breathing too!
A. That's right, for an additional charge your "Gyoji" (referee) will perform a brief fire-breathing display at the end of your event. But let's be clear about this; its fire-breathing, not fire-eating (that would be dangerous). OK, its not really Japanese but its a trick that Martin picked up during his days as a rock singer (at open-air concerts you need to be seen from the back!) Unfortunately due to the sensitivity of modern fire-detection equipment this can only be arranged it the venue allows or at out-door events (weather permitting).
Q. Can you help me with invitations?
A. Funny you should ask. We have designed a image that you can use as a template to add your own invitation details to. How easy is that? All the details are on the invitations page.
Q. Can you help me out with party bags?
A. We don't supply coventional party bags, but we can suggest our high quality Sumo Experience Souvenir T-Shirts as an alternative. All the details are on our Party Bags page.
Q. Can I drink and Sumo?
A. No. Or at least not at the same time. The
Sumo must come first as there are safety and public liability issues.
Please read the safety page carefully
for further details.
Q. Which suits are right for me?
A. We have both adult and junior suits that cover
all ages from approximately 7 upwards, but dependant primarily on the
height of the combatants. See 'the
suits' page for further details. We have observed that (...how should
we say this...) those who have started to develop the attributes of
a real Rikishi (Sumo wrestler) may find the suits too tight a fit.
Q. I could hire the suits myself, so what are the extras you offer?
A. Good question. You can hire similar equipment from other companies who will drop it on your lawn like they would a bouncy castle. Sumo Experience is so much more than a hire company. With us you get:
- the `Gyoji' - the host and master of ceremonies, referee and purveyor of fun
- the ceremony - the `gyoji` comes in full regalia, kimono and hat.
- participation - with the traditions of salt throwing, parading and stomping as well as wearing your souvenir team bandana
- keeping the score - on a large whiteboard
- sound effects - from a gong, japanese mood music and a megaphone (if needed!)
- mood - with a few blasts from the smoke machine (venue permitting) and (optional) fire breathing display
- safety - the supervision for safe fun and self-service first aid if by chance you do get battle scared!
Q. What is not covered in a Sumo Experience event?
A. This clearly can't be an exhaustive list,
but the obvious ones to state are:
- the venue (that is over to you to book or host)
- food and drink
- rain cover (parties run under the sky are subject to whatever falls
out of the sky)
- prizes (currently the only prizes are a sense of triumph and possible
smugness depending on your nature!)
- transport of guests to or from the event
 Q. What are the future plans for Sumo Experience?
A. There are constant improvements and lots of plans. Since inception we have introduced a Japanese-style bandana for every guest to wear and take away as a Sumo Experience memento, a large gong to accent the ceremonials, a sound track for mood and a smoke machine for where the venue allows. There are also now reviews and
feedback pages where hosts of recent events can let us know how we scored against their expectations. Also a safety assessment document has been compiled and will be reviewed at least quarterly (copies available via the safety page). Our latest offering is an option to have T-shirts in place of traditional party-bags. We eventually plan to produce a fun DVD that can be used as introduction to a Sumo Experience event but will also instruct on safety issues. Much of the footage that we are likely to use is already available on the movies page. We have already trialed projection of real sumo footage onto venue walls. Beyond that we have plans to add lighting as the scale of our operations enable. Watch this space!
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