On This Is My Thing, we are continuing our mission to talk with people about the things they do just for themselves – not because it’s their job and not because it’s a responsibility, just because they love to do it. The stuff you do because it’s your thing.
On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Justin Kizzart about his love of sumo wrestling. Justin discovered the sport about a decade ago while visiting Japan with his then-girlfriend (now wife), who hails from Osaka. Justin had trained in other martial arts in the past, but he unexpectedly fell hard for sumo and it became his primary passion.
Now, ten years later, he runs his own sumo club (Dark Circle Sumo in Austin) and coaches Team USA in international competitions -- and all this is while still working a day job.
We'll hear about how he fell in love with the sport and what it all means to him. This interview was recorded just before Justin and Team USA headed to Thailand for the 2025 World Sumo Championships, and if you stick around until the end, you'll get an update from Justin on how thing went. Don't google it. It's more fun to hear Justin tell you.
This week we're talking with
On this page, you can listen to the on-air version of this story, but if you check out the This Is My Thing podcast feed, you’ll find a longer version of this piece (as well as some older pieces you might have missed or might just want to listen to again).
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Justin Kizzart, sumo wrestling coach, warm-up during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Eri Midorikawa (right) wrestle against Liesel Rickhoff during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Nancy Campos (center) wrestle against Alicia Fishweicher (left) while Justin Kizzart assist on Campos form during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Konner Kane (right) wrestle against Billy Lozano (left) during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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David Moore (left) wreslte against Emmanuel Alvarado (right) during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Billy Lozano (left) wrestle against Konner Kane (right) during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Liesel Rickhoff (left) wrestle against Eri Midorikawa (right) during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Justin Kizzart, sumo wrestling coach, leads the warm-up during practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Emmanuel Alvarado (left) drills with Justin Kizzart, sumo coach (right), during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
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Dark Circle sumo team talk while on break during a sumo wrestling practice at Rising Sun Aikido on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Dark Circle Sumo team holds a formal practice every Sunday at an Aikido studio and a more informal training every Wednesday at Zilker Park. Patricia Lim/KUT News
Patricia Lim / KUT News
We’ve talked to a lot of other people about their things and those stories will be coming in future weeks. We’re working on stories about sumo wrestling, public art distribution, fountain pen collecting, and more! Stay tuned!
And we want to hear from you about the thing you do just because you love it! You’ll find an online form on the main This Is My Thing page where you can tell us about the thing that brings you joy, calms your mind, or feeds your soul in some way.
