 He was known for not offering a defeated opponent a hand to get back to their feet, and was also notoriously monosyllabic when being interviewed by reporters.His best year was 1978, when he won 5 of the 6 tournaments and won 82 out of a possible 90 bouts, a record that stood until 2005.His chief rival during these years was Wajima, but Kitanoumi was much more consistent.