[11] Yavhusishyn was accepted by a Ukrainian national university, but because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he decided to leave his country, first seeking refuge in Germany before coming in Japan in April of the same year, using the friendship he had forged with Arata Yamanaka, Kansai University sumo club captain, an older amateur sumo wrestler with whom Yavhusishyn met at the 2019 World Junior Championships.
[14] Yavhusishyn trained with the sumo clubs of Kansai University and Hōtoku Gakuen High School (Yamanaka's alma mater), despite not having student status.
[9][27][28] At the press conference for jūryō promotions, he admitted to being inspired by his country's results at the 2024 Summer Olympics, adding that he absolutely wanted to avoid showing an embarrassing level of sportsmanship.
[31] Although Aonishiki failed to win the championship, he solidified his chances of being promoted to makuuchi, sumo's top division, for the March tournament.
[32] After the tournament, Aonishiki was perceived by the press as the only European wrestler capable of reaching the top of the sport's hierarchy, despite the performances of his elder Shishi.
Aonishiki does not have a large stature, but he makes up for it with his technical mastery of arm positions,[9] something that sets him apart from other wrestlers of European origin who relied heavily on their size and physical strength.
[16] It was also noted that he possesses excellent stability technique, allowing him to stay low and gain advantage over his opponents by raising their center of gravity.
[35] Since his amateur days, Aonishiki cites that he has been studying the style of wrestlers with the same build as himself, such as his master (the former Aminishiki), and such as former yokozuna Wakanohana Masaru.
[7][36] Thanks to his technical skills, Aonishiki is often seen winning his fights with rare techniques, like the ones he used for the 2025 January tournament: kirikaeshi ('twisting backward knee trip'), okurinage ('rear throw down') or uchimusō ('inner thigh propping twist down').
[15] At the time of his recruitment into the professional world, it was already noted that Aonishiki spoke perfect Japanese, although he didn't understand it when he arrived in Japan.