Cho! and my response
Discussion
Conrad Young Asked 8 years ago
When my opponents "Cho!" after every point, even fairly lame points, it gets on my nerves. I just find it to be poor sportsmanship, like saying "Thank you" after an opponent misses a serve.
So I just say "Bless you!" or "Gesundheit!" after my opponents "Cho!" which gets a big laugh out of everyone watching.
My question for you: is my response actually worse sportsmanship than the behavior that provoked it?
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi Conrad,
I think it is amusing...
Let's see what others think about it.
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Pasquale Mule Posted 8 years ago
Hi Conrad :), i understand you well. I had the same experience for a big while. It is annoying after your opponent screams for example: CHO! or CHORE! after every point especially bad ones. Try to just ignore his screams as well and if you want to get back at them just do this: Play serious like you always do. However pretend to not be playing serious even though you are. Try not to show your opponent your angers or that your being annoyed by him. Then if you are winning, instead of you being bothered, you will notice that your opponent will be even more bothered. He will think that you are not making much effort to beat him while you actually are beating him. But i want you to know that even if he beats you, there are 2 reasons: Either hes a better player than you or that he has more experience playing as well. However it is Ok to scream if you are in a big tournament making good points. This actually helps your motivation.
Ilia Minkin Posted 8 years ago
I think that keeping calm and not reacting anyhow to those screams works best.
mat huang Posted 8 years ago
In my opinion, if your opponent is saying "CHO" to motivate himself, I think that is perfectly fine unless its overly loud or when they hit a lucky point. But I know some players only do it to frustrate their opponents and I find those players to have very bad sportsmanship :(
Mick Derevnin Posted 8 years ago
I think it depends a lot on where you play. For example, here in Japan, a lot of students are taught to "cho" after hitting a clear winner, or winning a difficult point. Cheering for your teammates and keeping yourself motivated by "choing" is considered the right attitude.
That said, overdoing it can be viewed as poor sportsmanship. As for your reaction to it, I think it's perfectly fine in any non-serious match.
If the "choing" is really bad, there are things you can do to help clear your head. Maybe take a few extra seconds before serving, or spending a few extra seconds getting the ball. Don't overdo it, though!
kathy mckelvey Posted 8 years ago
Most of the chinese players say 'ah ya ' when they make a mistake, So we all mimic them and laugh. Its really funny!! some times our mimic is not appeciated!
Torin Zieboll Posted 8 years ago
I don't usually have a problem with other players saying it, but it irritates me they say "cho!" instead of just saying "Yes!" or something. Mainly because my club is English, I would understand if they were Chinese but really when your English it just makes no sense to me. But if it makes them more confident then I just have to accept that.
Personally I don't say anything at all, I just clench my fist if I win an important point near the end of a match and that's about it.
Mike Deubig Posted 8 years ago
I think it is hilarious when you say, "bless you" after your opponent blurts out "cho"...lol :) When I used to play competitive table tennis in college many years ago, nobody that I played with ever used "cho" when winning a point. I have the World Championships on VHS from many years ago, and I don't recall hearing players using that term. I find it interesting when I played back in my college years and ten years afterward (before I took a long break from the game) the Swedes were mainly the best at that time but nowadays the Chinese are so good in table tennis compared to the rest of the world that people want to talk like them too while playing! lol :)