Cho Man Sou is one of the most outstanding and beloved wushu champions in Macao, China.In 2023 at the 16th World Wushu Championships she won two gold medals, in changquan and gunshu, and a bronze in duilian. She also placed 5th in changquan at the 19th Asian Games that year, and she won a silver medal in changquan at the 2023 World Combat Games in Riyadh. In 2024 Cho Man won a bronze medal in changquan at the 3rd Taolu World Cup -- and a gold medal in duilian. At the 10th Asian Wushu Championships in 2024, on home turf, she won a gold medal in daoshu, silver in changquan, and bronze in gunshu. Earlier in her career she earned a bronze medal in duilian at the 2017 WWC in Kazan and a silver medal in shuangjian at the 15th WWC in Shanghai. In 2016 she won two silver medals at the 1st Taolu World Cup in Fuzhou. In 2015 Cho Man was awarded a Sports Merit Medal by the Macao SAR government, and she has received a Bachelor and a Masters degree in Physical Education at the Macao Polytechnic University.
Wushu Beginnings
Cho Man Sou, 28, hails from Macao, China and grew up with a compelling wushu background. “My mother was a wushu athlete,” she says, “and my brother was obese, so I chose to practice wushu with him. I started to learn wushu at the age of 9. I thought that wushu weapons had many complex movements and it was cool to practice, so I embarked on the path of studying wushu. At the beginning, the popularity and development of wushu in Macao, China was just starting. Not many people participated and the competition was not that strong. However, with the changes of the times, more and more children in Macao, China are participating and competing in wushu, and the overall level has been significantly improved.”
Cho Man recalls, “In the early competitions, it was not all smooth sailing. There were my peers competing in Macao, China and there were also many powerful opponents in the world. I saw different types of players in the arena, which opened my eyes. When I was 15 years old I won my first international medal in the 2012 World Junior Wushu Championships. I felt that it was not easy to get. Even in my early days as a semi-professional athlete, I felt I needed to balance study and training, and concentration and distribution of physical strength were the difficulties in training.”
Changquan, Daoshu, Gunshu – and Duilian
“My specialty is changquan,” Cho Man says, “and the best results and the first international medal in my life are also in changquan, so I pay more attention to this event. Every time I go out to compete, it’s an opportunity to learn and improve. Especially when I was a teenager, going out to compete would make you realize that the world is big and you are not the most special one. Only by constantly observing and learning with an open mind, can one have the opportunity to get better results.”
Changquan may be Cho Man’s first love, but she is also passionate about gunshu and daoshu, and all three disciplines appeal to different senses and sensibilities. She recalls, “When I was a kid, I learned wushu. No matter what events we practiced, changquan was the first priority. I gradually fell in love with changquan during the learning process because I think it is the most important in solid basic skills, so I put a lot of thought into it. I chose daoshu because I like the sound of the weapon when practicing, and I like the lightness and wind of gunshu.”
Cho Man’s versatility in wushu disciplines also led her to duilian, where she has exhibited marked success, including a bronze medal at the 16th World Wushu Championships and a gold medal at the 3rd Taolu World Cup. Cho Man explains the powerful attraction, and the danger: “Although taolu competitions are mainly based on personal practice, the offensive and defensive meanings of wushu can be better reflected in duilian events. I think both personal events and duilian events need to be practiced, so we can better understand the connotations of wushu. In duilian events, I can cooperate with my teammates in practice and struggle together on the battlefield. This process is my most unforgettable and precious memory. The challenge faced is injury in duilian, because it is not my main event, and a slight mistake in cooperation may cause injury.”
International Debut
When she was sixteen, Cho Man won her first adult competition medal, a bronze in daoshu &gunshu combined, at the East Asian Games in Tianjin. Soon after, she would experience her first world championships. She remembers, “The first time I participated in the WWC was the 12th World Wushu Championships held in Malaysia in 2013. I was sixteen years old at the time and was the youngest member of the team. In this age-neutral competition, seeing so many masters, I was inevitably nervous and stressed. In the end, I was the only one who didn't win a medal in the team, and I was a little disappointed. But in this competition, I saw high-level athletes from all over the world, and I also observed and learned different techniques and styles. This competition benefited me a lot, and was a great motivation for me to catch up with athletes from all over the world.”
A Bronze in Kazan – and Motivation
2017 brought another world championships experience in Kazan where Cho Man would win the bronze medal in duilian. “At that time,” she says, “I was competing together with my senior sister Yi Li. In our usual training and practice, my senior sister often gave me good tips on coordination and the key points of my duilian movements, and she never tired of guiding me. In order not to disappoint her and her teachings, I also worked hard to catch up and learn, and also performed a good jianshu duilian in this competition.”
While the medal offered a moment of great pride, Cho Man had a wholistic wushu experience at the event, and became even more motivated. “Seeing my senior brothers and sisters win excellent results in the World Championships,” she says, “I felt proud of them in my heart, and at the same time I hoped that I could further improve my skills and catch up with their pace.”
Shanghai’s Wonderful Silver Surprise
Following Kazan, Cho Man’s world championships success kept growing. The 15th WWC in Shanghai in 2019 would bring about a special and unique triumph that even surprised Cho Man – winning the silver medal in the shuangjian event. She recalls the experience, “When I knew that there were traditional events in the Shanghai World Championships, I decided to participate in the shuangjian event at the suggestion of my coach. Unlike daoshu, jianshu is a more gentle event, and holding two swords is also a big challenge. Driven by curiosity, I decided to try to practice for this event. It was unexpected that I won the silver medal. Although I felt that I played well on the field, the final result was a big surprise for me!”
Cho Man continues, “It was very inspiring to hear the enthusiastic cheers from the audience during and after the game. It was evident that the Chinese people are very enthusiastic about this event. It was my honor to be able to showcase taolu to many people in China.”
Springing to Silver in Riyadh
The Covid-19 pandemic quieted world sports competition for several years, but during that time Cho Man kept training and looking to the future. In 2023, she came back stronger than ever. First she built her momentum by winning a silver medal in changquan at the World Combat Games in Riyadh. “2023 was a very fulfilling year,” she recalls. “All the competitions were concentrated in the second half of the year, and the schedule was very tight. Winning the silver medal at the World Combat Games also laid an important foundation for the World Championships. That year, the choreography, integrity, and fluency of the changquan were all demonstrated in this event, and the judges' affirmation made me more confident to prepare for the next event.”
A Golden Triumph in Fort Worth
But the next big event would truly skyrocket Cho Man to world champion fame, as captivated wushu fans watched her win double gold medals in both changquan and gunshu at the 16th World Wushu Championships in Fort Worth -- as well as a bronze in duilian. With characteristic modesty, Cho Man describes, “When I won the changquan gold medal, my team and I were also very surprised. After all, there are many people in this event, and there are strong teammates and opponents in the same field. The original goal was just to do it well.”
Cho Man says that at the next day's gunshu competition she simply hoped to perform at the training level. “I didn't expect to win the second gold medal,” she says, “which caught me off guard. Then in the duilian event it was the first time to partner with my junior sister who was joining the game, and the results were also very ideal. I happily described the results of the championships with my family after returning to Macao, China and then we went out and ate a big meal to celebrate.”
Reflecting on this WWC, Cho Man says, “I think the success of this competition is all due to the patient teaching of the coaches, the mutual guidance of my teammates, and the government providing opportunities for Macao athletes to go out to training. This way we can communicate with different athletes and try the different training methods, which has enabled me to grow by leaps and bounds in a few years. I am very grateful!”
A Champion on Home Turf
Back on home turf, a few months later Cho Man was competing again at the 2024 Asian Wushu Championships and won a bronze in gunshu, a silver in changquan and a gold in daoshu.
“I think it is a certain advantage to compete in Macao, China” she says. “The competition venue in Macao, China is where we compete mostly every year. We are very familiar with it and don’t need to adapt to the environment. My family, friends and teammates all came to cheer for the Macao athletes, which undoubtedly gave me a boost of confidence. After I won the medals, people came to congratulate me. I feel infinitely honored to represent Macao, China.”
Taolu Cup Experience
Cho Man has competed in two Taolu World Cup competitions. At the 1st Taolu World Cup she competed in daoshu and won silver medals in gunshu and duilian, and in 2024 she won a bronze in changquan and a gold in duilian in Yokohama. “Unlike the World Championships,” Cho Man notes, “the World Cup participants are all the top eight players in each event of the World Championships. Although there are only a few players in each event, the competition is fierce. Therefore, when I go on stage, I just want to do my best and ask myself not to make mistakes. This is the basic requirement I have for myself at that time.”
“A few years later, I competed in the World Cup again, hoping to win a medal. Two strong main players competed in the same group with me. In the end, I defeated two Japanese players and got the bronze medal. Then my old injury reappeared. I held on until the end of the duilian match before I dared to relax. I was satisfied to complete all the events smoothly.”
Wushu Life – Coaches and Training
Cho Man studied Physical Education at the Macao Polytechnic University. “In school,” she says, “I learned a lot of sports theory and training skills, which enabled me to gain knowledge I could use in competition, and it benefited me a lot. My coach is a gold medalist from the 2013 World Wushu Championships. He is my senior and also my teammate. He is both a teacher and a friend. He often gives me tips on training. Whether it is technical analysis or psychological counseling, he does his best to assist me, so that I can reach today's achievements.”
“Before major competitions,” Cho Man elaborates, “our players usually go to China for training, in places such as Guangzhou, Gansu, etc. The training plan is mostly arranged by local coaches, and it is practically arranged according to our competition dates. When we practice in Macao, China our coach adopts an annual training plan, increasing the intensity in the early stage of the game, and making appropriate adjustments in the later stage of the game.”
We asked Cho Man how she sees wushu developing in Macao, China in the next decade. She replies thoughtfully, “Macao wushu will flourish rapidly in the next ten years. First, from the perspective of amateur interest: some sports associations have done a good job in publicity, and usually offer many performances or competitions, and do good promotion. Second, from the perspective of competition: basically all major schools are training wushu talents now, and the teachers and coaches are high-level athletes who have retired in recent years. Athletes will enter wushu schools for further training according to their abilities and gradually improve their special talents. With the education of excellent coaches in many schools, Macao wushu athletes will face talent saturation, and the difficulty of competition in Macao, China will gradually increase. The advantage is that there is sufficient excellent reserve talent, and there will be suitable candidates to represent Macao, China in competitions at any time.”
Lastly, Cho Man adds, “When I learned that wushu could be included in the Youth Olympic Games, I also felt very excited. I also hope that our younger generations can cherish this hard-won opportunity and shine on the field.”
Wushu Challenges and Rewards
We asked Cho Man what is the biggest obstacle or challenge she has had to overcome in her wushu career? She replies, “The biggest challenge, and obstacle, for us athletes is injuries. I was seriously injured twice before two competitions. I was worried that I would not be able to recover in time before the competitions, which caused me a lot of anxiety. I could not keep up with the intensity of training and sometimes I would get injured repeatedly. But my teammates often reminded and urged me to get treatment, and the coach's guidance helped me adjust psychologically.”
And what’s the best part of being a wushu athlete? Cho Man says, “Participating in national and international competitions. I think it is very enjoyable to let the audience watch the results of my training. As long as you stand on the carpet of the competition field, you are the protagonist of this moment. I think what makes me feel accomplished is the recognition of my wushu taolu performances from coaches, judges and audiences. Even if I occasionally don’t get good results, I still have audience fans who come to praise my skills and cheer me up. At that moment, I feel that no matter how much effort I put in, it is worth it.”
“Since my mother was also a former wushu athlete,” Cho Man adds, “my family has always been very supportive of my participation in this sport. Sometimes I would discuss technical moves with my mother and we would delve into them together to improve my own performance capabilities.”
Looking Ahead
“In addition to wushu training,” Cho Man says, “I am also a part-time wushu teacher. When it does not impact my training schedule, I will use my spare time to teach children so that they can learn more basic knowledge and skills of wushu, and at the same time, I can also train my wushu teaching level.”
Cho Man also looks ahead to helping promote wushu in Macao, China. “I very much want to support the development of wushu in Macao, China including organizing communication activities, community activities, school cooperation, etc., which can promote our country's traditional culture and let more people have a deeper understanding of wushu.”
Wushu Legacy
“I have been practicing wushu for almost 20 years,” says Cho Man. “Whether it is the choice of subject, the number of years of training, or the future direction, ‘wushu’ almost occupies my entire daily life, but I don't regret choosing this path. And wushu has also added a lot of color to my life.”
She concludes, “I hope my wushu will offer new breakthroughs in the future, interpret the offensive and defensive meanings of wushu well, and continue the practice of the original characteristics and traditions of wushu taolu. I hope ten years later, someone will still remember my name and think of my special technical training methods.”
