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Mahama ‘Cho Time’ Cho: Nice Guy with a Hit List
September 2017 – In a sport known for its nice-guy players, Mahama Cho is one of the nicest. And yet, he maintains a “hit list” of targets that he wants to “cross out" and his current “hit list” is not his first.
His family emigrated from Cote d’Ivoire to Great Britain when Cho was eight. The youngster, with little understanding of the language or culture of his new home, found himself the victims of bullies at school. His father had been a fighter back home in the heavyweight category, and at first did not want to teach his son taekwondo for fear he would take bloody revenge.
“I am not going to lie,” Cho, now 28, revealed. “I did have a hit list that I wanted to cross out!” Still, his father relented and began coaching his son in the way of foot and fist. “As soon as my father taught me what taekwondo was about, it changed my thinking,” he said. “It taught me how to defuse situations, how to be in control.” He adds, “I don’t get bullied now!”
After earning his early competitive spurs in the British game, he crossed the Channel and fought for two years for Team France, racking up a range of victories across Europe, but failed to get French nationality. Having accrued significant competitive experience, he returned to GB with renewed vigor and joined the home team in 2012. Now a mainstay of Team GB, the heavyweight added his victory in Rabat to a list of achievements that includes silver at the Muju 2017 World Championships and gold at the inaugural 2014 Manchester Grand Prix.
As Team GB’s top male heavyweight, he understands respect – not just how to offer it, but also how to command it. “I remember when I first came in; GB was not a team that struck fear, people were happy to fight us. Today can you say that? No!” he said. “No GB athlete is going to be easy, we are here to stamp a statement: ‘If you fight us, you’d better bring your A Game!’”
His brings us back to Cho’s current “hit list” – a list comprising those fighters who have beaten him, but who he has not yet beaten. His win in Rabat qualifies him for the upcoming Grand Slam Champions Series, which will offer the biggest prize money in taekwondo history. It will also offer him an opportunity for revenge. “I am excited to get an opportunity to rectify unfinished business,” he said. “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” Topping his list are Rio 2016’s gold and silver medalists: the towering duo of Azerbaijan’s Radik Isaev and Niger’s Abdoul Razak Issoufou Alfaga.
Why do you do taekwondo? “When you come here and see all the athletes you can smell the adrenalin, can see the fear in the eyes, and when they go out, but when it is over you see the family, the togetherness, and the sportsmanship. It is the most respectful sports out there, nothing else is close, and I value it a lot. It makes you understand the value of life.”
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