Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

TENNIS

Sharapova rebuffs questions on her screaming

Sports Jan. 26, 2012 - 06:38AM JST ( 9 )

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9 Comments

-3

tmarieJan. 26, 2012 - 10:11AM JST

I don't get it. Name me one other non-contact sport where people grunt? None that I can think of.
2

ElvensilvanJan. 26, 2012 - 10:26AM JST

I guess it's just a part of their training ... and they just got used to it. For me, the way to reduce loud squeals and shouts should start when the players are still trying to hit the ball for the first time.
1

yaguraJan. 26, 2012 - 02:58PM JST

tmarieJAN. 26, 2012 - 10:11AM JST I don't get it. Name me one other non-contact sport where people grunt? None that I can think of.

Ping pong. Quite a few of the famous Japanese players ( most notably Ai Fukuhara) do let out a "Saaaaaaaaa" at key points during a match. Marital artists also let out *kiais * during their katas. These might not be as loud or as prolonged as the grunts of Ms. Sharapova, but I think the basic idea is pretty much the same: psych yourself up, find a comfort zone and self focus. Probably being done more subconsciously than consciously and the result of years and years of practicing a certain way.

There's a certain degree a gamesmanship involved, sorta like trash talking, but if you're a pro athlete and you let something like this bother you, then you're probably not gonna be very successful until you learn to block it out.

I used to play lots of tournament chess and shogi. Although most people don't grunt or shout, you'd occasionally come across a few who would like to slurp really loud every time they took a sip, or sigh/sneeze/cough/blow their nose, etc. constantly during a game. Had one shogi player (who wasn't my even opponent, but was playing somebody else on the board next to me) who was for some reason so amused by my last name that he decided to hum it non-stop throughout his game. Luckily he wasn't very good so his game didn't last very long. Ha, ha, ha.

Lots of non-verbal stuff (twitching, shifting, tapping, constantly adjusting pieces, squeezing of the forehead, scratching, etc., etc.) too. One chess player I knew used to like to eat Big Macs during important games. He said it helped him relax and concentrate. Also, probably helped because he would eat it piece by piece with his fingers, starting at the top bun and then working his way down through the patties and secret sauce to the bottom bun. This was probably not very relaxing for his opponents though. Pretty gross. :D

This is all part of the game and you just gotta learn to block it out. Also, it's just part of the experience of seeing a professional sporting event in person or watching it on TV, at least that's how I look at it.
2

marcelsJan. 26, 2012 - 04:08PM JST

@tmarie Tennis is a sport in which the spectators have to be quiet and still during when the points are being played, therefore the only noise you hear are the players releasing their inner exursions...The point is, I,m sure many of the athletes in the category of "non contact sports" grunt or say something, but is muffled out by the crowd and or spectators...
0

soldaveJan. 26, 2012 - 04:25PM JST

marcels - I don't watch it so much, but I haven't noticed the crowd muffling out the "Saaaaaaaaa"s of Fukuhara when she plays. Think they're relatively quiet too.
0

shirokuma2011Jan. 26, 2012 - 05:38PM JST

They can do what they want, I suppose, or what their bodies tell them to do. I'm sure that it's not entirely an unconscious thing, but I don't find the "grunting" (they're more like real screams in some cases) all that annoying. Still, it makes the matches a little embarrassing to watch, at least on TV.
-3

tmarieJan. 26, 2012 - 06:41PM JST

Ai lets out a yell for a point made. This chick just grunts ALL the time - even for easy shots.
1

JohnBeckerJan. 27, 2012 - 02:38AM JST

I watched a bit of the Sharapova match. She has gotten much worse than she used to be. It used to be annoying, now it's alarming - it sounds like she being violated. Repeatedly. I had to turn it off.
1

biculturalJan. 27, 2012 - 06:48PM JST

How about the hammer throw or javelin? In sports it is common knowledge that exhaling forcefully helps one exert more power. I find Sharapova's grunting to be annoying, but if it helps her game then I see no problem with it.