do/play sumo (wrestling)

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Barb_D

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Not "play."
 

nouamaneer

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Go used with names of sports ending in ing; Play with team sports and ball sports; do with the rest of sports. So, do sumo and go wrestling.
 

emsr2d2

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Go used with names of sports ending in ing; Play with team sports and ball sports; do with the rest of sports. So, do sumo and go wrestling.

We would not say "go wrestling".

I agree that someone "does sumo wrestling" although it would be much more common to hear "He is a sumo wrestler".
 

tzfujimino

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Thank you, everybody.:-D
I'd like to ask one more question if I may.

Then, would it be safe to say that the same goes to "karate" and "kendo"?
Should we say "do karate/kendo", not "play karate/kendo"?

Karate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kendo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Could it be that "karate", "kendo" and "sumo" are considered as martial arts?
Well, no, "sumo" is a kind of sports, I believe.

Thank you.:-D
 

Chicken Sandwich

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Then, would it be safe to say that the same goes to "karate" and "kendo"?
Should we say "do karate/kendo", not "play karate/kendo"?

Yes.
 

Chicken Sandwich

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Apologies for double posting, but I just realized that I did not address tzfujimino's second question.

Could it be that "karate", "kendo" and "sumo" are considered as martial arts?
Well, no, "sumo" is a kind of sports, I believe.

Yes. Karate, unlike tennis, is not a sport that one plays. So we don't say, "Let's play a game of karate". Someone who practices karate is a karate practitioner or a karateka, not a karate player.

You may find this page helpful.
 

konungursvia

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It's an interesting question, because my Asian students always use this formulation, and we never do, though it's perfectly logical. Why not play karate, rather than practice, do, study, or some other verb? We play piano, which is just as difficult, and not always all that jocular.

Hello.:-D
Which would you prefer to use, "do sumo" or "play sumo"?
Thank you.
Sumo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

SoothingDave

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If he was a regular wrestler, I would not say that he "played wrestling" or "did wrestling." I would say he wrestled.
 
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