Analysis of success in Taekwondo with special reference to five kicks in Taekwondo

Abstract

Few studies have been undertaken in taekwondo game with regard to kicks, especially those kicks which are for head level. Very little work has been carried about that what makes one kick technique more efficient than the other. The present study aims at analysing the potential of selected five kicks with reference to the player's better performance and achievement in taekwondo. For this study, eighty (80) male university level taekwondo players who participated in inter zonal university taekwondo tournaments were randomly selected as subjects. The variables of this study were: (1) reaction time (2) execution time and (3) total time. Three Casio HD cameras (300Hz) were used for recording. A Hybrid II Crash Dummy head (H2D) and neck were instrumented. Five different head kicks which were performed by subjects are round kick, front leg axe kick, clench axe kick, jump spin back kick and jump spin hook kick. These kicks were performed five times in random order by subjects. One ANOVA was used to compare mechanical variables among the five kicks. Pair-wise comparisons were performed using Bonferroni statistics to analyze significant effects of ANOVAS. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The clench axe kick had the highest execution time, followed by the front leg axe kick and the jump spin hook kick, while there were no differences between the jumps spin back kick and the round kick. Lastly, the clench axe kick had the highest total time followed by the front leg axe kick which were also slower than the round kick. No differences were found between the roundkick, the jump spin back kick and jump spin hook kick in total time. All effect sizes were above 0.8. In Taekwondo fast reactions are essential for success in competitions (Vieten et al.2007). The quicker the athletes react, the more time they have to accomplish their strategy (Tsaietal. 2004). Therefore, taekwondo athletes should not use only those techniques that allow them to react fast but also uses those techniques which need least time to reach the opponent (Estevan et al. 2009).