Analysis of sport fight structure in taekwondo during the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and Senior World Championships in 2009 in terms of technical skills after regulation ame ndme nts and implementation of the electronic system of score recording

Abstract

introduced only 12 years ago during the Olympics in Sydney in the year 2000. The rules of competitions are continuously modified so as to make the sport fight more transparent and spectacular, both for the spectators and the media. The changes in regulations directly affect the course of sport fights. The cognitive goal of this study is the analysis of the technical structure of sport fight during the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and the Senior World Championships in Copenhagen in 2009 as well as assessment of the technical changes in sport competitions after the implementation of the new scoring regulations and the electronic scoring system using sensors located inside the protectors during Championships. Material and methods. The paper reports the analysis of 56 Olympic tournament fights in Beijing and 56 fights which took place a year later during the Senior World Championships in Copenhagen. 7 fights were investigated (quarter finals, semifinals and the final) in each weight category of the male and female athletes. The study used the method of direct secondary analysis using the observation sheet and the obtained data were subjected to statistic analysis. For the purpose of this study, only the techniques that had turned out advantageous for the competitors in terms of points gained during the fight were recorded; such factors as the fighting technique (attack and counterattack) and the scoring zones of the body and head were considered. Results and Conclusions. The paper describes the structure of contemporary taekwondo fights at the highest, world class level. It also presents the changes in taekwondo fights after the modification of competition rules and the introduction of the electronic scoring system. The reported results enable to determine the direction of changes. The high techniques have recently become far more significant, the diversity of techniques increased as well as the competitors’ activity during fights.