Exploring the Motives of College TAEKWONDO Poomsae Athletes for Participating in the Poomsae Competitions

Abstract

The study was conducted with the aim of exploring the motives of college Taekwondo poomsae athletes for participating in the poomsae competitions. To achieve the goal of the study, closed and open type surveys were conducted on 136 college athletes registered with the Korea Taekwondo Association across the country, and the results of analyzing the data collected through the survey are as follows. First, the first time college Taekwondo poomsae athletes participated in a poomsae competition was, 41.91% when they were in high school, 24.26% in middle school, 20.59% in elementary school, and 13.24% in college. Second, they have participated in poomsae competitions 30 or more times(30.88%), 20 or more times(19.12%), 10 or more times(13.24%), 25 or more(11.76%), five or more times(10.29%), 3 or more times(7.35%). Third, the motivational factors for college Taekwondo poomsae athletes to participate in the poomsae competitions were structured into 36 areas, which are grouped into 8 general areas: personal achievements(196), performance improvement(118), personal growth(100), fun(75), recommendation/environment(72), psychological enhancement(69), ability/relation-ship(52), and no-particular motives(10). Of the 8 general areas, personal achievements were shown at the high-est rate. Based on the results of the research so far, I would like to suggest follow-up research as follows. First, the motivation for university taekwondo poomsae athletes to participate in the competition was only expected to be natural, but there were more factors than winning. If we understand these diverse motivations well, we will be able to conduct strategic research to promote the competition. Second, although the study was conducted only on university poomsae players, it is believed that comparative analysis of the motivation for participation in competitions between ages would be possible if the study was conducted on taekwondo fighters and other age groups. In particular, meaningful research could be done because the sport of poomsae has the special charac-teristics of athletes of all ages, from college students to those in their 60s or older. Third, if research is done to find ways to solve difficulties and difficulties in participating in the competition, rather than the motivation for college taekwondo poomsae athletes, an effective alternative to mid-life or retirement could be made.