Study of the psychomotor abilities of athletes in cyclic sports, martial arts and esports

Abstract

Purpose: to conduct a comparative analysis of psychomotor abilities in athletes of cyclic sports (short track), martial arts (karate, taekwondo) and esports (CS:GO). Materials, participants and methods: The study involved athletes of percussion martial arts (n=10, age 18,9±0,12, candidates for master of sports), elite players of semi-professional CS:GO teams (n=10, age 19,2±0,50), short track speed skaters (n=10, age 19±0,09, masters of sports). The choice reaction time, the frequency of local movements (60-second tapping test), and the reaction time to a change in the size of the object (Size-test) were determined. Research results. Esports athletes have the best reaction time of choice and tapping test compared to other athletes. The wrestlers showed the best reaction to distinguishing the size of an object in the Size-Test. Skaters have high rates of complex reaction time and frequency of movements. The duration of the tapping test has a likely inverse relationship with the frequency of tapping. Conclusions. It was found that esports athletes have a significantly better choice reaction time (p<0,05) than martial arts athletes. The results of short track skaters do not have significant differences with martial arts and esports athletes (p>0.05). The results of the tapping test in terms of the total number of movements and the average number for 5 s in esports athletes tend to be higher compared to short track speed skaters and martial arts athletes. The fastest response time to a change in the size of an object in the Size-test was shown by martial arts athletes, the slowest by short-track skaters. This reflects the trend towards better results of this type of reaction in martial arts athletes compared to short track speed skaters and esports athletes.