Youth Taekwondo Research Articles

A Case Study on Excavation and Teaching Method for Youth Taekwondo Athletes

A Case Study on Excavation and Teaching Method for Youth Taekwondo Athletes

Weight Loss Practices Of Youth Taekwondo Athletes

Taekwondo athletes traditionally compete at the lowest weight class possible in order to gain a competitive advantage. To be eligible in lighter weight classes, competitors use a combination of potentially harmful weight loss practices, which may adversely affect one’s physical and mental health. PURPOSE: The present study examined the weight loss practices of youth Taekwondo athletes. METHODS: Participants were 280 Taekwondo competitors aged 12 to 18 yrs (116 boys; mean age ± SD 15.4 ± 1.6 yr) who completed a previously validated questionnaire developed to evaluate rapid weight loss in combat sports athletes, which provides a score. The higher the score obtained by the competitor, the more aggressive his/her weight management strategies tend to be. Frequency and summary statistics were calculated on all variables. To compare the overall magnitude of weight management behaviours between boys and girls, a Mann-Whitney U Test was conducted with the scores obtained by both genders. A general linear model one-way ANOVA with Tamhane post hoc test for unequal variances was used to compare the scores obtained by the three following groups: regional-, national-, and international-level competitors. The same procedure was used to compare scores between athletes from different weight classes (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of youth Taekwondo athletes reported that have already lost weight to compete. Most of them reported reductions of up to 5% of body weight (mean ± SD 2.2 ± 1.9%). The reductions usually occurred within 8 ± 4 d. Increased exercise and restricted food and/or fluids and training with plastic or rubberized suits, were cited as the most common rapid weight loss strategies. One-third of the athletes reported they took diet pills, diuretics, and/or laxatives to lose weight. No significant differences were found in the score obtained by male versus female as well as by athletes from different weight classes. International- and national-level athletes scored significantly higher in the questionnaire than regional-level athletes (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that rapid weight loss is highly prevalent in youth Taekwondo athletes. The level of aggressiveness in weight management behaviors seems to be influenced by the competitive level.

The development of anger management program based on acceptance and commitment therapy for youth taekwondo players.

This study aimed to develop an intervention program based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for youth taekwondo players. Eight sessions of the ACT program were provided to nine youth taekwondo players. The content analysis was conducted for the activities, activity sheets, assignments, and program evaluations. First of all, the results showed that the ACT program changed the participants’ diverse psychological inflexibility a flexible and value-oriented state, which was supported by their positive mood changes after each session. Secondly, ‘walking meditation,’ ‘a bus driver and a passenger role play,’ and ‘writing a letter to the self’ were positively evaluated according to the analysis on the feedbacks and evaluations on each session and activity. Lastly, overall evaluation on the ACT program indicated that there were changes in a positive attitude, thoughts, and feelings (anger and irritation) toward taekwondo. The most memorable activities were ‘eating meditation,’ ‘breath-counting meditation,’ and ‘welcoming the beggar’ exercise. These results suggest that an intervention program based on the ACT may have a positive impact on anger management for youth.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF TAEKWONDO INJURIES: 1-YEAR PROSPECTIVE STUDY

BackgroundTaekwondo black belt population of Korea is among nation's best. However, there is no well-organized injury surveillance system (ISS) in Korea.ObjectiveTo analyse epidemiological data of youth Taekwondo injury to compare...

Causal Relationships among Attitude·Awareness Change, Self-Regulation, Interpersonal Relationship in Youth Taekwondo Participants

Causal Relationships among Attitude·Awareness Change, Self-Regulation, Interpersonal Relationship in Youth Taekwondo Participants

Psychological antecedents of youth versus adult participation: An examination based on the Sport Commitment Model

This study examined adult and youth Taekwondo (TKD) participants utilizing the Sport Commitment Model (SCM). In addition to direct effects predicting commitment, indirect effects of enjoyment as a mediating variable were examined. TKD participants (adult, n = 204; youth, n = 227) from four studios completed a questionnaire that included SCM variables (commitment, enjoyment, involvement alternatives, involvement opportunities, personal investments, social constraints, and social support). Structural equation modeling analysis compared age groups to assess similarities and differences. Similarities between age groups included involvement opportunities and personal investments being significant predictors of commitment while involvement alternatives were a significant detractor of commitment. Analysis of differences found that the social variables (i.e., social constraints and support) and enjoyment were significant predictors for youth only. This was the first study examining the SCM with both youth and adults participating in the same sport activity. Findings are discussed relative to theoretical and practical implications.

Technical-Tactical Analysis of Youth Olympic Taekwondo Combat

The purpose of this study was to define the technical and tactical profiles of official youth taekwondo competitions played under the most recent rules of the International Taekwondo Federation. Tactical actions (i.e., attack, defense, and block), technical executions (from 1- to 4-point scores), kicking legs (i.e., front/rear and right/left), and overall technical effectiveness were investigated in relation to match outcome of semifinal and final competitions (n = 50) of youth (aged 13-14 years) black belt athletes during the Italian Taekwondo Cadet Championship. Differences (p < 0.001) were found among all action typologies (Attack: 50.9 ± 2.2%; Defense: 27.7 ± 1.5%; Block: 21.3 ± 1.6%), with winners showing fewer (p = 0.005) offensive actions and more (p = 0.001) defensive actions with respect to non-winners. Independently from match outcome, technical exchanges showed differences (p < 0.001) for technical executions. Winners resulted more efficient (p < 0.001) for both technical and tactical variables. In general, these findings showed that Cadets tend to adopt an offensive strategy. In considering that the adoption of the new electronic system requires athletes to execute correct technical actions to have a score assigned, coaches should emphasize the effectiveness of scoring techniques and help athletes to effectively improve their defense and counterattack capabilities.

Competitive training load: could it be excessive in pre- adolescent taekwondo athletes?

The assessment of internal training load (ITL) using the session rate of per- ceived exertion (Session-RPE) has been already experienced in youth Taekwondo (Haddad et al., 2014). Nevertheless, no studies investigated the reliability of this method in pre-adolescent performing pre-competitive (PC; learning aim) and com- petitive (C; successful aim) training. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the reliabil- ity of the Session-RPE (CR-10 scale; Foster et al., 1996) to monitor the ITL of youth taekwondo athletes during PC and C training sessions. Five female (age:12.0± 0.7y; height:1.54±0.08m; body mass:48.8±7.3kg) and four male (age:12.0±0.8yrs; stature:1.55±0.07m; body mass:47.3±5.3kg) pre-adolescent taekwondo athletes were monitored during 17 training sessions (100 individuals training sessions) within 35-days. The summated heart rate zone method (Edwards et al., 1993) was used as a reference measure of ITL; the CR-10 scale was administrated immediately (1stmin) and 30 minutes (30thmin) after training session. The values of Edwards’ and Session- RPE method were regressed (P≤0.05). Higher values emerged for PC (1stmin: r=0.67, R2=0.45, P<0.001; 30thmin: r=0.70, R2=0.48, P<0.001) than C (1stmin: r=0.52, R2=0.27, P<0.001; 30thmin: r=0.50, R2=0.25, P<0.001) level, highlighting that only youth female (r=0.74, R2=0.55, P<0.001) and male (r=0.71, R2=0.51, P=0.007) taekwondo athletes performing PC training sessions, and evaluating their ITL at the 30thmin, were able to report substantial (i.e., r≥0.70) correlations. Therefore, in line with the literature (Fos- ter et al., 1996), only the 30thmin RPE evaluation confirmed to be able to guarantee an optimal consideration of the whole session. Moreover, the unsatisfactory C reliability suggests that the related training load could be excessive with respect to the pre-ado- lescent taekwondo athletes’ skills.

Comparison of Children and Youth Taekwondo Injuries Via Sport Medicine Federation Injury Surveillance System in Iran, 2009-2010

The present study purposed to compare the sport injuries of child and youth taekwondo athletes via the data of Sport Medicine Federation Injury Surveillance System of Iran in 2009 and 2010. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the data for children and youth taekwondo athletes presented to the injury surveillance system in two years. Mann-Whitney U test was used with the significance level of p < 0.05. In two years of 2009-2010, from 2026 injured children and youth athletes, 2258 injuries were reported. There was a significant difference between children and youth injuries (p = 0.002). Boys’ and girls’ (p = 0.012), and men's and women's (p = 0.001) injuries were significantly different. Children, especially boys (49.3%), incurred most of injuries in upper extremity. Wrist in children and knee in youth were the most common body parts injured. As a result, youth sustained significantly more injuries than children. Level of activity, more intense training and competition and increased body weight and strength in youth may make them more susceptible to injury relative to chi ldren. In conclusion, upper extremity in children and lower extremity in youth need to be in priority of preventive measures.

Technical and Tactical Analysis of Youth Taekwondo Performance

This study aimed to analyze the technical and tactical aspects of young athletes during official taekwondo competitions. Fifty-nine youth taekwondo athletes (43 boys and 16 girls; age range: 10-12 years; weight category range: <24 to >59 kg) with at least 2 years of taekwondo training consisting of three 90-minute training sessions for 3 d·wk⁻¹ participated in this study. Thirty-seven matches (three 1-minute rounds, with 1-minute rest in between) were analyzed to verify the differences (p ≤ 0.05) in offensive and defensive actions in relation to gender (male, female), match outcome (winners, nonwinners), kicking leg (front, rear), and round (first, second, third). No difference emerged for gender and match outcome. With respect to defensive actions (8.4 ± 12.0%), youth athletes engaged more frequently (p < 0.0001) in offensive actions (91.6 ± 12.0%), which showed a significant decrease (p < 0.016) from the first round (42.3 ± 21.8%) to the second (33.1 ± 14.8%) and third (24.5 ± 16.0%) ones. Kicks performed with the rear leg (94.4 ± 7.8%) occurred more frequently (p < 0.0001) than those performed with the front leg (5.6 ± 7.8%). In considering that a high level of coordination is required to perform front-leg kicks and defensive actions necessitate a high level of tactical skills, these findings might indicate a not-yet complete attainment of fundamental coordinative capabilities in 10- to 12-year-old athletes, independently of match outcome. To enhance coordination capabilities in youth athletes, coaches are recommended to structure their training including skill-ability and sport-ability drills.

Effects of official youth taekwondo competitions on jump and strength performance

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in athletes’ (7 females, 10 males) motor performances (countermovement jump and handgrip) before and after official youth (13–14 years) taekwondo matches. Exercise load was evaluated by means of the heart rate responses during the match. Independent of round and gender, during the competitions mean heart rate was 187 beats·min−1 (s=11). During the match, the frequency of heart rate responses above 85% of an individual's maximum heart rate was 77% (s=27). Jump performances showed differences for gender (P=0.044; ES = 0.47) and its interaction with session (P=0.045; ES = 0.49). Female athletes’ post-match countermovement performances were no different from their pre-match performances (pre and post: 22 cm, s=2), whereas male athletes post-match performances (28 cm, s=6) were better than their pre-match performances (25 cm, s=6). Handgrip performances related to the body mass of the athletes showed main effects for session (P=0.017; ES = 0.20) and for gender (P=0.026; ES = 0.47), with no significant interaction. Male athletes showed higher handgrip values (5.8 N·kg−1, s=0.6) than their female counterparts (5.1 N·kg−1, s=0.7). For absolute grip strength performances, values were higher pre-match (290.3 N, s=61.4) than post-match (272.4 N, s = 58.3). The heart rate responses indicate that official youth taekwondo competition imposes a high load on athletes. In particular, post-match decreases in isometric grip strength suggest that coaches should better prepare their very young athletes to prevent reductions in muscle force during fighting. Considering that lower limb power remained unaffected or increased depending on gender, further research in this area is strongly recommended.

Stress‐related hormonal and psychological changes to official youth Taekwondo competitions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an official Taekwondo competition on the heart rate (HR), salivary α-amylase (sA-A), salivary free cortisol (sC), and Profile of Mood States (POMS) in 10 young male (14±0 years) and six female (13±1 years) athletes. POMS and hormones were measured 15 min before and directly after the competition. During the recovery phase (30 and 90 min), sA-A and sC were also measured. HR measured during the competition was expressed as a percentage of individual's maximal heart rate (%HR(max) ) to evaluate the intensity of exercise. During the competition, athletes spent 65% of the time working at HR>90% of individuals HR(max). A significant increase (P<0.0001) in sA-A (115%) was observed at the end of the match. At 30 min of recovery, sA-A returned to the pre-competition level. The peak sC values were observed at 30 min of recovery (P<0.001), returning to the pre-competition level at 90 min of recovery. A gender difference (P=0.01) emerged only for sC, although a similar trend was observed for female and male athletes. Significantly higher post-match scores emerged for Anger-hostility (pre: 6.1±1.1, post: 11.2±1.9; P=0.03) and Depression-dejection (pre: 4.5±0.5, post: 10.2±1.9; P=0.006), whereas the reverse picture was observed for Vigour-activity (pre: 23.2±1.2, post: 16.3±1.7; P=0.0006). Taekwondo competition results in temporary changes in the stress-related parameters measured in this study. The present findings suggest that this experimental paradigm can represent a useful model for further research on the effects of various stressors (i.e., training and competition) in Taekwondo athletes of different levels (i.e., novice, international).

태권도 선수들이 지각하는 코치 관계가 심리적 욕구에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to know the relationships between coach-athlete relationships and psychological needs in Taekwondo athletes. The subjects were 287 youth Taekwondo athletes who were registered and participated in Korea Taekwondo association. The results from this study were as follows. First, as for the coach-athlete relationships, there were differences in commitments, closeness and complementary in male youth athletes, while high experienced group recognized 3 mentioned factors higher than low experienced group. Second, regarding differences of psychological needs, high experienced group had higher tendency of recognizing the relatedness than low experienced group. Third, concerning the relationships between coach-athlete relationships and psychological needs, coach-athlete factors related to psychological needs were complementary and commitment. Another coach-athlete factors related to autonomy were commitment and complementary. Lastly, coach-athlete factors related to competence were commitment. Conclusionally, this research implied that coaches need to have commitment and complimentary attitude toward their athletes so that coaches can help their athletes` psychological needs.