0000000000768557

AUTHOR

Coral Falco

Development of a Taekwondo Combat Model Based on Markov Analysis

The purpose of the present study was to examine male and female Olympic taekwondo competitors' movement patterns according to their tactical actions by applying a Markov processes analysis. To perform this study, 11,474 actions by male competitors and 12,980 actions by female competitors were compiled and analyzed. The results yielded 32 significant sequences among male competitors and 30 among female competitors. Male competitors demonstrated 11 sequences initiated by an attack, 11 initiated by a counterattack, and 10 initiated by a defensive action. Female competitors demonstrated nine sequences initiated by an attack, 11 initiated by a counterattack, and 10 initiated by a defensive move.…

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Bivariate analysis of taekwondo actions: The effectiveness of techniques and tactics in an Olympic taekwondo championship.

This paper describes the effectiveness of technical-tactical actions performed during a tournament. A total of 14,145 actions of the 2012 London Olympic Games were analysed. Differences emerged in the use of tactics, techniques, zones, legs and guard to score. Regarding tactics, anticipatory counterattacks were the most effective for scoring one and three points. Circular techniques were the most effective for scoring one point, linear to score three points, and spin techniques to score two and four points. Actions to the chest results in a score of one to two points and actions to the head in a score of three to four points. The rear leg was more effective in scoring one, two and four poin…

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Why do female and male taekwondo athletes win the bout? An analysis based on the Olympic weight category and the result of the bout

Combat sports such as taekwondo, where athletes compete against an opponent require control of technique and tactics, as well as knowing the optimal performance of opponents to win the bout. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyse the Olympic competitors (London Olympic Games), according to the weight category (fly, feather, light and heavy) and according to the performance in their fighting (winner vs. loser) in each gender. An observational methodology was used, following a nomothetic, follow-up and multidimensional design of 302 individual performances. The statistical analysis used an ANOVA and T Student test for comparing frequencies. The results obtained indicate signif…

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Influence of the distance in a roundhouse kick's execution time and impact force in Taekwondo.

Taekwondo, originally a Korean martial art, is well known for its kicks. One of the most frequently used kicks in competition is Bandal Chagui or roundhouse kick. Excellence in Taekwondo relies on the ability to make contact with the opponent's trunk or face with enough force in as little time as possible, while at the same time avoiding being hit. Thus, the distance between contestants is an important variable to be taken into consideration. Thirty-one Taekwondo athletes in two different groups (expert and novice, according to experience in competition) took part in this study. The purpose of this study was to examine both impact force and execution time in a Bandal Chagui or roundhouse ki…

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Technical-Tactical Actions Used to Score in Taekwondo: An Analysis of Two Medalists in Two Olympic Championships

Research in taekwondo has traditionally focused on specific aspects athletes' overall technical and tactical skills, while ignoring other important issues such as identifying how successful athletes score points. The aim of the current study was to follow two medalists through two Olympic Championships (2012 and 2016) to discover the effective patterns associated with scoring in taekwondo using an observational methodology. An ad-hoc taekwondo observational tool was used to codify the actions performed by the athletes. An observational descriptive and multivariate analysis of 1,688 actions performed by the athletes was conducted. A lag sequential and polar coordinate analysis was performed …

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Self-efficacy and performance of the roundhouse kick in taekwondo

[ES] El desarrollo de escalas de autoeficacia permite el análisis de las percepciones de los deportistas y el examen de la relación entre dichas percepciones y el rendimiento. El objetivo de este estudio fue (1) desarrollar una escala específica de autoeficacia para una tarea de taekwondo, la patada circular, y (2) analizar el rendimiento deportivo y su relación con los resultados de dos escalas de autoeficacia (específica y general) en función del género de los deportistas. En el estudio participaron 43 taekwondistas (33 hombres y 10 mujeres). Se administraron las escalas de autoeficacia Física (PSE) y Específica (RKSES). Los datos de rendimiento (fuerza de impacto y tiempo total de respue…

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Tactical Aspects of a National University Taekwondo Championship in Relation to Round and Match Outcome

The aims of this study were to analyze tactical behavior (direct attacks and indirect attacks, in addition to anticipatory, simultaneous, and posterior counterattacks) according to competition round and match, and to compare tactics of competitors (winners and nonwinners) in a university taekwondo championship. The analysis included 334 individual performances from 204 athletes over 169 bouts in the National University Championship. A 2-way repeated measure analysis of variance was conducted with “round” (at 3 levels: first, second, and third) as the within-subject factor and match outcome (at 2 levels: winning and nonwinning) as the between-subject factor. The results of this study show th…

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Is It Possible to Predict an Athlete’s Behavior? The Use of Polar Coordinates to Identify Key Patterns in Taekwondo

Elite sport psychologists help athletes develop planned competition strategies from a technical-tactical perspective, through the observation and analysis of previous performances. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavioral patterns used to score points in the 2012 London Olympic Games, by using a mixed observational methodology through a polar coordinate analysis. This analysis is a representation made into four quadrants of the relationships found between focal behavior [i.e., giving score points, (SC)] and conditioned behaviors considered as key factors in taekwondo, occurring before and after the focal behavior (i.e., retrospective/prospective behavior as indicated for each qua…

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Effect of Olympic Weight Category on Performance in the Roundhouse Kick to the Head in Taekwondo

Effect of Olympic Weight Category on Performance in the Roundhouse Kick to the Head in Taekwondo In taekwondo, kick performance is generally measured using impact force and time. This study aimed to analyse performance in the roundhouse kick to the head according to execution distance between and within Olympic weight categories. The participants were 36 male athletes divided into three categories: featherweight (n = 10), welterweight (n = 15) and heavyweight (n = 11). Our results show that taekwondo athletes in all weight categories generate a similar relative impact force. However, the results indicate that weight has a large impact on kick performance, particularly in relation to total r…

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Análisis técnico-táctico en Taekwondo con coordenadas polares a través del software HOISAN

Se lleva a cabo un analisis de coordenadas polares en Taekwondo de las acciones realizadas por los hombres $nalistas y semifinalistas en los Juegos Olimpicos de Londres 2012. Para este analisis, se consideraron como categorias focales las acciones relativas a la efectividad de uno, dos y tres puntos, y como categorias condicionadas variables tecnico-tacticas para establecer las diferentes relaciones entre las diversas categorias relacionadas con el comportamiento tecnico-tactico de los deportistas y la consecucion de punto/s. Los resultados mostraron una relacion, de excitacion en las perspectivas retrospectiva y prospectiva, entre las conductas CAN (Accion de contraataque), CIR (Pierna de …

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Trunk and lower limb muscle activation in linear, circular and spin back kicks

Background and Study Aim: As any martial art, taekwondo can be classified as a specialty that requires high technical skills, such as a fine motor control both in static and dynamic conditions. Practitioners predominantly use kicks with high amplitude in both combat and technique (poomse) modalities. The aim of this study was the knowledge about trunk and lower limb muscle activation according to the type of kick (circular, linear and spin back kick) in the taekwondo technique modality. Material and Methods: Twelve healthy and elite male taekwondo athletes voluntarily participated in this study. Surface electromyography (EMG) during maximal isometric voluntary contractions (MVC) and executi…

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The Effect of Color on the Use of Electronic Body Protectors in Taekwondo Matches

This study investigated the relationship between the color protector and success in taekwondo combats in the qualification championships, when electronic body protectors were used. Moreover, it analyzed the confounding effect of a participant being a top-ranked athlete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, in a sample of 462 matches. Results from the entire sample showed a non-significant relationship between the combat outcome and the winner’s color electronic protector. At the level of the tournament, the results showed a significant relationship between wearing a red electronic protector and winning the combat in the Asian and the European qualification tournaments. For gender and weight ca…

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Perfil de habilidades psicológicas en taekwondistas universitarios y su relación con el éxito en competición

Se presenta el perfil de habilidades psicológicas y su poder predictivo sobre el éxito deportivo en taekwondistas universitarios de competición. Para ello se evaluó una muestra representativa de 89 taekwondistas (50 hombres y 39 mujeres) con edades entre 18 y 34 años (M = 22,2; DT = 3,34) que competían en el Campeonato de España Universitario 2011. Se les administró el Inventario Psicológico de Ejecución Deportiva (IPED) y se tomó como variable de éxito deportivo el número de combates ganados durante el campeonato. Los análisis multivariados mostraron diferencias (p < ,05) en relación al género (los hombres informan de mayor auto-confianza, control atencional y afrontamiento negativo) y rec…

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Design, validation, and testing of an observational tool for technical and tactical analysis in the taekwondo competition at the 2016 Olympic games.

Abstract Observational methodology uses validated observational tools to collect information in sports with multiple variables that interact in the sporting context. Given the importance of data quality for observational tools, the purpose of this study was to design, validate, and test the reliability of a mixed observational instrument combining field formats and category systems for analyzing technical and tactical actions in an Olympic taekwondo (TKD) tournament. The instrument collects information of six criteria and 25 categories of the tactical and technical actions, kicking zone, laterality, kicking leg, guard, and score. A total of 2 374 actions were analyzed from 10 bouts involvin…

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Comparison of lower limb segments kinematics in taekwondo kick. an approach to the proximal to distal motion

Abstract In taekwondo, there is a lack of consensus about how the kick sequence occurs. The aim of this study was to analyse the peak velocity (resultant and value in each plane) of lower limb segments (thigh, shank and foot), and the time to reach this peak velocity in the kicking lower limb during the execution of the roundhouse kick technique. Ten experienced taekwondo athletes (five males and five females; mean age of 25.3 ±5.1 years; mean experience of 12.9 ±5.3 years) participated voluntarily in this study performing consecutive kicking trials to a target located at their sternum height. Measurements for the kinematic analysis were performed using two 3D force plates and an eight came…

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Polar coordinates in Taekwondo

[EN] In observational methodology, inter‐relational behaviors are relevant for coaches and athletes to know which behaviors are dependent or inexistent while others occur.

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Impact force and time analysis influenced by execution distance in a roundhouse kick to the head in taekwondo.

The execution distance is a tactic factor that affects mechanical performance and execution technique in taekwondo. This study analyzes the roundhouse kick to the head by comparing the maximum impact force, execution time, and impact time in 3 distances according to the athletes' competition level. It also analyzes the relationship between impact force and weight in each group. It examines whether the execution distance affects the maximum impact force, execution time, and impact time, in each level group or 2 different competition levels. Participants were 27 male taekwondo players (13 medallists and 14 nonmedallists). The medallists executed the roundhouse kick to the head with greater im…

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Analysis of different key behavioral patterns to score in elite taekwondoists according to the weight category and gender

Traditionally, research in taekwondo has focused on athletes' overall performance considering the entire sample of the tournament or analyzed selected bouts while ignoring behavioral differences of athletes according to their gender and weight category. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the behavioral patterns used to score points in the London Olympic Games according to gender and weight category [fin (FW), feather (FTW), light (LW), and heavy (HW)] of the athletes. A total of 24,940 actions were analyzed by using observational methodology, a mixed method methodology where lag sequential and polar coordinate analysis were applied. Different patterns could be seen in the actions pe…

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Segment coupling and coordination variability analyses of the roundhouse kick in taekwondo relative to the initial stance position.

The initial stance position (ISP) has been observed as a factor affecting the execution technique during taekwondo kicks. In the present study, authors aimed to analyse a roundhouse kick to the chest by measuring movement coordination and the variability of coordination and comparing this across the different ISP (0°, 45° and 90°). Eight experienced taekwondo athletes performed consecutive kicking trials in random order from every of the three relative positions. The execution was divided into three phases (stance, first swing and second swing phase). A motion capture system was used to measure athletes' angular displacement of pelvis and thigh. A modified vector coding technique was used t…

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Tactical Analysis of the Winners' and Non-Winners' Performances in a Taekwondo University Championship

The purpose of this study was to identify tactical characteristics of successful athletes who competed in a National University Championship. Results from the study allow taekwondo coaches and competitors to orient their training towards evidence-based practice to achieve success in competitions. Overall, taekwondo athletes performed more attacks than counterattacks. However, winners performed more counterattacks than non-winners. Moreover, winners performed more anticipatory counterattacks (ANC) and less indirect attacks (INA) than non-winners. Lastly, the order of the performance of the actions for non-winners was by decreasing frequency direct attack (DIA), INA, posterior counterattack …

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Effects of target distance on select biomechanical parameters in taekwondo roundhouse kick.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of target distance on temporal and impact force parameters that are important performance factors in taekwondo kicks. Forty-nine taekwondo athletes (age = 24.5 +/- 5.9 years; mass = 79.9 +/- 10.8 kg) were recruited: 13 male experts, 21 male novices, 8 female experts, and 6 female novices. Impact force, reaction time, and execution time were computed. Three-way repeated measure ANOVAs revealed significant 'distance' effect on impact force, reaction time, and execution time (p = 0.001). Comparisons between distance conditions revealed that taekwondo athletes kicked with higher impact force from short distance (17.6 +/- 7.5 N/kg) than from l…

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Intervención psicológica en un equipo de gimnasia rítmica deportiva : estudio de un caso

We present an intervention programme with a female rhythmic gymnastics team (N =7), with members aged 15 to 21 (M = 18, SD = 2) competing in the senior national category. Fourteen psychological group sessions were conducted between September and December 2011. The motivational climate, approaches to goals, team cohesion, the coach's leadership style and gymnasts' psychological skills were assessed before and after the intervention programme. The results showed reductions in an ego-involving climate and ego-orientation and an increase in a task-involving climate. We found changes in the leadership style of the coach, moving toward an optimal leadership profile. There was a progressive improv…

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