M.S. Terzi, associate professor, Ph.D.
D.A. Saraykin, associate professor, Ph.D.
V.I. Pavlova, professor, Dr.Biol.
J.G. Kamskova, professor, Dr.Med.
Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk

Keywords: psychophysiological determinants, sports skills, taekwondo.

Introduction. Sports skills of combatants are characterized by a harmonious unity of all the components of athlete’s optimal readiness for maximal achievements: physical, functional, psychological and emotional, technical and tactical [5, 6]. The effectiveness of the integrated interaction of the components of sports skills of combatants is provided primarily by psychophysiological mechanisms [2]. After all, the specificity of combat sports (taekwondo, boxing, kickboxing, karate, etc.) is the psychomotor complexity of the training and competitive activities of athletes in the conflict and extreme fight conditions, which determines the relevance of studying the psychophysiological elements-determinants of sports skills of combatants in the dynamics of their skills’ growth [7].

Taekwondo is characterized by a complex interaction of physical and psychological factors, mental and motor technical and tactical complexity, high psycho-emotional stressfulness of the activity of changing physical development and life support functions [7, 8]. Taekwondo is characterized by extremality of not only competitive, but also training situations, especially during free-fights and sparring, that are related with considerable mental loads. Analysis of sports activities of taekwondokas of various qualifications shows [5, 6] that in his training and competitive activities a taekwondoka has to constantly and quickly process large volumes of all kinds of information (opponent’s actions, fight situation, distance assessment, strikes direction, nature of opponent’s actions, etc.), which places increased demands on their psychophysiological state.  

The purpose of the study is to define the psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of combatants (case study of taekwondo) within the dynamics of the growth of their sports skills.

Methods and organization of the study

In order to find out the views of trainers of the Chelyabinsk Regional Taekwondo Federation with regards to the leading psychophysiological determinants stipulating sports skills and manifested in the psychomotor characteristics of skilled taekwondokas, a questionnaire survey of 40 highly skilled trainers was conducted, among them: 2 Honored Trainers of Russia, 15 advanced practice trainers and 23 trainers of the 1^st category. The average training experience of the respondents was 16 years. The trainers were asked to distribute the psychomotor characteristics assigning them places within the ranking system from 1 to 5.

Psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of combatants were studied by us during the pre-season by means of a range of tests that included the following psychophysiological research methods:

•  complex visual-motor reaction time (CVMR) [4];
•  tapping test results (E.P. Il'in's technique) [2];
•  the indicators of anticipatory response to a moving object (N.S. Leites’s technique) [1];
•  characteristics of quasi-steady potential (QSP) of the cerebral cortex [3];
•  parameters of the video-electroencephalographic monitoring of the bioelectric brain activity (video-EEG) [9].

The research was conducted at the premises of the laboratory of Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University: «Adaptation of athletes’ body to physical loads of varying intensity”, as well as in the office of the video-EEG monitoring in the Municipal Health Care Institution “Children’s Clinical Hospital №8”. Taekwondo combatants of the Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve “Koryo” of Chelyabinsk were examined. The athletes were divided into three qualification categories (according to their ranks and sports titles): underskilled athletes (junior degrees 1, 2, 3) – 15 people (control group); semiskilled athletes (senior degrees 1, 2, 3) – 16 people (experimental group-1); highly skilled athletes (Candidates for Master of Sports and Masters of Sports) – 11 people (experimental group-2).

Results and discussion

Results of the questionnaire survey of the trainers are presented in Table 1. The table shows that the trainers arranged the leading psychophysiological determinants of taekwondokas in the following sequence: 1) the indices of anticipatory response to a moving object (ARMO); 2) complex visual-motor reaction time (CVMR); 3) tapping test; 4) characteristics of quasi-steady potential (QSP) of the cerebral cortex; 5) video-EEG.

Table 1. Leading psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of taekwondokas

The results of the study of psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of taekwondokas of various skill levels are presented in Table 2. According to the trainers surveyed, anticipatory response to a moving object (ARMO) is the leading psychophysiological characteristic that determines sports skills of combatants (35.5%). The reaction of anticipation (prediction) is based on the athlete’s ability to do probabilistic forecasting of his opponent’s actions. For example, in case of close and medium distances it takes less time to strike than to defend. Therefore the combatant’s attention should be focused on the perception of not the action itself, but the movements performed to prepare for it. Reaction to a moving object is usually regarded as a complex spatial-temporal reflex and used as a psychophysiological test to determine the level of relations between the excitation and inhibition processes in the cerebral cortex, both in a state of relative rest and during exercise [4]. In the dynamics of growth of sports skills of taekwondokas we can see a fairly significant (р≤0.05) improvement in the results of the anticipatory response to a moving object of semiskilled taekwondokas by 5.2%, from 44.2±0.79 msec to 41.9±0.63 msec, along with a significant 15.2% (р ≤ 0.01) improvement (from 44.2±0.79 msec to 37.5±0.82 msec) in case of highly skilled taekwondokas compared to underskilled athletes, indicating the increased ability of combatants to anticipate the time of change in the spatial position of the stimulus and to correlate it with the sensory regulation processes of their movement.

Complex visual-motor reaction time was the second most important psychophysiological determinant of sports skills of combatants according to the trainers (25.8%). Complex visual-motor reaction is a response action to a sudden onset of one or more attacks of the opponent. Basing on the CVMR indicators one can get information about the functional state of the visual and motor sensory systems, as well as the central nervous system. The complex visual-motor reaction time is improved in the training process through a gradual increase in the number of possible sudden signals and response actions. In a combat athletes often have to switch from one active action to another, for example, from offense to defense, from maneuvering to offensive and counterattacking actions [4].

Table 2. Psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of taekwondokas in their skill level growth dynamics

Note: msec – milliseconds; mV – millivolt; ARMO – anticipatory response to a moving object; СVMR - complex visual-motor reaction; QSP - quasi-steady potential; EEG – electroencephalogram.

* – (р≤0.05) – significance of differences compared with the group of underskilled athletes; ** – (р≤0.01) – significance of differences compared with the group of underskilled athletes.

In the growth dynamics of sports skills of taekwondokas we can see a significant improvement in the complex visual-motor reaction indices. For example, in the group of semiskilled taekwondokas a fairly significant (р≤0.05) improvement of CVMR in comparison with the group of underskilled taekwondokas amounted to 5.3%, from 278.5±2.11 msec to 263.8±2.34 msec, whereas in the group of highly skilled taekwondokas the improvement of the CVMR indices was 9.4%, (р≤0.01), from 278.5±2.11 msec to 252.3±3.91 msec, as compared with the group of underskilled taekwondokas, indicating an enhancement in the psychophysiological processes in the body. The balance of the excitation and inhibition processes conditions high precision of technical and tactical actions of combatants.

Tapping test performance (maximum motion rate per 60 seconds) (17.3%) was the third psychophysiological determinant of sports skills of combatants according to the trainers. Characteristic dynamic changes are defined and implemented in speed characteristics when performing motor actions. Due to these characteristics the key moments of major muscular efforts and relaxation are purposefully ordered and interconnected in the person’s movements [2].

As seen from the growth dynamics of sports skills of taekwondokas, the tapping test performance improved significantly. For example, in the group of semiskilled taekwondokas the tapping test performance improved fairly significantly, by 5.8%, (р≤0.05) from 401.9±13.27 to 425.2±13.62 points per minute as compared with the group of underskilled taekwondokas, whereas in the group of highly skilled taekwondokas the improvement of the tapping test indices amounted to 11.9% (р≤0.01) (from 401.9±13.27 to 449.8±14.91 points per minute) as compared with the group of underskilled taekwondokas, indicating optimizing changes in the neuromuscular system and the nervous system of the taekwondokas.

The fourth psychophysiological determinant of sports skills of combatants according to the trainers was the characteristics of quasi-steady potential (QSP) of the cerebral cortex of athletes (11.4%). QSP is actually a method of omega-measurement and is an estimate of the energy state of the brain by means of indication, diagnostics and analysis of the constant potential level (omega-potential) of the brain. The level of constant potential is a kind of slow electrical processes, distinguished by their origin, so QSP is used to assess the cerebral energy metabolism [3]. In the growth dynamics of sports skills of taekwondokas a significant improvement was observed in the QSP results. For example, a fairly significant 7.6% (р≤0.05) improvement of QSP results (from 33.1±0.85 to 35.6±0.71 mV) was marked in the group of semiskilled taekwondokas as compared with that of underskilled taekwondokas, whereas in the group of highly skilled taekwondokas a fairly significant (р≤0.01) it amounted to 11.2%, from 33.1±0.85 to 36.8±0.79 mV, as compared with the group of underskilled ones, indicating adaptive changes in the structural and functional state of the cerebral cortex accompanied by positive optimizing changes of psychophysiological reactions occurring not only in neuromuscular and sensorimotor systems, but also in the energy metabolism of the nervous system in general and the brain in particular, and this in its turn determines the physiological activity of the units of the systems facilitating such activities as attention activation, action readiness and intellectual operations.

The video-electroencephalogram indices were the fifth in the list of psychophysiological determinants of sports skills of combatants (10.0%). Many theoretical and methodological approaches to the development of modern efficient technologies of sports training of combatants are conditioned by visual dynamics of the bioelectrical activity of the brain conditioned by an increase of sports skills of combatants. A steady change of the EEG pattern is observed in athletes with different success rates of training technologies [6]. Significant improvement in the video-EEG results is seen in the growth dynamics of sports skills of taekwondokas [9]. For example, along with the combatants’ sports skills improvement the background bioelectrical activity of the brain changes in its nature, resulting in a characteristic increase of the proportion of alpha rhythm amplitude (19.5% - 24.7% - 32.3%), permanence of beta-rhythms (35.9% - 35.8% - 36.1%), and a decrease of the proportion of brain theta-rhythm amplitude (44.6% - 39.5% - 31.6%). In addition, a fairly significant 26.7% (р≤0.01) increase of the alpha rhythm proportion and a significant 11.4% decrease of the theta rhythm proportion were observed in the group of semiskilled taekwondokas as compared with the group of underskilled taekwondokas, whereas in the group of highly skilled taekwondokas a fairly significant, 34.4%, (р≤0.01) improvement of the alpha rhythm proportion and a 29.1% decrease of the theta rhythm proportion were observed as compared with that in the group of underskilled taekwondokas, indicating optimization of regulation mechanisms of cortical-subcortical relations, more stable neurodynamic processes and a notable enhancement in adaptability and plasticity of regulatory mechanisms of the brain of combatants with the growth of their skill level and sports mastery.

Conclusion

Analyzing the dynamics of psychophysiological test results it is possible to clearly trace an improvement of indices that characterize optimizing and economizing adaptive changes in the structure and functions of the nervous, neuromuscular and sensorimotor systems of combatants with the rise of their sports skills level.

Within the growth dynamics of the taekwondokas’ sports skills a fairly significant improvement is observed in the results of the anticipatory response to a moving object of highly skilled taekwondokas as compared to the group of underskilled athletes, indicating an increased ability of the combatants to anticipate the time of changing the spatial position of the stimulus and to coordinate it with the sensory processes of regulation of their movement.

Fairly significant improvement also takes place in the results of the complex visual-motor reaction of the combatants as they improve their sports skills, indicating an enhancement of the psychophysiological processes in the body. A balance of the excitation and inhibition processes creates conditions for high precision of technical and tactical actions of combatants.

As sports skills level of the combatants rises, the bioelectrical activity of the brain improves fairly significantly, indicating optimizing changes of psychophysiological reactions of not only neuromuscular and sensorimotor systems, but also of the energy metabolism of the nervous system in general and the brain in particular, and this in its turn determines the physiological activity of the units of the systems facilitating such types of activity as attention activation, action readiness and intellectual operations. Besides, with the rise of sports skills of the combatants the pattern of background bioelectrical activity of the brain is improved, indicating a reduction of the instability of the neurodynamic processes and a notable enhancement in adaptability and plasticity of regulatory mechanisms of the brain of combatants with the rise of their skill level and sports mastery.

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Corresponding author: saraykind@cspu.ru