PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Pavlenko²
PhD, Associate Professor O.E. Piskun¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.M. Simakov²
Dr.Hab., Professor S.E. Bakulev²
Dr.Hab., Professor V.A. Chistyakov^1
1Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg
²National State University of Physical Culture, Sport and Health n.a. P.F. Lesgaft, St. Petersburg

Keywords: complementary education, educational path, taekwondo.

Background. As far as the reasons for the high popularity of taekwondo [1, 2] in the complementary physical education system are concerned, they may be due, in our opinion, to a few aspects, and one of the key ones is the accessibility of the local taekwondo groups – normally operable in the same housing district where the school is located and most of the school children leave. In addition, the school training schedules are usually flexible enough to give ample opportunities for the training services being provided in the off-class hours, to the pupils of day-care centres, on an optional basis, on a consulting basis etc. Educational and training process management by a taekwondo trainer in the complementary education system may be described as specific in a few aspects [5] that are mostly due to the complementary education curricula. Furthermore, these specific aspects are dictated by somewhat different requirements of the trainees’ families to the trainers acting within the comprehensive secondary school system. At the same time, prudently designed taekwondo school group management process and the relevant practical training methods give the means to cut down the trainees’ outflows and heavily contributes to the initiatives to broadly popularize the sport. The growing popularity in its turn helps improve the competitive accomplishments of the Russian taekwondo on the whole.

Objective of the study was to analyze the taekwondo trainer’s educational process management and practical basics in the complementary education department of the comprehensive secondary school system.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was completed in the period of 2013-2015 at School #331 of the Nevskiy District and School #532 of the Krasnogvardeyskiy District in the city of Saint Petersburg. In both of the schools, taekwondo groups operate under the complementary education department, and their operations have been quite successful since a few prize-winners of the Russian Taekwondo (ITF) Championships for cadets and junior students, plus many winners and runner-ups of the inter-regional tournaments and municipal Saint Petersburg competitions for the same age category have been trained in these school groups. Furthermore, a few of the most successful trainees of these school groups have qualified for the first adult taekwondo (ITF) team of Saint Petersburg and have won a few prizes of the men and women’s national Russian taekwondo championships.

The first stage of the study was completed in September through October 2013. We performed an opinion poll of the taekwondo trainees’ families at the above schools. Subject to the opinion poll were 110 parents of the children attending the taekwondo groups, with the opinion polling forms being designed to explore the following two aspects of the taekwondo training process in the comprehensive secondary school system:

ü    Training process management aspect including the group operation matters like training schedule, material and technical provisions, informational support etc.; and

ü    Practical aspects of the process including the priorities and content of the education curricula at different stages of the training process.

Having processed the opinion polling forms (see the resultant data in the “Study results and discussion” hereunder), we corrected the educational curricula of the taekwondo groups operating at the subject schools and tested the revised curricula at the second stage of the study to attain the following objectives.

The second stage of the study was completed in November 2013 through May 2014. Acting in cooperation with the training teams of the subject schools, we corrected the educational curricula for the above experimental period to redesign the group operations on a more efficient basis. Subject to the corrective initiative were some of the education and training process components related to physical, technical, tactical and mental training aspects. Special emphasis in the corrective efforts was made on the relative proportions of the training tools in one or another training component, plus a variety of tools untraditional for taekwondo were introduced in the training process. A few competitive and motivating tools and practices were introduced in the traditional process design of the taekwondo groups to encourage the children’s interest to the process.

The third stage of the study covered the period of September 2014 through May 2015 and included an educational experiment designed to test the corrected education curricula as follows. At School #331 we formed a Study Group (SG) subject to the new revised education curricula; and the taekwondo trainees from School #532 composed a Reference Group (RG) that were trained as required by the traditional education and training curricula. Both of the groups were virtually identical in terms of the age and skill levels of the trainees aged 9-10 years and formally qualified with the beginner category subject to 2-year training curricula. Each group was composed of 20 athletes of both sexes.

The processed resultant data of the above educational experiment are given in the “Study results and discussion” hereunder. It was in September 2014 that the trainees were subject to the performance quality rating tests to rate their basic taekwondo skills and techniques referred to as the “taekwondo school” tests. The trainees’ performance standards were rated by expert assessments based on five key performance criteria, each of the criteria being scored on a 10-point scale. To ensure due quality of the skill rating exercise, independent experts from the training teams of the Public Organization “Saint Petersburg Sport Federation of Taekwondo (ITF)” and the Russian Public Organization “Saint Petersburg Sport Federation of Taekwondo (ITF)” were invited, each of the organizations being represented by 3 experts. The expert training team included 5 First Category Trainers and 1 Honoured Trainer of the RF. The performance rating tests were repeated in May 2015.

Study results and discussion. The opinion polls of the parents of the children trained in the beginner taekwondo school groups showed that the families rated the children’s “general motor fitness and harmonized physical development (mastering basic sport disciplines)” category as the most important one (13.6%). Rated second by importance was the “versatile activities in the sport group” (13.5%); and going next on the list of priorities and virtually the same by importance were the “quality of the technical and tactical taekwondo skills mastered in the group” (12.8%) and the “convenience of the group operations for the child” (12.5%).

Rated highest by the families of the children engaged in the long-term taekwondo training cycle was the “quality of the technical and tactical taekwondo skills mastered in the group” (18.6%), and going next was the “sport-specific qualities of importance for competitive success in taekwondo” (13.3%) and the “general motor fitness and harmonized physical development (mastering basic sport disciplines)” (12.6 %).

Having compared the families’ opinion polling data that refer to different stages of the school taekwondo education and training process, we would note the following. The families of the children trained in the beginner groups tend to give the highest priority to the group process management aspects that may be due to the socializing and home communication aspects being most important in this age period for the children in opinions of their parents. The families of more senior children engaged in advanced education and training process tend to rate higher the practical aspects of the taekwondo group operations including the competitive skills mastering levels and the competitive accomplishments. We believe that it may be indicative of the growing importance of the social progress of the child and the desire of the families to see practical outcomes of the long training process including the competitive skills and accomplishments in the form of high ranking positions in competitions, progress in fighting skills etc. To put it in other words, the parents’ expectations at this stage of the taekwondo career are focused rather on the competitive accomplishments than on the comfortable process conditions and training process management aspects, albeit they are still rated high enough.

Given in Table 1 hereunder are the basic taekwondo techniques (“taekwondo school”) testing results of the Study Group versus the Reference Group.

Table 1. Basic taekwondo techniques (“taekwondo school”) testing results of Study Group (SG) versus Reference Group (RG) prior to and after the educational experiment (n=40)

Conclusion. The families’ opinion polls to rate their expectations as to the taekwondo education and training process in the comprehensive secondary school system make it possible for the trainer to find the best possible process management concepts and practical training methods and thereby prevent outflows of children from the groups. Families were found to rate high the sport itself as highly prestigious and Olympic one despite the fact that taekwondo is a kicking martial art of potential risk, albeit the modern defence systems, high qualification of the training teams and, hence, good progress of the trainees makes the injury rates negligibly low.

References

1. Bakulev S.E. Sovremennoe tkhekvondo kak kompleksnoe edinoborstvo (Taekwondo as a complex combat) / S.E. Bakulev, A.V. Pavlenko, V.A. Chistyakov // Uch. zapiski un-ta im. P.F. Lesgafta. – 2007. – № 6 (28). – P. 15–20.
2. Integral'naya podgotovka yunykh tkhekvondistov: ucheb. posobie (Integral training of young taekwondokas: stude guide) / S.E. Bakulev, V.A. Taymazov, V.A. Chistyakov, A.M. Simakov. – St. Petersburg: Polytechn. un-ty pub. h-se, 2010. – 122 p.
3. K voprosu o primenenii elektronnykh sistem sudeystva v tkhekvondo (VTF) (On application of electronic judging systems in Taekwondo (WTF) / V.A. Taymazov, S.E. Bakulev, A.V. Pavlenko, A.M. Simakov, V.A. Chistyakov // Uch. zapiski un-ta im. P.F. Lesgafta. – 2013. – № 4 (98). – P. 155-160.
4. Pavlenko A.V. Metodika formirovaniya bazovogo tekhnicheskogo arsenala na etape nachal'noy podgotovki v tkhekvondo: ucheb. posobie (Methodology of development of basic technical skills at initial training stage in Taekwondo:) / A.V. Pavlenko. – St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg: Polytechn. un-ty pub. h-se, 2013. – 130 p.
5. Ponomarev N.I. Informatsionnaya teoriya tipologicheskikh grupp i formirovanie na ee osnove vzaimodeystviya trenera i sportsmena (Information theory of typological groups and formation of coach and athlete interaction on its basis) / N.I. Ponomarev, V.A. Chistyakov // Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. – 2001. – № 2. – P. 54–56.

Corresponding author: piskun@imop.ru

Abstract
Since the end of the last century the additional education system has been actively developed in Russian schools. This process has been legally regulated, now it has a proper legal status and makes it possible to put into practice student's motivation interests. A wide range of extracurricular sections is operating in schools.
Objective of the study was to analyze the essence of taekwondo coach's teaching activities in the additional education system in general schools in terms of organization and teaching methods.
As seen from the findings, taking into account parents' preferences when choosing a particular training system in the taekwondo section in a comprehensive school coach can choose the best methods of organization and training and avoid a significant loss of children engaged in training. Parents are also highly appreciate that their children are engaged in a prestigious (Olympic) sport and, despite the fact that taekwondo is a striking combat, the existing protection system of athletes and high competency of coaches (rapid progress of students) bring possible injuries to naught.