PhD M.A. Rogozhnikov
St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg

Keywords: taekwondo, complex coordinated techniques, aerial position, jumping ability.

Background. Complex high-speed and high-accuracy coordinated techniques in taekwondo are subject to expert analyses focused on many questions, and particularly – what moment in the aerial move is most effective for a leg kick. Taekwondo specialists and coaches generally agree on the point that the moment of target kick in the aerial position is one of the pivotal indicators of mastery [2, 3]; and believe that the complex coordinated techniques on the whole and the aerial leg kick execution quality in particular are determined by the individual jumping skills and anthropometric characteristics [3-6].

The above coaches’ opinion triggered discussions on importance of the jump height for success of the aerial leg kick technique. Some sport specialists believe that the higher is the jump and body mass acceleration, the higher is the power released by the kick; and the others warn that a high jump may be detrimental for movement coordination and, hence, accuracy of the leg kick. Furthermore, many specialists argue that the high jumping skills in association with poor balancing ability are unlikely to help attain high and stable competitive performance [2-7]. Some of them argue that the dynamic balancing skills in the leg kicking techniques are much more important than the high jumping abilities. It should be noted that the bout situations and distances are very volatile and, hence, the aerial leg kicking moment is widely variable as well: the higher is the distance to the target, the earlier the kicking leg needs to be stretched from the muscle flexion phase versus the jump start-up phase.

It is common knowledge that the complex coordinated moves executed by professional taekwondokas include aerial phases varying within the range of 0.294 to 0.783 s; with the kicking phase tested to take 0.11 to 0.32 s. Therefore, the relevant explosive leg strength training practices need to be designed and offered to develop the complex coordinated moves execution abilities [1, 4].

Objective of the study was to provide theoretical grounds for and test an adapted version of the popular basketball Air Alert 3 training system for explosive leg strength training in application to junior taekwondokas aged 11-12 and 13-14 years.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the experiment were the following four groups of athletes: two Experimental Groups (11-12 and 13-14 years old) and two Reference Groups of the same age of 50 people each (n=200 in total). The Reference Groups were trained as required by the standard education and training program; whilst the Experimental Group training model included the adapted version of the basketball Air Alert 3 training system for the explosive leg strength training, with the training process loads being the same as normally applied for adult professional athletes. Professional athletes executing the jumping routine are tested with the heart rates of up to 173.6±1.73 beats per min. Trained 13-14 year-old athletes are tested with the average HR of 175.6±3 beats per min under the dynamic loads. If the load is managed within 80% of the base load of the standard jumping routine, the HR of the trained 13-14 year-old athletes will stand within the average range under the dynamic loads.

Trained 11-12 year-old athletes are tested with the average HR of 175.6±2.3 beats per min under the same dynamic loads. For the training process goal being attained in this age group, the load shall be managed within 70% of the base load of the standard jumping routine of the adapted basketball Air Alert 3 training system, with the training process taking 15 weeks of 3 training sessions per week.

The jumping routine of the training program includes the following 6 exercises: standing high jumps, lifts on toes, one-leg standing high jump, jumps on toes, standing high jumps with straight legs, and squatted jumps. The explosive leg strength of the trainees was tested prior to and after the experiment by the standing long jump from different (face-forward and back-forward) start-up positions. The pre- and post-experimental test data were averaged using STATGRAPHICS software.

Study results and discussion. The pre- and post-experimental standing long jump tests showed the following progress of the trainees:  6.1% growth in the 11-12 year-old EG (р <0.05; from 72.62±1.6 to 75.01±1.3) and 6.8% in the 13-14 year-old EG (р <0.05; from 98.36±2.2 to 104.22±2.2). The RG trained as required by the standard training system applied at the Children’ and Youth Sport Schools (CYSS) also showed progress of 5.53%(р≤0.0ܰ5; from 71.75±1.3).

It should be noted that the EG showed higher accuracy and success in the aerial complex coordinated moves as verified by the post-experimental tests. The EG athletes’ moves were highly accurate, virtually free of unnecessary movements and highly economic. In practical competitive bouts the EG athletes showed better performance in the complex coordinated techniques, with the on-target hit rates tested to notably grow. The subjects’ jumping skill test data are given in Table 1 hereunder.

Table 1. Pre- and post-experimental muscle force control ability test data (n=200, М±m)

Conclusion. The Experimental Groups of 11-12 and 13-14 year-old athletes trained as required by the adapted basketball Air Alert 3 training system showed progress as verified by the pre- and post-experimental standing long jump tests rating the explosive leg strength. The new training model made it possible to improve the explosive leg strength in both of the Experimental Groups. The EG progress was verified by the increased jump lengths and aerial times. This means that the athlete has more time to orient in an aerial position (“fly phase”) and coordinate the bodily parts as required for success of the complex coordinated move executed. Therefore, the proposed new training model makes it possible to increase the total kick rates and on-target kick rates and, hence, score higher in competitive bouts.

References

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Corresponding author: mrogozhnikov89@gmail.com

Abstract

The study provides and analyses data on the explosive leg strength training tools and methods intended to speed up the complex coordinated techniques mastering process in youth taekwondo with a special emphasis on aerial positions. To facilitate the explosive leg strength training in youth taekwondo, we applied an adapted version of the popular basketball Air Alert 3 training system. Subject to the experiment were 200 athletes of 11-12 and 13-14 years of age. The article reports comparative analytical test data generated by the lower-limb explosive strength training progress tests. The trainees’ progress was rated by the standing long jump tests from different starting positions. The tests showed that the muscle force control ability training tools in the training system help improve the complex coordinated techniques mastering process in youth taekwondo.