Talent and Creativity of Taekwondoists Winners of the 2016 Summer Olympics

Kinematic and kinetic demands on better roundhouse kick performances

The roundhouse kick is one of the most widely applied techniques in a taekwondo competition. Because the scoring system of taekwondo has been changed, the skill of roundhouse kick has been affected. Therefore, coaches and athletes are attempting to better understand how to control the movement of the kick to gain points more effectively. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the biomechanical characteristics between the roundhouse kicks with higher and lower impact magnitude using an electronic body protector. Eighteen elite college Taekwondo athletes participated in this study. A motion capture system measured the kinematics data of the kicking leg. The results indicated that elite athletes can obtain a high-impact index of the electrical body protector through increasing the peak linear velocity of shank, even with the same foot velocity level. In regard to kinetic skills, the roundhouse kicks a high impact. The velocity of proximal kicking limb could predominantly contribute to the powerful roundhouse kicks to achieve the high-impact force for electrical body protector. Moreover, when the kick cannot be effectively scored during the game, coaches and masters should consider adjusting to increase the velocity of proximal kicking.

Application of the Polar Coordinate Technique in the Study of Technical-Tactical Scoring Actions in Taekwondo

The objective of this study was to design, validate and update an observation tool to analyse the technical-tactical actions by which taekwondo players win points. An ad hoc observational tool was developed for subsequent use in HOISAN software by viewing seven finals (14 viewings) in the Rome 2019 Grand Prix, collecting data (1,382 technical/tactical actions) from both winners and losers (women, n = 3; men, n = 4). An observational methodology based on a nomothetic, follow-up and multidimensional (N/F/M) observational design was used. In the statistical analysis, to check the validity of the generalizability analysis, the Category/Observer (C/O) and Observer/Category (O/C) models were employed, and to determine reliability between observations (intra- and interobserver), the Pearson, Spearman, Kendall's tau-b and Cohen's kappa correlation coefficients were applied. One point were awarded for every penalty given against the opponent. Two points were obtained for a circular technique to the trunk protector (in winners) or by scoring a point for a punch plus a penalty against the opponent, three points in melee actions, anticipatory actions with the left side (winners), or after a punch action, and circular technique (losers). Four and five points were only obtained by winners, in a direct attack with the right leg, turning (five points) or simultaneous (four points). The results of this study provide information on the most effective technical-tactical actions in taekwondo for scoring points in a contest.