Differences in Impact Force between Side Kicks and Turning Kicks in Male Practitioners of Taekwon-Do—Case Studies
1
Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Jan Dlugosz University in Częstochowa, 42-200 Częstochowa, Poland
2
Institute of Sport Sciences, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5876; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135876
Submission received: 13 June 2024
/
Revised: 2 July 2024
/
Accepted: 3 July 2024
/
Published: 5 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Athletes Performance and Analysis in Combat Sports and Martial Arts)
Abstract
:The purpose of this study was to understand the different forces exerted between the side kick and turning kick in taekwon-do, which would add knowledge to the field, as well as help inform future research. Eighty kicks performed by four elite ITF (International Taekwon-do Federation) athletes (age: 28.5 ± 7.2 years; body mass: 77.5 ± 6.7 kg; height: 180.0 ± 1.6 cm) were analysed. Participants performed a series of turning and side kicks with the right and left leg to the target. The impact-force-measuring apparatus was a training shield mounted on a force plate manufactured by AMTI, model MC12-2K. The mean resultant impact force for the turning kick was significantly lower than the mean resultant impact force for the side kick. There were no significant differences in the impact force between turning kicks performed with either the right or left leg. With regard to the correlations for the turning kick performed by both legs, there was almost a full correlation between FZ and the resultant impact force (r = 0.988 for the right leg and r = 0.994 for the left leg). The side kicks’ significantly higher resultant force (4429.77 ± 1361.25 N) than that of a turning kick (2648.98 ± 441.41 N) could be due to more effective mass being used. The turning kick peaked in a shorter time; this indicates that a turning kick has a shorter contact time with the target. The strong correlations between Fz and the resultant impact force in both kicks could be due to the direction of the kicks, suggesting that the force in the Z axis was the most important direction.
1. Introduction
Researchers have been quantifying the velocity and strength of martial arts practitioners’ kicks for many years using a variety of devices, including but not limited to a triaxial accelerometer and force plates [1,2,3]. The reported impact force values for the taekwon-do turning kick ranged from 1800 N [4] to 6400 N [5]. The large range of the impact force values for a roundhouse kick could be due to some studies quantifying the peak, mean, or another form of impact force, whilst other studies did not specify said force [6]. Furthermore, the differences in the methodology of quantifying impact force could have had an impact on the impact force values. Despite the variety of methodologies used in obtaining impact force values, force plates are considered the gold standard in biomechanics laboratories for quantifying external force in martial arts kicks, as well as in sports [7,8]. This is partly due to force plates sampling at a higher frequency than video analysis and motion capture, as well as quantifying the impact force of kicks and strikes directly [6].
Perfecting technique in taekwon-do is a key component of training, influencing effectiveness in combat [6,9,10]. The ability to generate significant striking power and speed is a fundamental element in both attack and defence techniques. In traditional taekwon-do (International Taekwon-do Federation), individual sport competition is based on four competitions: formal systems, sport fighting, special techniques, and strength tests [11]. The direct confrontation of participants in sport fighting is based on scoring points through effective strikes. Side kicks and turning kicks are among the most commonly used forms of attack and counterattack and are, therefore, an important part of athlete training and competition [4,12,13]. Therefore, the ability to properly teach and apply these types of strikes is one of the basic skills of athletes in this martial art. The main difference between these techniques lies in the direction of the strike; in a spin kick, the foot moves in an arc along the axis of the body, whereas in a side kick, the foot moves laterally towards the opponent [3,11].
This study found that in men, the impact force of the side kick (461 N) was lower than that of the roundhouse kick (518 N), while in women, it was 408 N and 406 N, respectively [14]. This study noted that the nature of the side kick allows for an increased proportion of mass to be used to increase force. A different study on impact force and effective mass demonstrated that although there was a higher percentage of effective mass in a side kick (43.4%) than in a turning kick (36.6%), the impact force of a side kick (2406.9 N) was greater than a turning kick (2330.7 N) [15]. In other studies, researchers have reported different turning kick force values. For example, Gavagan et al. reported a force of 1547 N [16], while Li et al. reported a force of approximately 2940 N for men and 2401 N for women [17]. Research suggests that movement technique and gender can significantly influence athletic performance, but their importance can vary depending on a number of factors [10,18,19]. Deliu et al. [20] noted that in combat sports, during the execution of kicks, some biomechanical variables are not lateralised. By contrast, Górski and Orysiak [21] reported that there are significant differences in the strength of turning kicks in taekwon-do. The issue is therefore unresolved and requires further research.
All studies reported so far on impact force have only investigated the resultant impact force and not the impact force in different planes, despite noting that turning kicks and side kicks are multiplanar [6]. To the author’s knowledge, no research has investigated the impact force in different planes, which could play an important role in impact power and impact force.
The aim of this study was three-fold: (1) to investigate if there are differences in the forces achieved between the turning kick and the side kick, (2) to investigate if there are significant differences between, and across, the impact force of the left and right leg, and (3) to investigate the correlations between the resultant force of the kicks under study and other selected variables. The purpose of this study was to understand the differences between the side kick and turning kick in taekwon-do, which would add knowledge to the field, as well as help inform future research.
The responses to the following questions align with current trends in sports biomechanics for martial arts. The practical objective of this study is to provide recommendations for practitioners and trainers to optimize technique performance and enhance training methods.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
Eighty kicks performed by four elite ITF (International Taekwon-do Federation) athletes (age: 28.5 ± 7.2 years; body mass: 77.5 ± 6.7 kg; height: 180.0 ± 1.6 cm) were analysed. The prerequisites for inclusion in the study group were the following: male sex, at least 18 years of age, possession of a minimum of 1 DAN (black belt) or higher, a minimum of 8 years of training experience, active participation in sports competitions at the national level for at least 4 years, winning a minimum Polish champion title, and no injuries. All players declared a preference for right-leg kicks. The measurement conditions were standardized for all subjects, conducted in the morning at a consistent room temperature. The participants were briefed on the testing procedures and voluntarily consented to take part in the data collection. The Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects at Jan Długosz University reviewed and approved the study protocol, confirming that it complied with ethical standards for research involving human participants (KE-O/4/2022).
2.2. Equipment
A force plate was used to measure the impact force. It was padded with a training disc to prevent direct contact with the force plate and was mounted on a stable structure (AMTI, model MC12-2K, 2000 series, Watertown, MA, USA) (Figure 1). The force plate axes were defined as follows: (Fx)-force in the medial-lateral direction, (Fy)-force in the vertical plane, and (Fz)-force in the anterior–posterior direction relative to the athletes (Figure 2). The force plate measured 305 × 406 × 79 mm and could measure forces up to 4500 N for Fx and Fy and 9000 N for Fz, with a sampling rate of 750 Hz. The device was synchronised in time and space with the Noraxon system (MR3 3.18).
2.3. Protocol
Data collection took place at the Center for Human Movement Analysis, Jan Dlugosz University, Czestochowa (Poland). The participants began with a self-selected 10 min warm-up. Following the warm-up, they performed five side kicks (yop chagi) with their right leg, starting from a sport stance, aiming at the target. After a one-minute rest, they executed five turning kicks (dollyo chagi) with their right leg from the sport stance to the target (Figure 2). This procedure was then repeated for the left leg for all participants. They were instructed to kick with maximum effort to achieve the highest impact force possible, with no time constraints for performing the kicks. In total, 80 attempts were recorded.
2.4. Data Processing and Data Analysis
After data collection, all recorded trials were exported from Noraxton 3.18 with Myomotion module (Scottsdale, AZ, USA) to Excel, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, to obtain the resultant impact force in the side kick and pivot kick, where a force-time history was created. Kinetic data for 20 kicks (five side kicks and five turning kicks per leg) for each participant, totalling 80 kicks for all four participants, were then exported from Noraxon and imported into Microsoft Excel. The resultant impact force (F) was calculated using a vector norm in Euclidean space. Changes in the resultant reaction force were recorded as a function of time to determine the force value relative to the XYZ axis.
2.5. Statistical Analysis
After preliminary data analysis, group mean, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation were calculated for Fx, Fy, Fz, and F values for each kick, for each leg, and for both legs. Statistical significance between the analysed groups was determined using the Mann–Whitney U test. The Spearman correlation test was used to determine the correlation between the selected variables. Thresholds for qualitative descriptors of correlations were interpreted as trivial (0.0–0.09), small (0.10–0.29), moderate (0.30–0.49), large (0.50–0.69), very large (0.70–0.89), nearly perfect (0.90–0.99), and perfect (1.0) [22].
All calculations were performed using Statistica 13 (TIBCO software). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The sample size was estimated using G*Power software (version 3.1.9.2; Kiel University, Kiel, Germany) [23], resulting in a minimum requirement of 70 measurement positions, with parameters of α = 0.05, effect size f = 0.9, and β = 0.95.
3. Results
The data revealed that the resultant force in the side kicks was significantly higher and peaked later in than in the turning kicks (Figure 3). Regarding the differences in the impact force between the left and right legs, concerning the side kicks, the right leg produced a significantly higher (p < 0.01) Fx than the left leg (Table 1).
The side kicks produced a significantly higher (p < 0.01) Fx, Fz, and resultant force than the turning kicks, with no significant differences between Fx and Fy in the turning kicks and side kicks (Table 2).
With regard to the turning kicks, there was almost a full correlation between Fz and the resultant impact force value (r = 0.988 for right, and r = 0.994 for left leg) within and across both kicking legs. Furthermore, for turning kicks with the right leg, which was the participants’ preferred kicking leg, there was a medium, negative correlation between Fx and Fz., and the resultant impact force did not shift significantly upwards of the target (Fy) (Table 3). Similarly, with regard to the side kicks, there was a strong positive correlation between the resultant impact force and Fz for the right and left legs (r = 0.805, 0.783, respectively) and significant positive correlations in the left leg for Fx with Fy and Fz separately.
The resultant impact force in the turning kicks was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the height of athletes and did not depend on body mass; however, for the side kicks, there was a significant (p < 0.05) weak correlation between age and impact force (Table 4).
4. Discussion
The resultant impact force in the side kicks was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the turning kicks. The impact force values in this study were higher than the results in other studies [5,16,17]. Moreover, previous studies did not specify whether the analysis conducted concerned the mean, peak, or another impact force value, and this is the first study to investigate the resultant impact force in taekwon-do kicks, which could lead to different results [5,16]. The results revealed that the resultant impact force in the side kicks peaked later than in the turning kicks. This indicates that, although the force curve rises slower than the turning kick force curve, the force is applied over a longer period and peaks higher; there could be a link between contact time and the amount of force. On the other hand, the turning kick reaches the maximum value within a shorter contact time (Figure 2). A shorter contact time could indicate that the kick was executed in a shorter time; however, to the authors’ knowledge, no research has investigated the relationship between contact time with the target and the duration of kick execution. The greater force of the side kick could be related to a greater effective mass; it has been demonstrated that there is more effective mass in a side kick (37.6%) than in a turning kick (34.4%) [15]. However, to the authors’ knowledge, there is limited research in this area.
Regarding the second aim (whether there are significant differences in the impact forces between, and across, the left and right leg), the results revealed that side kicks performed with the right leg produced a significantly higher Fx than side kicks performed with the left leg (Table 1). Despite this, there were no significant differences between the right and left leg in the resultant impact force. This suggests that there were no significant differences in the overall impact force between the right and left leg. As there were no significant differences in the resultant impact force, this suggests that there was a relatively even development of the left and right legs in the athletes studied. This is consistent with traditional taekwon-do training methodologies, where exercises are typically performed equally on both sides of the body. Furthermore, a study indicated that improvements in the skill and performance of the non-dominant and dominant limb are accompanied by beneficial changes in certain brain structures [24]. Thus, activating symmetrical parts of the human body increases the health dimension of training in this martial art. In addition, from a utilitarian perspective, both limbs can be used with a similar probability of success in, for example, self-defence.
The results demonstrated that the resultant impact force in both kicks depends mainly on Fz. This makes sense in terms of the kick since the Z-axis was the main direction of the movement of the foot during impact. This suggests that Fz could be the main axis in which to study impact force; this result demonstrates that future research on impact force in taekwon-do side kicks and turning kicks should focus on the Fz of the impact force. Furthermore, as force is a component of other biomechanical variables such as power, other biomechanical variables related to force should be investigated.
There was a significant moderate positive correlation between Fy and Fz for turning kicks with the right leg, with no significant differences between Fx and F for left turning kicks. This could suggest that there is a difference in force distribution and, therefore, in motor control between the two limbs, despite the resultant impact force remaining statistically indifferent in overall force capture. By contrast, the resultant impact force of the side kick was Fx and Fy. This could be due to the direction of movement of the entire body towards the target, as the side kick rises towards the target and comes across to the target, resulting in high Fx and Fy. The significant correlation between the resultant impact force and Fy suggests that the participants kicked up at the target rather than straight towards it, meaning the height of the chamber position was lower than the height of the target. Furthermore, the significant correlation between the resultant impact force and Fx suggests that the heel was behind the knee, rather than in front of the knee. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the impact force in taekwon-do kicks within the X, Y, and Z axes. Future research should investigate the impact force in the X, Y, and Z axes to add to the results of this study.
This was the first study to conduct a three-dimensional analysis of the impact force in taekwon-do turning kicks and side kicks; however, a limitation of this study was that it only investigated male athletes. Biomechanical studies on athletic manoeuvres have found that females have different kinematics that subject them to higher forces per body weight during impact [10,18,25,26,27,28]; future research should investigate the impact forces in turning kicks and side kicks in female athletes, which could help inform future research, as well as practical implications for instructors. Furthermore, although impact forces were quantified and analysed in this study, this study did not investigate how the impact forces were generated; future research should investigate which joints generate and dissipate force, which allows for the impact forces to be produced, and this would further the knowledge in the field.
The practical aim of this study may be to make recommendations for coaches and practitioners in order to optimise the technical execution of techniques and improve training methods. A limitation of this study was the use of a static and constrained target and not a large number of subjects. Consequently, caution should be exercised when generalising these results. However, given the existing limitations of the scientific literature on the biomechanics of taekwon-do, the results of this study may provide valuable insights, informing future research and supporting further interdisciplinary exploration.
5. Conclusions
In conclusion, side kicks produced significantly greater resultant impact force than turning kicks. There were no significant differences in the resultant impact force between the left and right legs in both side kicks and turning kicks. In practice, this knowledge makes it possible to verify and recommend the implementation of the technique of both kicks.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, T.G., D.M. and J.W.; methodology, T.G., D.M. and J.W.; software, T.G. and D.M.; validation, T.G. and D.M.; formal analysis, T.G. and D.M.; investigation, T.G., D.M. and J.W.; data curation, T.G. and D.M.; writing—original draft preparation, T.G., D.M. and J.W.; writing—review and editing, T.G., D.M., J.L. and J.W.; supervision, J.W.; project administration, J.W.; funding acquisition, J.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The Human Subjects Research Committee of the Jan Dlugosz University dated 7 March 2022 scrutinized and approved the test protocol as meeting the criteria of Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (KE-O/4/2022). All participants in this study were injury-free, informed of the testing procedures, and voluntary participants in the data collection process.
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in this study.
Data Availability Statement
Restrictions apply to the availability of these data. The data presented in this study are available on request and after appropriate IRB approvals.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the subjects of this study who donated their time and expertise.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Figure 1.
Strike pad placed on a force plate AMTI MC12-2K, with fittings and software interface on the computer.
Figure 1.
Strike pad placed on a force plate AMTI MC12-2K, with fittings and software interface on the computer.
Figure 2.
The positioning of the athlete according to the type of kick to the target of the strike in the Cartesian system.
Figure 2.
The positioning of the athlete according to the type of kick to the target of the strike in the Cartesian system.
Figure 3.
Example graph of the force change of selected kicks as a function of time for a single measurement.
Figure 3.
Example graph of the force change of selected kicks as a function of time for a single measurement.
Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of selected kicks, with statistical differences calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test.
Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of selected kicks, with statistical differences calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test.
| Kind of Kick | Axis of Force | Indicator | Force [N] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | Left Leg | Total | |||
| Turning kick | Fx | Mean | 228.53 | 248.58 | 238.55 |
| SD | 99.12 | 145.30 | 123.18 | ||
| Minimum | 89.68 | 81.85 | 81.85 | ||
| Maximum | 506.36 | 538.64 | 538.64 | ||
| SS | U = 0.36; p = 0.715 | - | |||
| Fy | Mean | 134.30 | 105.18 | 119.74 | |
| SD | 58.02 | 56.20 | 58.28 | ||
| Minimum | 44.23 | 19.56 | 19.56 | ||
| Maximum | 264.14 | 222.82 | 264.14 | ||
| SS | U = 1.58; p = 0.114 | - | |||
| Fz | Mean | 2844.48 | 2549.98 | 2697.23 | |
| SD | 624.18 | 433.26 | 550.90 | ||
| Minimum | 1857.90 | 1406.04 | 1406.04 | ||
| Maximum | 4230.87 | 3247.66 | 4230.87 | ||
| SS | U = 1.31; p = 0.190 | - | |||
| F | Mean | 2921.76 | 2648.98 | 2785.37 | |
| SD | 669.23 | 441.41 | 576.36 | ||
| Minimum | 1898.66 | 1456.15 | 1456.15 | ||
| Maximum | 4383.13 | 3344.36 | 4383.13 | ||
| SS | U = 0.98; p = 0.323 | - | |||
| Side kick | Fx | Mean | 1200.33 | 403.00 | 801.66 |
| SD | 273.40 | 101.48 | 452.15 | ||
| Minimum | 521.68 | 218.16 | 218.16 | ||
| Maximum | 1499.72 | 612.99 | 1499.72 | ||
| SS | U = 5.34; p < 0.001 | - | |||
| Fy | Mean | 148.53 | 127.58 | 138.05 | |
| SD | 59.48 | 70.94 | 65.48 | ||
| Minimum | 34.50 | 37.96 | 34.50 | ||
| Maximum | 261.01 | 293.59 | 293.59 | ||
| SS | U = 1.50; p = 0.133 | - | |||
| Fz | Mean | 4614.31 | 4275.26 | 4444.79 | |
| SD | 1287.88 | 1376.73 | 1327.00 | ||
| Minimum | 1575.25 | 1602.86 | 1575.25 | ||
| Maximum | 5911.26 | 5840.10 | 5911.26 | ||
| SS | U = 1.05; p = 0.291 | - | |||
| F | Mean | 4754.11 | 4429.77 | 4591.94 | |
| SD | 1290.31 | 1361.25 | 1319.40 | ||
| Minimum | 1594.11 | 1691.45 | 1594.11 | ||
| Maximum | 6099.03 | 5993.34 | 6099.03 | ||
| SS | U = 1.01; p = 0.310 | - | |||
SD—standard deviation; SS—statistical significance; Total—the mean force of the right and left legs; U—Test statistic result for the Mann–Whitney U test; p—statistical significance value.
Table 2.
Differences between force values for each axis between both presented techniques.
| Kind of Kick | Axis of Force | Turning Kick | Side Kick | D [N] | U | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Resultant Force [N] | SD [N] | Mean Resultant Force [N] | SD [N] | |||||
| Both lower limbs | Fx | 238.56 | 123.19 | 801.66 | 452.15 | 563.1 | −7.60 | <0.001 |
| Fy | 119.75 | 58.28 | 138.05 | 65.48 | 18.3 | −1.32 | 0.190 | |
| Fz | 2697.24 | 550.91 | 4444.79 | 1327.00 | 1747.55 | −7.69 | <0.001 | |
| F | 2785.37 | 576.37 | 4591.94 | 1319.40 | 1806.57 | −7.94 | <0.001 | |
| Right lower limb | Fx | 228.53 | 99.12 | 1200.33 | 273.40 | 971.8 | −14.94 | <0.001 |
| Fy | 134.31 | 58.03 | 148.53 | 59.48 | 14.22 | −0.77 | 0.449 | |
| Fz | 2844.49 | 624.18 | 4614.31 | 1287.88 | 1769.82 | −5.53 | <0.001 | |
| F | 2921.76 | 669.24 | 4754.11 | 1290.31 | 1832.35 | −5.64 | <0.001 | |
| Left lower limb | Fx | 248.59 | 145.30 | 403.00 | 101.48 | 154.41 | −3.90 | <0.001 |
| Fy | 105.18 | 56.21 | 127.58 | 70.94 | 22.4 | −1.11 | 0.275 | |
| Fz | 2549.98 | 433.27 | 4275.26 | 1376.73 | 1725.28 | −5.35 | <0.001 | |
| F | 2648.98 | 441.41 | 4429.77 | 1361.25 | 1780.79 | −5.57 | <0.001 | |
SD—standard deviation; D—the difference between the strength of the kicks; U—Test statistic result for the Mann–Whitney U test; p—statistical significance value.
Table 3.
Results of Spearman’s correlation coefficients between force indicators for turning kicks and side kicks.
Table 3.
Results of Spearman’s correlation coefficients between force indicators for turning kicks and side kicks.
| Limb | Axis of Force | Turning Kick | Side Kick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fy | Fz | F | Fy | Fz | F | ||
| Both lower | Fx | 0.46 * | −0.26 | −0.26 | 0.41 * | 0.45 * | 0.47 * |
| Fy | - | 0.13 | 0.11 | - | 0.81 * | 0.79 * | |
| Fz | - | - | 0.99 * | - | - | 0.99 * | |
| Right lower | Fx | 0.25 | −0.46 * | −0.46 * | 0.15 | 0.35 | 0.47 * |
| Fy | - | −0.04 | −0.09 | - | 0.81 * | 0.74 * | |
| Fz | - | - | 0.98 * | - | - | 0.97 * | |
| Left lower | Fx | 0.42 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.59 * | 0.86 * | 0.85 * |
| Fy | - | 0.27 | 0.31 | - | 0.78 * | 0.78 * | |
| Fz | - | - | 0.99 * | - | - | 0.99 * | |
* statistically significant, p < 0.05.
Table 4.
Spearman correlation coefficients between strength indices for selected kicks and age and somatic elements.
Table 4.
Spearman correlation coefficients between strength indices for selected kicks and age and somatic elements.
| Force (F) | Age | Body Mass | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turning kick | 0.18 | 0.26 | −0.49 * |
| Side kick | 0.35 * | 0.28 | −0.06 |
* statistically significant, p < 0.05.
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Góra, T.; Mosler, D.; Langfort, J.; Wąsik, J. Differences in Impact Force between Side Kicks and Turning Kicks in Male Practitioners of Taekwon-Do—Case Studies. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 5876. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135876
AMA Style
Góra T, Mosler D, Langfort J, Wąsik J. Differences in Impact Force between Side Kicks and Turning Kicks in Male Practitioners of Taekwon-Do—Case Studies. Applied Sciences. 2024; 14(13):5876. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135876
Chicago/Turabian StyleGóra, Tomasz, Dariusz Mosler, Józef Langfort, and Jacek Wąsik. 2024. "Differences in Impact Force between Side Kicks and Turning Kicks in Male Practitioners of Taekwon-Do—Case Studies" Applied Sciences 14, no. 13: 5876. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135876
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