The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of static stretching, dynamic stretching, facilitated stretching and non-stretching on the performance of Taekwondo axe kick.
Method
The subjects of the study were 20 high-school aged Taekwondo athletes (age: 15.8 ± o.89, height: 166.7 ± 5.51 m, weight: 57.55 ± 8.65 kg) who had been training and competing in Taekwondo for at least one year (years of training: 5.3 ± 2.51 years) and were familiar with the technique required to perform an axe kick. The subjects also had basic knowledge about stretching exercises and were familiar with the practice of different stretching. The experiment was carried out in four nonconsecutive days. Subjects were randomly divided into four groups. Each group performed one type of stretching in each day. Kicking height and speed were measured within five minutes after the stretching exercises and were analyzed by using Dartfish 4.0 software.
Analysis/Results
Repeated-measure ANOVA revealed that there was no difference in kicking height and speed among four stretching groups.
Conclusions
Based on the result, the different effects of different stretching exercises on strength and power were not shown in this study.Possible explanation was that the special technique required to perform axe kicks reduced the effect of different stretching exercise on Taekwondo axe kick. Taekwondo athletes may perform all forms of stretching exercises without worrying about negative effects of stretching.
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