MAXIMUM VELOCITY OF THE STRIKING LEG DURING THE MARTIAL ARTS FRONT, SIDE AND TURNING KICKS AND THE RELATIONSHIP TO TECHNIQUE DURATION

Abstract

Eight male martial artists performed five repetitions of the front, side and turning kicks at a target. 3-D movement was recorded and automatically digitised at 200 Hz using Peak Motus. The mean maximum velocity (± SE) of the striking leg was 11.77 ± 0.18 m•s-1 for the front kick, 10.44 ± 0.16 m•s-1 for the side kick and 13.06 ± 0.33 m•s-1 for the turning kick. Differences between the front and the side kick, and the front and turning kick were significant (p = 0.001), with the greatest difference between the turning and the side kick (p < 0.0001). The mean duration of the front, side and turning kicks was 0.23 s, 0.25 s and 0.24 s. The side kick was significantly longer than the front kick (p = 0.03). For the front kick, the faster the maximum velocity then the shorter the duration (r = − 0.751, p < 0.0001).