THE EFFECT OF TARGET HEIGHT ON KINEMATICS OF ROUND KICK IN TAEKWONDO AND HAPKIDO

Abstract

Taekwondo and Hapkido are Korean traditional martial arts. The round kick is an important skill in both martial arts. To compare kinematics of round kick in Taekwondo and Hapkido at three different target heights (0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 m), five Taekwondo players and 5 Hapkido players’ performances were recorded and analyzed using three-dimensional videography. Although there was no interaction between martial arts type and target height, it was found that two martial arts had different kinematics. The round kick executed by Taekwondo player had shorter kicking time, less medio-lateral displacement of body center of mass, and smaller minimum knee angle. On the other hand, the round kick executed by Hapkido player had greater maximum linear velocity of ankle at impact.