A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNIQUES USED IN А TAEKWONDО COMPETITIONS
BETWEEN 2009-2019
Nikol Chorbanova, Dimitar Avramov
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ABSTRACT
Practiced by millions of people around the world, taekwondo has quickly become a popular sport due to its technical innovation and spectacularity. The goal is to objectify the refereeing and make taekwondo even more attractive to the general public. Comparing technical performance in competitions spanning a decade would shed more light on the specific endurance needed by the modern taekwondo fighter.
The aim of our study was to determine how the technical (quantitative and qualitative) indicators in competition have changed for the elite taekwondo athlete since the introduction of the electronic scoring system in 2009.
The video analysis we performed on Sofia Grand Prix 2019 enabled us to compare the data with previous- ly reported such from 2009. We discovered that the types of kicks used by the competitors amounted to 13 (2009) and 28 (2019). The variation analysis we performed showed that the average strikes per match were 76 (2009) and 193 (2019) with an average per round amounting at 25.33 (2009) and 64.33 (2019). The match- es with the most kicks 121 (2009) 208 (2019) were compared, as well as those with the least hits 40 (2009) and 108 (2019). In 2009, the competitors performed a kick every 4.73 seconds, while in 2019 every 1.86 seconds.
Based on our findings we concluded that the number of kicks in a taekwondo match has increased twofold compared to 10 years ago, which means that the requirements for speed and strength endurance are even greater. Although the introduction of the electronic scoring system in taekwondo has led to a significant increment in the number and types of techniques in the taekwondo match, the technical indicators of the winners demonstrate that it is not necessary for the athlete to master the whole set of kicking techniques. It is enough to know 3 to 4 kicking techniques but to apply them successfully.
Keywords: taekwondo, analysis, kicking, sparring, competition INTRODUCTION
Taekwondo is the most dynamically developing sport in the Olympic family. Practiced by millions of people all over the planet, Taekwondo has quickly become a popular sport thanks to technical innova- tions. Their goal is simple – objectification of judg- ing, making taekwondo even more appealing to the general public and the media. All these directions and changes that taekwondo has undergone in the last decade have led to even greater demands on ath- letes and coaches in terms of training methodology.
The top successful taekwondo player are the ones win- ning in the various categories of the Olympic Games, World and Continental Championships, as well as the „Grand Prix“ and „Grand slam“ series. Measuring their technical performance during the match would shed more light on their specific endurance and their playing pattern and would provide useful guidelines for optimizing training methodology.
Aim and objectives of the study
This study aimed to analyze the technical indicators of modern taekwondo competitors and compare them with previous ones.
Due to improved and new electronic systems, as well as constant rule changes, competitors began to look for new techniques to score points. Most of
these kicks were hardly used until now, but after the competition rules changed, some of them became even primary. A typical example in this regard is yop chagi - а kick that was not scored by the judges in the past but which has now become one of the main kicks in competitive taekwondo, and the way of fighting in a match has radically changed.
Kicks that in the absence of the PSS, would have not been scored by the judges are now becoming a must-have weapon in the arsenal of any successful Taekwondo competitor.
METHODS
We performed a video analysis based on video recor- dings of 26 matches in the -49 kg category from the Taekwondo Grand Prix Sofia 2019. We used SPSS, version 23.0 for Windows (IBM corp.Inc, Chicago, IL, USA, 2015) to statistically establish the average num- ber and types of kicks and strikes used in the 49 kg fe- male category matches. Minimum and maximum val- ues were also identified. Kicks that athletes preferred kicks were identified and the point efficiency was calculated for the competitors of the division, which provided a basis for deriving a coefficient of useful ac- tion for the entire category. A coefficient of intensity of kicking in each round was also established.
These results were compared to previous data from
the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships.
A modified protocol form of (Avramov, Analiz na svetovnoto parvenstvo po taekuondo 2009, 2010) was used, in which we recorded the type and number of hits in a given bout for each competitor, in which round the hit was made, with which leg or arm the hit was made, how many points it scored, as well as the number and the type of penalties received.
It was necessary to improve the existing protocol sheet for recording the technical indicators in the Taekwondo meeting, due to the lack of techniques in the previous one, as well as the lack of separation of left and right foot strikes.
RESULTS
„Classification is the grouping and arrangement based on similarities” (Andreev, 2010). On the ba- sis of the natural classifications, which according to (Andonov, 2004) are “more complex, but more scientific”, lies the most underlying feature, which sufficiently reflects the main features of the classi- fied objects. Kim (1986) classifies the taekwondo techniques to offensive and defensive. According to the rules of the World Taekwondo (2022), different kicks strikes score differently. Of course, for a thor- ough technical analysis it is required to establish the type of kick and its success.
Table 1. Main technical indicators in the taekwondo matches of the Sofia Grand Prix 2019
TYPE OF KICK
NUMBER OF KICKS NUMBER OF SCORED KICKS NUMBER OF POINTS FROM THE KICK AVERAGE NUMBER OF KICKS PER MATCH COEFFICIENT OF SUCCESS OF THE KICK %OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT POINT EFFICIENCY OF THE KICK/ PUNCH
Dollyo chagi 362 15 30 13.92 4.14 87.44 8.29
Front Dollyo chagi 1340 32 62 51.54 2.39 323.67 4.63
Dollyo chagi olgul 27 5 15 1.04 18.52 6.52 55.56
Front Dollyo chagi olgul 191 21 63 7.35 10.99 46.14 32.98
Front Yop chagi 1889 43 86 72.65 2.28 456.28 4.55
Mirro chagi 4 0 0 0.15 0.00 0.97 0.00
Neryo chaggi 12 0 0 0.46 0.00 2.90 0.00
Neryo chaggi 2 0 0 0.08 0.00 0.48 0.00
Bakkuro Neryo chaggi 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
Front Neryo chaggi 176 13 191 6.77 7.39 42.51 108.52
Parrumbal Neryo chaggi 3 0 0 0.12 0.00 0.72 0.00
Parumbal dollyo chagi 6 0 0 0.23 0.00 1.45 0.00
Parumbal dollyo chagi olgul 3 0 0 0.12 0.00 0.72 0.00
Dit chaggi 62 5 20 2.38 8.06 14.98 32.26
Dit chaggi olgul 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
Tiurige 6 0 0 0.23 0.00 1.45 0.00
Tiurige momtong 11 0 0 0.42 0.00 2.66 0.00
Narrabam dollyo chaggi 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
Narrabam dollyo chaggi olgul 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
Narre chaggi 1 0 0 0.04 0.00 0.24 0.00
Front nakka chaggi olgul 12 0 0 0.46 0.00 2.90 0.00
Front nakka chaggi momtong 62 7 15 2.38 11.29 14.98 24.19
Rear Nakka chaggi 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
Bituro chaggi 2 1 3 0.08 50.00 0.48 150.00
Chirugi 342 121 113 13.15 35.38 82.61 33.04
Clinch Dollyo chaggi 361 68 136 13.88 18.84 87.20 37.67
Clinch Neryo chaggi 149 24 72 5.73 16.11 35.99 48.32
Clinch Dit chaggi 0 0 0 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A
NUMBER OF KICKS
SCORED
KICKS POINTS
TOTAL 5023 355 806
TOTAL PER MATCH 193 13.65 31
Avramov (2009, 2010) published a study of the male -74 kg category from the 2009 World championships in Denmark. Although for the opposite sex, the comparison with our study is curious.
Table 2. Main technical indicators in the taekwondo matches of the -74 kg of 2009 World Championships, (Avramov, 2012)
TYPE OF KICK
NUMBER OF KICKS NUMBER OF SCORED KICKS AVERAGE NUMBER OF KICKS PER MATCH NUMBER OF POINTS FROM THE KICK COEFFICIENT OF SUCCESS OF THE KICK %OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT POINT EFFICIENCY OF THE KICK/ PUNCH
Dollyo chagi 1451 112 32.98 112 7.718815 43 7.718815
Front Dollyo chagi 329 25 7.48 25 7.598784 10 7.598784
Neryo chaggi 301 30 6.84 86 9.966777 9 28.57143
Parumbal dollyo chagi 284 7 6.45 7 2.464789 8 2.464789
Narre chaggi 283 29 6.43 34 10.24735 8 12.01413
Chirugi 169 7 3.84 7 4.142012 5 4.142012
Mirro chagi 163 0 3.70 0 0 5 0
Dit chaggi 137 8 3.11 15 5.839416 4 10.94891
Tiurige 70 6 1.59 18 8.571429 2 25.71429
Dollyo chagi olgul 64 9 1.45 27 14.0625 2 42.1875
Parumbal dollyo chagi
olgul 42 5 0.95 15 11.90476 1 35.71429
Front Dollyo chagi olgul 31 6 0.70 18 19.35484 1 58.06452
Narrabam dollyo chaggi 22 0 0.50 0 0 0.7 0
NUMBER OF KICKS
SCORED
KICKS POINTS
TOTAL 3346 244 364
TOTAL PER MATCH 76.05 5.55 8.27
From the data we have analyzed we can assume it is very likely that every kick we compare between 2009 and 2019 that in 2019 there will be 3 times as many kicks of a given type more. But this is not so.
The most striking difference occurs when kicking yop chagi with the front foot. This is the most used kick in 2019 by women. It is also probably the most frequently used kick by men as of 2019. However, 10 years earlier, this kick was not used once in the matches of the World Championships. In 2019, this kick was used 1,889 times in 22 matches at the Sofia Grand Prix in the women’s -49 kg division, making an average of 72.6 times per match. In 2009, the number was zero. Of course, this is not a non-ex- istent kick in taekwondo in 2009, but this kick is practically non-existent in sparring since that time,
because no matter how hard it is thrown, the judg- es did not score it. Because the electronic scoring system was introduced quickly, teams did not have time to adapt to it in advance, which led to a style of play at the 2009 World Championships that was also characteristic of matches without an electronic scoring system. Part of this may also be due to the fact that it is a main kick in North Korean Taekwon- do, and perhaps out of a desire to avoid similarities between the two, the judges had a directive not to score it, thus limiting its use. Obviously, however, this kick is effective, and after removing the subjec- tive factor of the judges, the technique and tactics in Olympic Taekwondo take the path of natural evo- lution. In terms of the most commonly used kick in 2009 - the rear leg dollyo chagi, it was used 13.9
times on average per match. In 2019, the same kick was used 32.9 times per match. It should be taken into account that in the present study, the rear leg dollyo chagi from the clinch was calculated sepa- rately, due to the specificity of the kick and the prac- tical direction of such data. Otherwise, its use in 2019 will rise to 27 per match. However, in this case, it ranks third in terms of usage. Front-leg dollyo ch- agi ranks second, which in 2019 was used an aver- age of 51.5 times per match, while in 2009 this kick was used just 7.4 times per match. The advantage of using the front leg in modern Taekwondo is obvi- ous. Whether this is good or bad is irrelevant to a competitor who wants to win his matches. Circum- stances require a shift in the training methodology of winning shots. In terms of the number of points realized with a given shot on average per match, in 2009 the leader in the ranking according to this indi- cator was Dollyo Chagi with a rear leg - 2.54 points.
As we noted above, it is also the most frequently used kick at the time. Of course, it sounds logical that the most frequently used kick should bring the most points in an average match. It is its efficacy that necessitates its wide use in Taekwondo matches. In 2019, however, contrary to expectations, the most frequently used kick yop chagi with the front leg, scores an average of 3.3 points and ranks 4th in this indicator. Front leg Neryo Chagi, which averages 7.34 points per game. He was used an average of 6.7
times per Taekwondo match. The same kick, but ex- ecuted with the back foot, in the same competition, did not bring any points. The same rear leg kick in 2009 was used an average of 6.7 times per match and scored an average of 0.77 points, while the front leg Neyro chagi was not used once in 2009. Punching, or was used in 2009 on an average of 3.8 times per match, scoring an average of 0.16 points per match.
In 2019, it was used 13.15 times scoring an average of 4.34 points per Taekwondo match. It should be noted that this is also the only attacking technique that is still scored by judges without its power being measured by an electronic scoring system. The evo- lution in the punches used over the last 10 years in Taekwondo is a fact.
The average number of points scored for men in 2009 in one match was 5.5 points, while for wom- en in 2019 it was 13.6 points. Again, the difference here is large and we have to consider the advantages of electronic equipment over these of the referee‘s evaluation of kicks.
Undoubtedly, these changes, whether they make taekwondo attractive to the general public or not, should be taken into consideration by coaches and competitors. Undoubtedly, with the present devel- opment, we prove that the intensity, and hence the requirements for the taekwondo player’s endur- ance, have increased significantly.
44
26
2009 - male -74 kg 1 2019 - female - 49 kg
3346
5023
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
Figure 1.Number of analyzed matches Figure 2.Number of kicks per category
76
193
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
25.33
64.33
2009 - male -74 1 2019 - female - 49
Figure 3. Average number of kicks per match Figure 4.Average number of kicks per round
4,73
1,86
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
121
263
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
Figure 5. Coefficient of intensity of the kicks Figure 6.Highest number of kicks in a match
40
108
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
4,73
1,86
2009 - male -74 kg 2019 - female - 49 kg
Figure 7.Lowest number of kicks in a match Figure 8. Coefficient of intensity
DISCUSSION
Comparing the available data, namely the men‘s 74 kg category data from the 2009 World Cham- pionships and the women‘s 49 kg category data, we found interesting results. The average number of strikes per match for the men in 2009 was 76, and the 2019 average for the women was 193. This is the number combined for both competitors. The differ- ence is almost 3 times more in favor of women. It is logical to assume that in an analysis of the men‘s categories from 2019, the indicators for men will be higher than those for women. We suggest that future studies be conducted in the male divisions as well so that the comparison can be correct in terms of gender and weight. However, we believe that the World Federation has realized one of its main trends, that is that the changes in the rules aim to stimulate active play by both competitors.
Due to improved and new electronic systems, as well as constant rule changes, competitors began to look for new techniques to score points. Most of these shots were hardly used until now, but after
the rule change, some of them became even basic.
A typical example in this regard is yop chagi, this shot was not scored by the judges, but now it has become one of the main shots, and the way of con- ducting the game has radically changed. Kicks that, in the absence of the PSS, would not be scored by the judges, are now becoming a must-have weapon in the arsenal of any successful Taekwondo com- petitor. Of course, the 2009 World Championships was the first to have an electronic scoring system.
However, it has long since been replaced due to its imperfections. In the 2019 Grand Prix Sofia Daedo 2 electronic system was used. Daedo 1 was intro- duced 2 years after the World Championships in Denmark, and Daedo 2 was introduced in 2017. It is clear to everyone that the human factor cannot cover and score objectively all the shots. For tae- kwondo competitors, this is more than obvious, watching taekwondo matches from over 10 years ago and comparing them to their experiences on electronic equipment. Very often light blows, which are apparently not delivered with great force, score points. Such shots would never have been scored
before the availability of electronic equipment. It is still debatable whether taekwondo 10 years ago was better than it is now, but no one denies the advantage of the electronic scoring system, which puts competitors on a level playing field, at least in terms of scoring. Many of the kicks that modern electronic systems count are very likely not counted by the Lajust system used in 2009. The kicks used in the 2009 meets scored an average of 8.2 points per match, while women‘s kicks from 2019 scored an average of 31 points. The increase in points scored is almost 400%.
The comparative analysis between elite tae- kwondo players shows how much taekwondo has changed compared to 10 years ago. It is ex- tremely important to monitor the trends in the development of the rules and the correspond- ing opportunities to adapt techniques to them, but it is even more important to try to predict what these changes will be in order to prepare taekwondo players earlier. The number of kicks in a Taekwondo match compared to 10 years ago has increased tremendously, which means that the requirements in terms of speed and strength endurance are even greater. Coaches should pay special attention to the number of kicks that are taken in a match and model practice matches with that number of shots taken.
REFERENCE
Andonov, K. (2004). Izsledvane efektivnostta na funkt- sionalnata struktura na gimnastikata v natsionalnata sistema za fizichesko vazpitanie. Sofia.
Andreev, P. (2010). Sportna gimnastika i tvorchestvo - meto- dologiya za otkrivane na novi uprajnenia. Sofia: NSA press.
Avramov, D. (2010). Analiz na svetovnoto parvenstvo po taekuondo 2009. Sport and science (pp. 34-38). Sofia:
NSA press.
Avramov, D. (2012). Creating a system for difficulty evalu- ation of taekwondo kicks. XVI International scientific con- gress “Sport for all” and VI International scientific congress
“Sport, stress, adaptation” (pp. 107 - 109). Sofia: NSA press.
Federation, W. T. (2022). Competition Rules & inter- pretation. Retrieved from www.worldtaekwondo.org:
World Taekwondo Federation (2022): Competition rules & interpretation available at: http://www.world- taekwondo.org/viewer_pdf/external/pdfjs-2.1.266- dist/web/viewer.html?file=http://www.worldtaekwon- do.org/att_file/documents/WT%20Competition%20 Rules%20%20Interpretation%2 (Accessed on 24 Sep- tember 2022).
Kim, J. R. (1986). Taekwondo:basic techniques & taegeuk poomsae. Vol. 1 . Seoul: Seo Lim Publishing Company.
Corresponding author:
Dimitar Avramov, PhD Taekwondo department National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”
Sofia, Bulgaria Email: [email protected]
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