2019, Volume 15
Personality traits of athletes practicing eastern martial arts
Artur Litwiniuk1, Juris Grants2, Ivars Kravalis2, Zbigniew Obmiński3
1Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, University of Physical Education J. Pilsudski, Biala Podlaska, Poland
2Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga, Latvia
3Institute of Sport-National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Author for correspondence: Artur Litwiniuk; Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, University of Physical Education J. Pilsudski, Biala Podlaska, Poland; email: a.litwiniuk@wp.pl
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Abstract
Background and study aim: Among various forms of physical activity, part of the population of Poles practice eastern martial arts (EMA) with a diverse motoric structure and rules of sport competition. Traditional karate (TK) is a completely non-contact sport, taekwondo (Ta) is a contact sport where body protectors are used to mitigate the effects of impacts, in Kyokushin karate (KK) athletes do not use protectors, which increases the risk of injuries to them, especially heads as a result of kicks. In aikido (Ai), levers and undercuts are counterattacking techniques but not destructive to the body. The aim of the study is to verify the hypothesis that young men practicing the listed EMA differ significantly in terms of in selected personality traits.
Material and Methods: Men training Ai, KK, Ta and TK were included in the study. The number of respondents in each group was n = 82 (328 participants in total), the age of the subjects was 19-20 years and training experience 5-8 years. Two characteristics of Impulsive-Sensation Seeking (Imp-SS), Aggression-Hostility (Agg-Ho) determined by the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) test and three features of Neuroticism (Nu), Extraversion (Ex), and Psychoticism were selected to determine the personality profile (Ps) referred to as Eysenk Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R).
Results: Among of all four groups of EMA athletes studied, the highest average results of empirical variables (Agg-Ho 5.0 ±3.32, Imp-SS 9.89 ±3.00 and Ps 7.87 ±4.96) were recorded in the KK group, while the lowest (for Agg-Ho 4.67 ±2.34, Imp SS 9.24 ±2.74, Ps 6.68 ±4.38) among athletes Ai. The level of Agg-Ho in the KK athletes group was statistically significantly higher than these in the Ai and TK groups. In addition, in each group there was a very high inter-individual variation in the values of the studied variables.
Conclusions: The results justify the conclusion that in KK, where the risk of physical injury is highest, athletes reveal the highest negative indicators of personality traits from the point of view of social norms. A different personality profile was found in Ai practitioners, where physically milder forms of defense exercise are preferred. Thus, recommending aikido and martial arts and combat sports preferring mild and relatively mild combat measures as "life sports" for everyone fulfills the mission of effectively strengthening all dimensions of health and survival ability.
Key words: pain tolerance, kumite, aggressiveness, aggression