The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo

Justyna Bagińska; Paweł Piepiora; Zbigniew Piepiora; Kazimierz Witkowski

2022, Volume 18

The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo

Justyna Bagińska¹, Paweł Piepiora¹, Zbigniew Piepiora², Kazimierz Witkowski¹

¹Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
²Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland

Author for correspondence: Paweł Piepiora; Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wrocław, Poland; email: pawel.piepiora@awf.wroc.pl

Justyna Bagińska: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5540-3665

Paweł Piepiora: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-3936

Zbigniew Piepiora: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0259-4004

Kazimierz Witkowski: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1503-9904

Full text

Abstract

Background and Study Aim: The gradual introduction of combat sports into the modern Olympic disciplines was dictated by their popularity, global prestige and meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines. The perspective of spatial differentiation and development of Olympic combat sports is the premise of this paper. The aim of the paper is an in-depth reflection on the phenomenon of the geography of the Olympic combat sports from the Far East – judo, karate and taekwondo.

Material and Methods: Judo, karate and taekwondo results from the Olympic Games posted on the IOC website were analysed. For this purpose, the method of secondary source analysis was used. Two new indicators were then constructed to relativize the data: the Olympic Games medal winning frequency index (M); the Olympic Games points winning frequency index (P). A cartographic method – choropleth map and proportional symbol map – was used to illustrate the results. The natural interval method was used to determine class intervals.

Results: Regarding the number of medals won, Japan dominates in judo, Turkey in karate and South Korea in taekwondo. However, regarding the weight of medals won, Japan dominates in both judo and karate, and South Korea in taekwondo. Unfortunately, Japan is not a member of CISM (Conseil International du Sport Militaire), and karate is not competitive at the highest level in this organization of athlete-soldiers.

Conclusions: The obtained results show the impact of geography on sport. The countries where judo, karate and taekwondo originated dominate the Olympic competition in these disciplines of Far Eastern combat sports.

Key words: geography of sport, division of the combat sports, choropleth map, CISM, Olympic Games, proportional symbol map

Cite this article as:

AMA:

Bagińska J, Piepiora P, Piepiora Z et al. The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo. ARCH BUDO. 2022;18:183-192

APA:

Bagińska, J., Piepiora, P., Piepiora, Z., & Witkowski, K. (2022). The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo. ARCH BUDO, 18, 183-192

Chicago:

Bagińska, Justyna, Piepiora Paweł, Piepiora Zbigniew, Witkowski Kazimierz. 2022. "The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo". ARCH BUDO 18: 183-192

Harvard:

Bagińska, J., Piepiora, P., Piepiora, Z., and Witkowski, K. (2022). The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo. ARCH BUDO, 18, pp.183-192

MLA:

Bagińska, Justyna et al. "The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo." ARCH BUDO, vol. 18, 2022, pp. 183-192

Vancouver:

Bagińska J, Piepiora P, Piepiora Z et al. The geography of Olympic combat sports – part one: judo, karate, taekwondo. ARCH BUDO 2022; 18: 183-192