DESCRIPTIVE ANTHROPOMETRY OF RECREATIONAL ADOLESCENT TAEKWONDO PRACTITIONERS

Fadzliana M., Pieter Willy and Erie Z. Z.

Science University of Malaysia, School of Health Sciences, Kubang Kerian, Malaysia

Introduction Although the anthropometric profile of young and adult recreational and elite taekwondo-in (athletes) have been investigated before (Pieter, 1991) there is a paucity of research on Malaysian counterparts of any age group. Olds and Kang (2000) found Korean male elite taekwondo-in to be less endomorphic than their club colleagues. The purpose of this study was to describe the anthropometric profile of Malaysian adolescent taekwondo practitioners. Methods Subjects were members of the Kelantan state team training to participate in the 2008 Malaysian Games (8 males, 18.631.92 years, 168.657.37 cm, 68.2920.69 kg, and 10 females, 18.101.37 years, 158.224.11 cm, 59.7210.03 kg). Somatotype was assessed according to the Heath-Carter method (Carter and Heath, 1990), while the sum of 8 skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapula, supraspinale, iliac crest, abdominal, anterior thigh and medial calf) was used to represent relative total body fat. All measurements were taken following the ISAK protocol. An independent t-test was used to determine the differences between boys and girls. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results The boys were taller (p=0.002, eta2=0.476) but there were no differences in endomorphy (3.73 vs. 4.64, p=0.340, 2 eta =0.057), mesomorphy (5.45 vs. 4.86, p=0.431, eta2=0.039) or ectomorphy (2.34 vs. 1.44, p=0.254, eta2=0.081). Although the girls recorded a higher sum of 8 skinfolds (127.72 mm vs. 99.11 mm), this was not statistically significantly different (p=0.259, eta2=0.079). Discussion/Conclusions Previous research on highly competitive American junior taekwondo-in (15 years old) revealed that the girls were significantly more endomorphic (3.2 vs. 2.3) but less mesomorphic (3.4 vs. 4.2) than the boys (Pieter, 2001). It is not clear why there were no differences in somatotype among the Malaysians. It might be related to differences in training status and experience. Olds and Kang (2000) suggested that experience may play a larger role in determining success in taekwondo competition than physique-related correlates. Pieter et al. (2002) confirmed this in Filipino taekwondo-in when they reported that winners, among other characteristics, had more experience than their losing counterparts. Future anthropometric research should include Malaysian taekwondo-in of different skill levels and ages. As well, other determinants of performance should be included, such as physical fitness and psychological correlates. References Carter, J. & Heath, B. (1990). Somatotyping. Development and Applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Olds, T. & Kang, S. J. (2000). Anthropometric characteristics of adult male Korean taekwondo players. In: Olympic Taekwondo Organizing Committee (ed.). Taekwondo and the New Millennium-Proceedings, Seoul: Korean National University of Physical Education, pp. 69-75. Pieter, W. (1991). Performance characteristics of elite taekwondo athletes. Korean Journal of Sport Science, 3, 94-117. Pieter, W. (2001). Somatotypes of young taekwondo athletes: implications for talent identification. In: Jrime, T. and Jrime, J. (eds.). Proceedings of the 7th International Scientific Conference of the International Association of Sport Kinetics, Acta Kinesiologiae Universitatis Tartuensis, 6 (Supplement), 192-195. Pieter, W., Mateo, C. & Bercades, L. T. (2002). Determinants of performance in taekwondo. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 34, Supplement 1: S65.

Fadzliana, M., Pieter, W. and Erie, Z. Z. (2008), Descriptive anthropometry of recreational adolescent taekwondo practitioners, 2008 Pre-Olympic Congress, International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport, Guangzhou, China, August 1-5.