Physical Education of Students (Feb 2024)
Investigation of balance performance of wrestling and kickboxing athletes
Abstract
Background and Aim. Balance performance is one of the significant requirements to achieve success in wrestling and kickboxing. Although the evaluation of balance performance is important in both sports branches, there are a limited number of studies on this subject. Additionally, there is no study comparing the two branches in terms of balance performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the balance performances of wrestling and kickboxing athletes. Material and Methods. Thirteen Greco-Roman wrestlers (age: 20.69 ± 1.32 years, height: 176.0 ± 4.30 cm, body mass: 75.54 ± 6.81 kg) and thirteen kickboxers (age: 20.23 ± 2.49 years, height: 177. 62 ± 5.03 cm, body mass: 77.08 ± 8.44 kg) who participated in national competitions were included in the study voluntarily. The Biodex Balance System (BBS, Biodex Medical Systems Inc., Shirley, NY) was used to test dynamic balance and three index scores were recorded: overall stability index (OSI), anterior-posterior stability index (APSI) and medio-lateral stability index (MLSI). Dynamic balance measurements of the participants were conducted with eyes open condition. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the outputs of the dynamic balance tests of wrestlers and kickboxers. All statistical analyses were conducted using the SPSS software package, version 24.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results. The comparison of dynamic balance between kickboxers and wrestlers revealed no significant differences in the OSI, APSI, and MLSI parameters (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that despite the inherent differences in technical requirements and training protocols between kickboxing and wrestling, both groups of athletes demonstrate similar levels of proficiency in maintaining dynamic balance. Such parity challenges potential assumptions regarding disparities in balance performance across these disciplines. Conclusions. The balance performances of wrestling and kickboxing athletes are similar, as evidenced by the lack of significant differences in dynamic balance parameters between the two groups. This suggests that balance performance may be influenced by the specific features of each sport and the training levels of the athletes, rather than inherent differences between the sports themselves.
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