Abstract
Background: The urgency of this study lies in understanding differences in motor fitness characteristics between two combat sports that require high physical performance, particularly explosive movement and rapid execution.
Aims: This study aimed to compare selected motor fitness components, namely power and speed, between Wushu and Taekwondo players of Manipur.
Methods: A total of 40 male state-level athletes aged 18–23 years participated in this study, consisting of 20 Wushu players and 20 Taekwondo players. The research employed a comparative research design to examine differences in motor fitness between the two groups. Power was measured using the standing broad jump test, while speed was assessed through the 50-meter dash run. Each participant completed three trials for each test, and the best performance was recorded for analysis. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test with a significance level set at 0.05 using IBM SPSS version 20.
Result: The results revealed that there was no significant difference in power between Wushu and Taekwondo players. However, a significant difference was found in speed performance between the two groups. Wushu players demonstrated superior speed performance compared with Taekwondo players, suggesting that differences in training demands and movement characteristics across combat sports may influence specific motor fitness components.
Conclusion: The findings indicate similar power capabilities between both groups, while differences appear in speed performance. These results suggest that sport-specific training characteristics may contribute to variations in speed development and provide insights for coaches in designing targeted conditioning programs.
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