title: Perceptual and Motor Performance of Combat-Sport Athletes Differs According to Specific Demands of the Discipline.
abstract: The specific demands of a combat-sport discipline may be reflected in the perceptual-motor performance of its athletes. Taekwondo, which emphasizes kicking, might require faster perceptual processing to compensate for longer latencies to initiate lower-limb movements and to give rapid visual feedback for dynamic postural control, while Karate, which emphasizes both striking with the hands and kicking, might require exceptional eye-hand coordination and fast perceptual processing. In samples of 38 Taekwondo athletes (16 females, 22 males; mean age = 19.9 years, SD = 1.2), 24 Karate athletes (9 females, 15 males; mean age = 18.9 years, SD = 0.9), and 35 Nonathletes (20 females, 15 males; mean age = 20.6 years, SD = 1.5), we measured eye-hand coordination with the Finger-Nose-Finger task, and both perceptual-processing speed and attentional control with the Covert Orienting of Visual Attention (COVAT) task. Eye-hand coordination was significantly better for Karate athletes than for Taekwondo athletes and Nonathletes, but reaction times for the upper extremities in the COVAT task-indicative of perceptual-processing speed-were faster for Taekwondo athletes than for Karate athletes and Nonathletes. In addition, we found no significant difference among groups in attentional control, as indexed by the reaction-time cost of an invalid cue in the COVAT task. The results suggest that athletes in different combat sports exhibit distinct profiles of perceptual-motor performance.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Rehabilitation Science, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Ying
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute of Sport Performance, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Sheng K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute of Sport Performance, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tai-Fen
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Combat Sport, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuei-Ming
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Recreational Sport, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuei-Yuan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute of Sport Performance, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Ching
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: 5 School of Psychology, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|6 School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Patrick T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Goodbourn
keywords: Karate; Taekwondo; attentional control; elite athletes; eye–hand coordination; perceptual-processing speed