IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE

Background. Improved leg strength in taekwondo athletes has been suggested as a way to help prevent hamstrings injuries.
Problem and Aim. Research on isokinetic leg strength in Malaysian taekwondo [WTF] athletes has been scarce, especially in recreational participants. The aim of this study was to compare isokinetic leg strength in adolescent Malaysian recreational taekwondo participants.
Methods. Strength was assessed in 7 females and 8 males on a Biodex System 3 during leg extension and flexion at 120o/sec and 300o/sec. A 3-way (Gender x Movement x Velocity) ANOVA with repeated measurements of the second and third factors was used to determine differences between gender, extension/flexion and angular velocity. A 2-way (Gender x Velocity) ANOVA with repeated measurements of the second factor was employed to determine differences in hamstrings/quadriceps (H/Q) ratios between the genders by angular velocity.
Results. Collapsed over angular velocity and movement, the boys recorded a higher peak torque: eta2 = 0.47, 80% CI: 0.14 – 0.71, d = 1.93, 80% CI: 0.00 – 9.03 albeit unclear. When scaled to height (m2), relative peak torque was still higher for the boys: eta2 = 0.38, 80% CI: 0.03 – 0.65 albeit unclear but the pairwise comparison was clear: d = 1.50, 80% CI: 0.49 – 0.69. Dimensional scaling did not fully control for the effect of height on isokinetic leg strength in the girls: r = 0.17, 80% CI: 0.00 – 0.67. However, it did not in the boys: r = 0.72, 80% CI: 0.32 – 0.90.
Conclusions. The results seem to partially support the claim that, as far as isokinetic leg strength is concerned, geometric similarity may not apply. Future studies should compare theoretical strength exponents to those empirically derived in a larger sample.