Current scientific research by the team of Prof. Jacek Wąsik (4th Dan) on the biomechanics of the yop chagi (side kick) and dollyo chagi (turning kick) kicks of Taekwon-Do provides the following scientific evidence:
I.
The force value for the dollyo chagi kick averages 2661.53 N and for the yop chagi 4596.15 N. Foot acceleration at 150.56 m/s² for the turning kick and 74.34 m/s² for the side kick, respectively.
The interesting author’s concept of Prof. Wąsik’s effective mass, i.e. the mass involved in the impact, shows that, on average, approximately 20% of the athlete’s total body mass is involved during the execution of the dollyo chagi and 73% during the side kick. These results show a significant difference in the force generated between the two kicks, highlighting the influence of effective mass and foot acceleration on the force of the kick.
More: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/6/2339
II.
The results of the study show, among other things, that the side kick produced a significantly higher resultant impact force than the turning kick. Furthermore, the resultant force correlates with the force component of the main foot direction. An important result of the study was that there were no significant differences in resultant impact force between the left and right foot in both the side kick and the turning kick. Thus, it can be assumed that there was an even development of the left and right leg in the athletes studied. Modern research says that improvements in the skills and performance of the non-dominant and dominant limb are accompanied by beneficial changes in certain brain structures. Thus, the activation of symmetrical parts of the human body increases the health dimension of training in Taekwon-Do.
More: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/13/5876
III.
Both men and women obtained higher kick force and effective mass values and lower foot acceleration values when performing yop chagi compared to dollyo chagi. There were no significant differences in the percentage of effective mass when performing circular and lateral kicks between women and men. However, due to women’s lower mass on average, this factor contributes to a reduction in the kick force generated. Some women, after specialised training, achieve higher dynamic index values than men. This means that the effectiveness of a strike is not always determined by gender differences.
More: https://www.physactiv.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024_12223.pdf
Conclusion
The results of this research have important implications for Taekwon-Do athletes and coaches. They indicate that training can be optimised by adjusting kicking technique to increase effective mass and acceleration to maximise striking power. At the same time, it may be possible to consciously control effective mass to reduce kick force in self-defence situations, which may help to avoid penalisation. In summary, this research makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of biomechanics in Taekwon-Do, providing both theoretical and practical insights that can be applied to training.
Biographical note
Prof. Jacek Wąsik holds currently the position of the Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the Institute of Physical Culture Sciences at Jan Dlugosz University in Częstochowa, Poland.
He is a specialist in the field of analysis of human movements, biomechanics, and the kinetics of martial arts strikes and selected problems of diagnostics of movement disorders and methods of assessing progress in physiotherapy. He mainly carries out work in the field of searching for optimization and increasing the effectiveness of sports techniques. Interests: Biomechanical assessment of athletes’ movements and seeking to increase their effectiveness; Kinematic diagnostics of the human condition at different ages, e.g., elderly people and patients.
He is the president and the head coach of Czestochowska Akademia Taekwon-Do and 4th degree black belt holder.
He was the member of the Scientific Research Committee of All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation in the years 2012-2021.
In October 2024, Mr. Wąsik officially received the professorial nomination from Mr. Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland.
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