The influence of kihap on the impact of Dolio-chagui kicks in taekwondo

Abstract

The kihapis a technique used in several oriental martial arts. It is a yell used by practitioners with the ex pectation of enhancing the force of a hit. However, the real effect of using the kihapis unknown. Therefore, this study aims to compare the peak of acceleration of the Dolio-chaguikick in taekwondo performed with and without the use of kihap. Twenty two experienced taekwondo practitioners performed 30 kicks each against a punching bag, alternating in random order with and without kihap, while the acceleration of the punching bag was measured. A t-test was used to compare the difference between the mean acceleration in both conditions. Higher values were found with the use of kihap(7.8 ± 2.8 g) than without the use of kihap(7.1 ± 2.4 g), p< 0.01, r= 0.57. The results indicate that kihapenhances the impact of the kick.