PURPOSE This study aimed to explore the imagery strategies of elite Taekwondo demonstrators during the match preparation period. METHODS The participants were 30 elite Taekwondo demonstration athletes enrolled in the Korea University Taekwondo Federation. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The study referred to the qualitative approach for data collection proposed by Gould et al. (1992). Inductive content analysis of an imagery was conducted based on the imagery classification frameworks outlined by Paivio (1985) and Suinn (1996). Three experts independently reviewed and categorized raw data and imagery cases. RESULTS The findings revealed that elite Taekwondo demonstration athletes typically utilized the types of imagery described by Paivio (1985) and Suinn (1996). Among the factors, imagery of skills appeared with the highest frequency followed by imageries of competition, anxiety regulation, mental skills, and motivation. Furthermore, 2 weeks and 1 day prior to a competition, the elite Taekwondo demonstrators mainly used imageries of skills and competition, respectively. On the day, they use imageries of anxiety regulation and mental skills. CONCLUSIONS After the competition, they mainly used imagery of skills. In summary, the elite Taekwondo demonstrators employed personalized imagery strategies for enhancing training effectiveness and optimizing performance during competition. These strategies varied according to specific phases or contexts of the competition
This study aimed to explore elite taekwondo competitors’ imagery strategies . The study participants were 10 elite taekwondo athletes, who worked for S business team. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The data were collected based on Gould et al. (1992)’s proposed qualitative research method. The inductive content analysis of the imagery was conducted following the imagery type of Paivio (1985) and Suinn (1996). The law data and case of imagery were separated by three specialists. The results were as follows. First, elite taekwondo competitors generally used the types of imagery proposed by Paivio (1985) and Suinn (1996). In particular, imagery of anxiety regulation appeared with the highest frequency among factors and ordered imagery of motivation, imagery of skills, imagery of mental skills, and imagery of competition. Second, elite taekwondo competitors mainly used imagery of skills before two weeks for competition. They mainly used imagery of anxiety regulation the day before a competition. They used imagery of anxiety regulation and imagery of motivation on the day of a competition. They used imagery of motivation after the competition. In sum, elite taekwondo competitors used individual strategies in terms of imagery in order to ensure effective training and peak performance in competition. The strategy of imagery was applied differently based on the juncture of the competition.
