Purpose This study seeks to explore the process where drop-out elite athletes collect their life skills obtained during their sports career and transfer them to their daily lives. Methods An open-ended questionnaire survey was conducted on a total of ninety retired elite athletes and the responses were analyzed. Based on the results of inductive analysis, five subjects were selected for a follow-up in-depth interview. The responses to the open-ended questionnaire were analyzed by the inductive content analysis method and the results from in-depth interviews by the deductive content analysis method. Results A total of 478 life skills were collected from the drop-out elite athletes and structuralized into four general categories: psychological skill, social skill, self-management skill, and goal-setting skill. The results of this study have revealed that life skills positively transferred to their future courses of lives and daily lives. Conclusion It is believed that the results of this study will be helpful to understanding the concept of sports life skills, studying the possibility of transfer, and provide the basic data for helping drop-out elite athletes with re-socialization and positive adaptation.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to emphasize the need for the establish and the use of altitude training center via examining exercise training method in natural or artificial altitude environment that is applied to various elite athletes in various advanced countries to maximize exercise performance and its effectiveness. Results Altitude training in natural or artificial altitude environment enhances aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance baesd on the hematological and nonhematological adaptations to hypoxic conditions. These altitude training methods can be classified into living high training high (LHTH), living high training low (LHTL), and living low training high (LLTH). LHTH (i.e., developed since the 1968 Mexico Olympics) and LHTL (i.e., developed in the 1990s by Levine and Stray-Gundersen) improve exercise performance via hematologic changes through erythropoiesis such as increased hemoglobin mass and erythrocyte volume. On the other hand, LLTH (i.e., has been developed variously since the 2000s) is composed continuous hypoxic training (CHT), intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) and repeated sprint training in hypoxia (RSH), and the altitude environment is constructed using a vacuum pump and a nitrogen generator. In general, LLTH method dose not induce hematological change in a short time within 3 hours. However, CHT and IHT enhance aerobic exercise capacity by improved exercise economy, supply and utilization of blood to tissues, capillary and mitochondrial densities, and oxidative enzyme activity through various biochemical and structural changes in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle. RSH enhances anaerobic power and repetitive sprint performance by improving glycolytic enzyme, glucose transport, and pH control. In Korea, however, there are almost no facilities for altitude training that is applied to enhance athletic performance in advanced sports countries and recognition of the need for altitude training is also very poor. Conclusions Therefore, it is very urgent to develop altitude training for maximizing athletic performance in Korea and a lot of support and efforts are needed from the government and local governments.
The purpose of this study was to describe psychological changes and variables of injured elite athletes during sport injury rehabilitation. 5 injured elite athletes were selected as participants, and open-ended questionnaires, participant observation, and in-depth interview were used for collecting data. Results from the data were analyzed through transcription, coding, and categorization with inductive method. To validate the results of this study, triangulation, in-depth description, member checks, and peer debriefing were used, and findings of this study were as follow. The participants showed negative psychological state such as fear of return to play and anxiety during the initial rehabilitation program, but their psychological state was changed positively such as recovery of confidence and desire of return to play at the end of program. However, the specific psychological changes of each participant showed several differences according to participant's surrounding environment and situation during the rehabilitation program. All findings have important implications for implementing and developing rehabilitation program, so needs to be investigated further.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 3 weeks of fencing specific training on physical fitness in elite fencers. Methods Forty eight elite fencers participated in this program (Male= 24, Female= 24). Training program consists of dynamic stretching, step and agility training, and it was conducted with the general fencing practice during 3 weeks. Body composition and physical fitness (muscle strength/power, agility, anaerobic power and flexibility) were measured before and after training. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 23.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Paired t-test (pre vs. post) was used for comparison between groups. Results Muscle mass and body fat(%) were significantly changed after training in male group. Agility was significantly improved in change-step jump and reaction time after training both in male and female group. In Anaerobic power, peak power (relative power, absolute power) was significantly increased after training in female group. Flexibility was also significantly improved after training in left ankle ROM of female group. Conclusion Application of fencing specific training program focused on fencing movement seems to be effective on agility in both groups, muscle mass and body fat(%) in male group, and anaerobic power and flexibility in female group.
PURPOSE This study investigated weight-class-related strength parameters during pulling performance in the ssireum. METHODS Elite ssireum athletes participated, 24 divided into four weight classes of six athletes each. They performed a pulling task while gripping a tube fixed to a three-axes load cell sensor, standing on force plate platforms. The test involved 30 repetitions at maximal force with the legs bent, the ssireum’s typical posture. Maximal force (Fmax), time to maximal force (TFmax), time difference between maximal forces (TDmax), and horizontal and vertical angles at maximal force (HAmax and VAmax, respectively) were analyzed from the load cell sensors. Ground reaction force (GRF) was collected, including peak force along the three axes, the resultant force, and the center of pressure (COP). One-way ANOVA tests were conducted to compare among weight classes (α=.05). RESULTS Fmax measured by load cell showed significant difference between classes (p<.05), indicating that the second weight group (Geumgang class) generated more pulling force than the heavier classes. In GRF results, lightweight classes demonstrated larger COP difference between the left and right plates. Specifically, the Geumgang class showed more movement in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction on the left plate. The peak GRF in the right plate of the AP (p<.001) and ML (p<.05) directions showed significant differences between lighter and heavier weight classes. CONCLUSIONS The Geumgang class generated greater pulling force, and the lighter classes demonstrated more leg contribution. Force generation did not solely depend on body mass; instead, lighter athletes often relied on the lower limbs to compensate for their limitations, a strategy commonly observed in competitions.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the negative effects of long-term exercise (training and competition) suspension of male elite athletes due to compulsory military service on athletic performance, and to provide a basis for enhancing the importance of providing support systems and social conditions for maintaining athletic performance. Methods In this study, 17,418 male athletes aged 18 to 21 who were registered as athletes for the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee from 2003 to 2005 were enrolled. The athlete registration data includes information about the athlete's gender, age, sport and affiliation. According to the continuity of registration and belonging information, the compulsory military service type was classified into a manipulator. According to the form of Compulsory military service performed by male elite athletes, the return rate was confirmed and the career (year) was calculated. Results As a result of the survey, 12.49% of the athletes who served as general soldiers returned to the athletes after compulsory military service, showing a relatively low return rate compared to 78.91% of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, 76.55% of the National Police Agency's sports team, and 71.43% of the social service. Also, Athletes who served as general soldiers had a career of 2.46 years (± 1.94), while the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps was 10.21 years (± 3.58), the National Police Agency's sports team was 9.45 years (± 3.26), and the social service was 5.86 years (± 4.06), The exemption was 11.08 years (± 2.27), and the compulsory military service exception was 9.79 years (± 5.55). Conclusions Male elite athletes' decrease in athletic performance after compulsory military service is a natural result, as confirmed through the results of this study, and it is necessary to seek a support system between compulsory military service to maintain athletic performance.
PURPOSE This study was conducted to investigate changes in stress before and after elite shooting athletes participate in a match, and to find out the effect on the match score. METHODS Thirty-wight elite shooting athletes were sampled, questionnaires were distributed to measure psychological stress before and after the match, and saliva was collected before and after the match to measure cortisol. In addition, psychological stress and changes in cortisol before and after the game were investigated, and how psychological stress before and after the game and cortisol affect the score of the game were investigated. Accordingly, a statistical analysis based on data analysis was conducted, and the following research results were obtained. RESULTS The pre-match analysis of psychological stress and cortisol revealed statistically significant changes; both post-match stress and cortisol decreased compared to before the match. Increased psychological stress and cortisol both before and after the match had a negative effect on the match score. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirmed that shooters experience very strong psycho-physiological stress before the match, and the stronger the psychological stress, the lower the game score.
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on elite youth athletes by investigating their activities and eating habits before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This study included 917 elite adult athletes from 19 sports and were grouped into 6. The questionnaire included items regarding demographics, physical activity, sleep, and eating habits before and after COVID-19. A total of 44 questions requiring subjective short answers were included. Statistical significance was set at p< 0.05. RESULTS After COVID-19, vigorous and moderate activity decreased across all sports; however, light activity increased in almost sports. Time spent sitting increased across all sports. The difference in the number of meals consumed varied among sports, and the number of competitions decreased in all sports. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be finished but has not ended yet. Athletes must determine the best way to maintain their physical, physiological, and psychological states close to their original abilities. Determining this will provide the greatest impact on the return of athletes after COVID-19; this study will be helpful.
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to verify the mediated effect between self-presentation, stress coping, and competitive state anxiety among domestic elite athletes and to identify the intermediate effects of stress coping in the relationship between self-presentation and competitive state anxiety. METHODS The study was conducted with 259 elite athletes. The relationship between self-presentation, stress coping and competitive state anxiety was verified using the SPSS and AMOS. RESULTS The results of this study were as follows. First, Self-presentation affected positively on stress coping. Second, Stress coping affected positively on competitive state anxiety. Third, Self-presentation affected positively on competitive state. Lastly, stress coping mediated significantly the relationship between self-presentation and competitive state anxiety. CONCLUSIONS The result of this study shows that the competitive anxiety of elite athletes depends on the meaning of self-presentation, and the stress coping is deeply related to competitive state anxiety. In conclusion, it was determined that it provided basic data to understand the competitive state anxiety of players in various ways.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between emotion and control focus and training involvement in games where elite shooters are late. Methods Thus, 228 elite shooters were selected and the research results were derived based on data analysis using discriminatory emotions, control focus, and training attendance scales. Results According to the analysis of the correlation between emotion, control focus, and training involvement, positive emotions of surprise, enjoyment, and interest showed a static relationship with improvement focus and training involvement, while negative emotions such as anger and guilt had a static relationship with prevention focus, but showed an inadequate relationship with training involvement. The multiple regression analysis between emotion and control focus showed that the improvement focus showed the most significant effect of enjoyment emotion, while the prevention focus showed that instability had the most effect on the prevention focus. Overall, the focus of improvement has been shown to be affected by training. Finally, it was found that positive sentiment had a positive effect on improvement focus and training involvement, while negative sentiment affected prevention focus and reduced cognitive involvement. Conclusions Positive sentiment toward the competition has been confirmed to enhance training participation by strengthening the focus of improvement, but negative sentiment has been shown to enhance the focus of prevention, reducing cognitive involvement.
