Effects of immediate videotape visual feedback in learning three eclectic martial arts kicks.

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of two methods of teaching three eclectic martial arts kicks to 60 female subjects with no prior experience in the martial arts. The subjects were selected from students who had registered to take beginning self-defense classes at Middle Tennessee State University. The subjects' ages ranged from 18 to 24 years. The 60 female subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group (N = 30), designated the experimental group; received the traditional method of instruction plus immediate videotape visual feedback. The other group (N = 30), designated the control group, received the traditional method of instruction with no videotape visual feedback.

Both groups met twice a week for five weeks practicing various aspects of self-defense. After five weeks, each subject received a pretest score on the front kick, the roundhouse kick, and the lunging side kick. Three Black Belts experienced in judging various techniques of the martial arts served as the judges. They used a 1-5 scale commonly used in karate tournaments to administer a score to each subject in both groups on each of the three kicks.

After the pretest, each subject in the experimental group was videotaped performing the three kicks. Immediately following the taping session, the subjects watched the tape with comments from the instructor. The subjects in the control group performed the same number of kicks with no visual feedback. The subjects in the experimental group were videotaped one class session per week. Both groups practiced the same techniques on nontaping days. This procedure lasted for three weeks. After the three-week period, each subject received a posttest score on the three kicks by the same three judges.

An analysis of variance between groups was used to treat the pre- and post-data. The results indicated that both groups significantly improved at the.05 level for all three kicks. The experimental group improved significantly at the.05 level on the front kick and the roundhouse kick. The experimental group did not significantly improve at the.05 level compared to the control group on the lunging side kick.