Examining the leadership characteristics, empathy and personality traits of Wushu Kung-Fu coaches

The purpose of this study is to examine the leadership characteristics, personality traits, and empathy levels of Wushu Kung-Fu coaches in relation to demographic variables such as gender, educational background, coaching level, the style of Wushu they practice, and whether they have received training abroad. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the relationships between their multifactor leadership orientations, personality traits, and empathy levels. The study population consists of actively working coaches affiliated with the Turkish Wushu Kung-Fu Federation across various provinces. The sample includes a total of 250 Wushu Kung-Fu coaches selected using the convenience sampling method. As data collection tools, the "Multifactor Leadership Orientations Scale" developed by Dursun, Günay, and Yenel (2019), the "Ten-Item Personality Inventory" developed by Atak (2013), and the "Empathy Quotient Scale" developed by Lawrence et al. (2004) and adapted into Turkish by Barış and Çolakoğlu (2015) were used. Additionally, a "Personal Information Form" developed by the researcher was used to gather demographic data. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23. The distribution of demographic characteristics was presented with frequency and percentage values. To compare group differences, Independent Samples t-tests and One-Way ANOVA were used. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between the subdimensions of the scales. According to the findings, the highest leadership scores were obtained in the human-oriented leadership subdimension, while the lowest scores were in the political leadership dimension. In terms of personality traits, agreeableness had the highest average, whereas openness to experience had the lowest. Regarding empathy, the emotional response subdimension was found to be the most prominent. When comparing Wushu styles, it was observed that coaches practicing the Taolu style scored higher in both leadership and empathy compared to those practicing the Sanda style. The results suggest that increases in Wushu Kung-Fu coaches' multifactor leadership orientation scores are positively associated with higher levels of personality traits and empathy.