Examination of elite young male boxing and taekwondo athletes interms of physical performance and somotatip

Although there are many specific studies concerning physical performance and body composition characteristics in boxing and taekwondo sports, which have been described as combat sports, to date, no comparative study has been found on whether there is a difference between elite young male athletes of both groups. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to determine whether there is a difference between physical performance and body composition of elite young male boxing and taekwondo athletes. Nineteen boxing (mean age= 17.6 years, competition experience= 6.4 years and body mass= 71.3 kg) and twenty-one taekwondo (mean age= 17.4 years, competition experience= 6.1 years and body mass= 73.3 kg) athletes, who have formed the national candidate team of their own sports federations, voluntarily participated in this study. Athletes were involved in a series of test protocols including the T-run, shuttle-run, sit and reach, running anaerobic sprint (RAST) and countermovement jump, the visual and auditory reaction in the second of national team camps which was organised by their own sports federations. Results indicated that taekwondo players' anaerobic power (9%), flexibility (7%) and speed values (3.3%) were higher than boxers, and boxers' leg explosive power (9.8%), auditory reaction time (9.5%), agility (1.8%) and VO2 max values were higher than taekwondo athletes, but these differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, there was no significant difference in body composition characteristics between boxing and taekwondo athletes, but mesomorphic values were higher in both groups than their ectomorphs and endomorphs (p <0.05). On the other hand, the vertical jump of 11.6% and visual reaction abilities of boxers were significantly better than taekwondo players at a rate of 9.1% (p <0.05 In conclusion, this study showed that there were no significant differences between senior young male boxing and taekwondo athletes in terms of physical performance and body composition, except vertical jump and visual reaction time. In addition, both boxer and taekwondo athletes had a body composition, which was characterized by a well-developed muscle mass and a higher rate of mesomorphy, indicating low body fat. These results could be important to contribute to future research as physical performance and body composition metric and to help coaches evaluate their athletes' physical performance characteristics effectively. Effectively identifying and evaluating such characteristics could essential to inform training interventions, talent identification, and design the optimal competition strategies for boxing and taekwondo athletes.