From the perspective of the philosophical anthropology of martial arts and of martial arts humanistic theory the author presents values of today's pathways of warriors from eastern Asia. He also refers to other theoretical concepts of martial arts philosophy, and especially their normative ethics. The pedagogical implications of the use of a variety of axiological traditional martial arts have been proven in many countries, but to the greatest extent in the countries of eastern and southeastern Asia. The pathways of martial arts (such as Japanese Budo) constitute a huge potential and universal cultural heritage from which today's physical education pedagogy should draw.

This study explored what reasons/factors can truly motivate athletes/students to continually participate in taekwondo practices and competitions in New York City (NYC). Participants were 85 taekwondo athletes/students (51 Boys, 34 Girls; age range 10-22 years) from seven taekwondo schools/clubs in NYC. Data collection was done by the Adapted Questionnaire of Taekwondo Student's Motivation (AQTKDSM). This questionnaire asked, "What reasons/factors motivate you to participate in taekwondo practices and competitions continually?" with 18 motivation factors (MF) provided; each MF allows the participant responding in a 5-points Likert type scale (5

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) on anaerobic and aerobic fitness in elite, national boxers. Methods: The study was conducted over a period of 6 weeks. It comprised 30 national championship boxers, divided into 2 groups: the experimental and control. Both groups performed the same boxing training twice a day (morning and afternoon training). In the afternoon, the experimental group performed training under normobaric conditions in a hypoxic chamber (IHT), while the control group undertook exercise in standard normoxic conditions. In both groups, before and after the 6-week programme, basic anthropometric indices as well as anaerobic (Wingate Test) and aerobic (graded test) fitness were assessed. Results: There was a significant increase in anaerobic peak power (988.2 vs. 1011.8 W), mean anaerobic power (741.1 vs. 764.8 W), total work (22.84 vs. 22.39 kJ), and a decrease in fatigue index (20.33 vs. 18.6 W·s−1) as well as time to peak power (5.01 vs. 4.72 s). Such changes were not observed in the control group. In both groups, no significant changes in endurance performance were noted after the training session – peak oxygen uptake did not significantly vary after IHT. Conclusions: Our results have practical application for coaches, as the IHT seems to be effective in improving anaerobic performance among boxers.

The basis for achieving success in sport is technical preparation supported by adequate level of physical fitness. During judo competitions, athletes use technique to meet tactical objectives aimed to achieve victory. The modification of the rules of combat in judo that has been carried out in recent years has changed the course of competition. It seems to be interesting if there are relations between technical and tactical preparation expressed by means of indices and modification of the course of the fight caused by changes in the rules. The purpose of the paper was to determine the values of technical and tactical preparation of judokas during competition at the elite level. A hundred and twenty bouts during the Olympic Games in London in 2012 as well as 136 bouts fought during the World Championships in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 were analyzed. Verification was performed by calculating indicators of technical and tactical preparation. The results show a significant correlation between the indicators of technical and tactical preparation and the ranking in the general classification of the analyzed competitions. There were no statistically significant correlations between the change of fighting rules and the level of the examined indices of technical and tactical preparation. The results of the study verified the appropriate method of preparation for the competitions analyzed.

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Purpose:Biomechanical analysis of martial art techniques are objective and quantitative method, which may be useful in training practice for the purpose of improving these techniques as well as monitoring and enhancing athletes performance. The aim of this study was to assess selected kinetic parameters and lower limb loading during karate front kick, using force platforms, for both kicking and support leg. Material:Karate athlete, second dan, black belt holder in Idokan style, participated in this case study. The subject performed front kick in the air (without a physical target), both for his right and left leg, while standing on the force platforms. For the purpose of kinetic data recording two force platforms were used in this study (Kistler force plate, type 9286AA, Kistler, Switzerland). Selected kinetic parameters for kicking and support leg as well as front kick execution time were analysed. Results:Results of our case study revealed higher values of the kinetic parameters for the right leg, comparing to the left leg. This results confirm athlete's declaration of being right leg dominant. Conclusions:Analysis of selected kinetic parameters may be useful in identifying lower leg laterization (leg dominance), as well as existing asymmetries between the dominant and non-dominant leg in karate and other martial art athletes.

A feature of modern society in the era of cultural globalization is its mobility. One of the manifestations of this social mobility is people spending free time on tourist trips. Tourism, as understood as a sociocultural phenomenon, is a special manifestation of location. In addition to the motives for undertaking trips in martial arts tourism, individual destinations, specific tourism potential and the typology of participants in tourist meetings were analyzed, and individual cases were examined. The research materials were 44 articles published in scientific journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOHost databases. Publications, which appeared in the sources discussed between 2005 and mid-2020s were considered. Some periodicals were present in all three of the quoted databases, therefore specific articles were taken into account only once. This study will cover a meta-analysis of martial arts tourism in journals indexed in several major scientific databases. It is related to the phenomenon of tourism of this type, which is discussed from various scientific perspectives. As a research tool, the Atlas.ti program was used (mainly in the qualitative research or analysis of qualitative data), by means of which correlations and dominant items were sought. A comparison with other publications suggests that no similar meta-analysis has so far been performed in relation to the literature devoted to the subject of “martial arts tourism”. Particularly interesting conclusions were identified: (1) there are thematic relations between the destination country, the main destination, and the destination country; (2) martial arts are treated by researchers as both primary, and secondary threads, (3) the difference between travel destinations and types events attended by people interested in martial arts, (4) the variety of event formats plays a role in popularizing the subject of these forms of physical activity, and (5) the number of publications describing specific destinations is not particularly related to specific countries as destinations.

Purpose This descriptive, non-experiment case study addresses the little-studied topic of martial arts tourism within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK; i.e., North Korea) to determine if it is a form of non-entertainment tourism. Design/methodology/approach The current research focusses on a single subject (Singaporean female; 36 years of age (at time of interview); Taekwon-Do 4th degree black belt) who travelled to the DPRK three times to practice the Korean martial art Taekwon-Do. After the initial contact, a questionnaire was used and direct interviews via Skype and Facebook were performed. A broad thematic discourse, as well as analysis of the subject’s travel and practice notes and photographs from her stay in the DPRK, were also incorporated into the findings. Findings The subject developed new Taekwon-Do skills, which permitted her to obtain higher Taekwon-Do ranks as well as enriched her personality and changed certain conceptions. Self-realization and self-improvement through martial arts are the dominant motives of martial arts tourism. Therefore, the subject’s motivation confirms martial arts tourism can be a variation of non-entertainment tourism. Research limitations/implications This research is hindered by the standard case study limitations: it is difficult to generalize this study’s results to the wider DPRK population, the interviewee’s and researchers’ subjective feelings may have influenced the findings, and selection bias is definitely a factor because of the study’s population being a single female of non-DPRK origin. Originality/value As one of the first studies on DPRK martial arts tourism and practice, this research examines where research on the DPRK and martial arts tourism intersect. It is thusly unique in providing new insights into the DPRK’s intention for its tourism industry, as well as Taekwon-Do, arguably its most marketable cultural asset.