Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology - contenuto non piu disponibile

In karate, balance control represents a key performance determinant (1). Balance stability was reported to be related to a refined control of the center of mass (CoM) displacement (2). The aim of the current study was to quantitatively investigate the motor strategies adopted by elite and non-elite karateka to maintain balance control. We analyzed the execution of traditional karate techniques (kata) in two groups: elite Masters (n=6, 31±19 years) and non-elite Practitioners (n=4, 25±9 years). On each participant, the three-dimensional coordinates of 14 reflective markers (landmarks: right and left tragion, acromion, olecranum, radius styloid process, great trochanter, femur lateral epicondyle, lateral malleolus) were recorded by nine infrared cameras of an optoelectronic motion analyzer with a 120 Hz sampling rate. Kinematic parameters assessed were: CoM, step width, joints range of motions. CoM kinematics was computed according to the segmental centroid method (3). In the 11 steps of kata, CoM height was 8% lower (p