Structural-Functional and Neurophysiological Aspects of Kickboxers’ Sports Activities (Review)

The analysis of scientific and methodological literature revealed very few works on the neurophysiology and development of physical qualities in kickboxers. Papers of recent years focus on high-level athletes. However, the structural-functional and neurophysiological features of kickboxers’ sports activities in the process of perfecting their skills remain insufficiently studied. For kickboxers, the key physical abilities playing an important role in fulfilling sports potential and achieving high results include strength, speedstrength, technical-tactical, and psychological abilities, as well as endurance. In scientific literature, the psychophysiological status of a combat athlete is determined based on the methods evaluating sensorimotor reactions of different modalities and complexity. As kickboxers reach higher levels in their sport, we observe optimization and economization of structural and functional adaptation mechanisms in the nervous, neuromuscular, and sensorimotor systems. Studies on neurophysiological adaptive changes in response to physical loads in combat athletes (including kickboxers) reflect multidirectional results. For instance, it has been established that the activity of the sympathetic nervous system in combat athletes increases at normotonia during the competitive, while at sympathicotonia, during the preparatory period. Other studies demonstrate that this group of athletes has optimal adaptive reserves and higher adaptive capacity of the heart compared to representatives of other sports. A personalized training process with specialization in kickboxing should be organized taking into account athletes’ individual neurophysiological profiles in order to choose the means, methods and level of the training and competitive loads to achieve the goals set.