The effects of one-week training camp on motor skills in Karate kids

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of short-term increased hours of specific high-intensity karate training on motor skills in young karate athletes aged between 8 and 12 years. Seventy-three children, who regularly trained three karate sessions per-week were divided in two groups: high-intensity karate group (HG=53) and low-intensity karate group (LG=20). HG trained for 7 days: with two sessions per-day (one hour per-session) including specific karate techniques as well as coordination, balance, and flexibility exercises. LG, however, followed the same number of karate training sessions as before the beginning of the study (i.e., three sessions per-week with one hour per-session). Participants performed a battery of tests, 24 hours pre- and one week post-training: a medicine ball throw (MBT), standing long jump (SLJ), active joint flexibility (JM) and lateral/frontal jumps (JLT). Significant differences between results of pre and post karate training (ANOVA with repeated measures) included: MBT (P