The Impact of Age, Gender and Technical Experience on Three Motor Coordination Skills in Children Practicing Taekwondo

The study aim was to investigate the age, gender and technical level on motor coordina- 16 tion abilities of Taekwondo children. One hundred and fifteen children (83 male, 32 female), aged 17 7.76 ± 1.71 years, divided in three different groups: under 8 (5-7 years), under 10 (8-9 years) and 18 under 12 (10-11 years), underwent three coordination skills’ tests: Ruler Drop Test (RDT) assessing 19 visual reaction time, Hexagonal Test (HT) assessing agility and Target Kick Test (TKT) assessing 20 kicking ability. MANOVA showed significant gender differences for TKT, in which females showed 21 higher scores than males (p= 0.033). Significant differences were found in HT and TKT, where the 22 “under 12” group showed higher score than younger athletes (p< 0.001). No differences amongst 23 different age groups were found in RDT, showing that this could be a good predictor of Taekwondo 24 performance, assessed in early stage. High-level athletes showed better scores in all the tests than 25 the low levels as it was expected. Coordinative performance improves with age and is positively 26 influenced by practicing a sport activity. The predisposition to a particular sport with a good 27 planned training, may lead to a motor proficiency comparable to that reached by older athletes and 28 better than same-age athletes.