Increased Performance

Predicting Competition Results

The Terry and Slade (1995) review of the mood literature indicated:

• Athletes tend to have more positive moods than the general population.
• Mood seems to discriminate between winners and losers only when there is little difference in their ability.
• Pre-performance mood measures discriminate only when performance is of short duration
• Individual sports may be more influenced by mood than team sports.

In a study of 104 brown belts and 104 black belts, they found that 92% of the winners could be predicted based on mood and 93.5% of winners could be predicted on the basis of mood and anxiety. In a study of 142 Taekwondo novices through black belts, Chapman, et.al (1997) found that anxiety scores could predict 63% of winners and losers.

Effect of Martial Arts on Anxiety Reduction

Several studies support that martial arts training can reducing anxiety. Layton (1990) found that, with age controlled, the greater the number of years of training, the less anxiety. Layton suggested that more study is needed to determine whether karate training reduces anxiety or whether the reduction is a result of those with lower anxiety being more likely to attain black belt status.