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This study aimed at investigating the change in taekwondo athletes’ performance as a result of the training with electronic head gears in order to develop their high level technical skills. The research sample consisted of 30 licensed male taekwondo athletes who were in the age range of 10-13 years and trained in a private gym. Four high-level strike techniques were identified for the development of their technical skills, and they were applied an eight-week taekwondo training program including two hours of practice per day three days a week. IBM SPSS 21.0 software was used to analyze the research data. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the distributions of the data. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to examine inter-variable relations, and ANOVA (post-hoc Tukey) analysis was used to determine the differences between the research groups. The results were presented as means (X) and standard deviations (SS). The p values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. A significant difference between the groups was determined in the final test measurements, but no statistically significant difference was found in the first test. The practice with electronic head gears system was found to have a positive effect on the performance of athletes who performed the technical strikes in the training program. The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport – October 2017 Volume 6, Issue 4 www.tojras.com Copyright © The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport 14 INTRODUCTION Taekwondo is a Korean, defensive martial art that is performed with bare hands and feet, requiring high-level nerve-muscle coordination to stop the opponent’s strong blows or defeat the opponent (Lewis, 1996; Mark, 1984; Kim et all., 2015; Koh and Watkinson, 2002; Akinlar and Topal, 2011). Although taekwondo has a long historical background dating back to before the Common Era (Tel, 2008) it was added to the official competitions as a new Olympic martial arts sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games (Kazemi and Pieter,2004; Gupta, 2011) and this has led to an increased interest in this sport among children and young people. In the following years, developments, including changes in the taekwondo scoring system, reduction in size of the ring and conversion of its shape from a square to an octagon, acceleration of the sport with the ten-second-rule, increasing the score values for head techniques, introduction of coaches’ right to object to scores and penalties, and changes in the game rules regarding penalties, have all led this sport, which forces athletes to be active, to be faster and fairer (Moenig,2015). Thus, taekwondo coaches and athletes have sought new ways of training to achieve high performance (Kim et all.,2011; WTF, 2016 ). Participation in taekwondo competitions has been increasing because taekwondo is an Olympic branch and has a lot of licensed athletes both in Turkey and the world. This leads to new quests in competition systems. Along with this, it is very important to be able to get an immediate response to the application (Cooper and Storer, 2001), objectively evaluate the athletes’ performance and achieve an unbiased, fair result at the end of the evaluation (Sevinç,2016). As in all sports, there are also many analytical methods in taekwondo to determine qualitative and quantitative data for performance follow-up, create a training program according to the athletes’ abilities and allow coaches to better supervise athletes (Bayraktar and Kurtoğlu,2004) and detect and improve their deficiencies. The World Taekwondo Federation has decided to use an electronic system to assess scores and penalties of taekwondo athletes during matches in order to make more objective evaluations and produce fairer results. This was first tried at the European Youth Championship organized in Sweden in 2013 and subsequently, at other tournaments (Chi,2005; Moenig,2015; Tasika,2013; Song et. all.,2010; Song et. all.,2010; Chi, 2008). Body protectors equipped with electronic sensors provide more accurate and reliable scoring and enable coaches and athletes to develop strategies related to attacks and counterattacks The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport – October 2017 Volume 6, Issue 4 www.tojras.com Copyright © The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport 15 (Leveaux,2010; Tornello et.all.,2014), determine the techniques to be used in competition (İmamoğlu, and bayram,2010) and receive a fair and unbiased results in competition (Del Vecchio et.all.,2011; Tornello et.all.,2014; Schwartz,1994). The technical combinations applied by the athletes in taekwondo competitions are evaluated by referees. In other words, referees decide whether the applied technique is correct and sufficient for receiving a score. However, the electronic system determines whether the score is given correctly with a performance of the right technique (Sevinç,2016). The electronic system eliminates questionable situations in competition and allows the performance of athletes and coaches to be evaluated objectively (Ko et. all.,2013; Partridge et.all.,2005). During competition, an electronic head gear and a foot protector with a sensor are used for scoring (Figure 1). The sensors in the electronic head gear and on the upper side of foot protector automatically transmit the score to the scoreboard when they receive sufficiently strong pressure together with correct technique. Otherwise, no score is generated (Del Vecchio et.all.,2011; Partridge et.all.,2005). Figure 1 Electronic head gear and other electronic equipment In addition, the pressure (strike intensity) on the head gear varies, allowing the athlete receive a score according to each category and weight. These pressure settings are reported to all countries by the World Taekwondo Federation. Thus, all competition criteria are equal for all taekwondo athletes around the world (Sevinç,2016). The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport – October 2017 Volume 6, Issue 4 www.tojras.com Copyright © The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport 16 This study investigates the change in the performance of the taekwondo athletes as a result of the training with the electronic head gears in order to ensure adaptation to the new system and the development of high level technical skills, as well as determining differences in athletes’ performance before and after the training. By measuring the effect of this new electronic system, this study is expected to contribute to the literature, which contains a limited number of studies of this topic. MATERIALS AND METHODS The research sample consisted of 30 licensed male taekwondo athletes who were in the age range of 10-13 years, regularly trained in a private gym and participated voluntarily in the research. They were randomly divided into two groups, including 15 athletes each in the control and experimental groups. Before the training program, the athletes were informed of the relevant technical data and filled out consent forms. Four taekwondo techniques were selected from the high-level techniques in order to develop their technical skills. The scoring of these techniques was based on the score values determined by The World Taekwondo Federation (Table 1). Table 1. Technicals and Points Technicals Technicals Point Front turning kick 3 point Axe kick 3 point 360 turning kick 4 point Reverse kick 4 point Athletes are allowed five strikes with each foot in each technique. Taking into account the participants’ weights and categories, the mean pressure was set at 9 bar. If the correct strike was not made, no score was registered by the electronic system. If the athlete was unable to hit towards the opponent’s head line, a penalty score was applied. Although the time limit was not taken as a constraint, the participants' scores on each technique and the time to complete the technique were obtained from the electronic system and then evaluated accordingly (Sevinç,2016). The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport – October 2017 Volume 6, Issue 4 www.tojras.com Copyright © The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport 17 After obtaining measurements from the control and experimental groups, the researcher, a taekwondo trainer, prepared and applied an 8-week training program consisting of daily two-hour exercise three days a week. The mistakes made by the athletes for each technique were determined by keeping observation notes. As a result of these observations, the trainer provided the athletes with the following feedback: when applying axe kick technique, the fingers should be fully extended forward during full strike and the sensor in the middle of the foot sole should be in contact with the head gear; however, when applying 360 turning kick technique, the athletes should pay attention to the point they at which lost their balance and at which phase they should apply the technique after rotation, and should also hit with the sensor just above the foot. The athletes were also recommended that the sensor in the middle of the foot sole or on the heel should contact with the head gear in the reverse kick technique. They were also told to pay attention to the angle of the ankle during the strike, to extend the fingers forward and to adjust the angle of the hips properly. Regarding front turning kick technique, it was shown which points of the upper part of the foot should correspond to the head gear, and it was suggested that the hips should be turned completely in the direction of the strike. In addition, the athletes were trained about all the technical arrangements particular to taekwondo, and shown practically how their body angles and feet angle should be adjusted when applying techniques. The feedback process was continued throughout the program to ensure that the athletes broke the habits they had acquired before using the electronic system. After eight weeks, an additional measurement was obtained from the athletes performing technical training with the electronic head gears system.

COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF HIGH LEVEL TECHNICAL STRIKES OF TAEKWONDO ATHLETES ON THE ELECTRONIC HEAD GEAR BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING