Did the normative and technological changes really cause modifications in the time and score patterns of women's Olympic taekwondo from 2008 to 2016?

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine timing and scoring variables relative to taekwondo contests. Some of the indicators and ratios established in this study have not previously been used in the scientific analysis of Olympic taekwondo. Nevertheless, they provide a more nuanced understanding of bout structure and competitive behaviour, offering original contributions to performance analysis within this discipline. Indicators as the opening moment (OM), decisive moment (DM) and closure moment (CM), bout modification time (BMT) were introduced as temporal indicators while initial points gap (IPG), decisive points gap (DPG), final points gap (FPG), relative effectiveness (RE), bout resolution reason (BRR) were considered as scoring indicators. Authors determine stability ratio (SR) and uncertainty ratio (UR) too. All of them have been registered, classified and compared. The results provide insights on the effects of rules and technology modifications on Olympic taekwondo patterns from an innovative point of view. 228 Female Taekwondo bouts, from 2008 to 2016 Olympic Games, have been analysed. In some temporal indicators, no significant changes were found while other temporal and scoring indicators undergo significant differences throughout the three Olympic Editions. The results suggest that the regulatory changes have had a direct impact on the dynamics of Olympic taekwondo bouts. Researchers, trainers, coaches and sports organizations could apply this method to determine the extent to which current changes can affect the taekwondo patterns.