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Effect of stance position on kick performance in

taekwondo
a b a
Isaac Estevan , Daniel Jandacka & Coral Falco
a
Universidad Católica de Valencia ‘San Vicente , Mártir’ , Torrent , Spain
b
University of Ostrava , Ostrava , Czech Republic
Published online: 23 Jul 2013.

To cite this article: Journal of Sports Sciences (2013): Effect of stance position on kick performance in taekwondo, Journal of
Sports Sciences, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2013.803590

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 Journal of Sports Sciences, 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2013.803590

Effect of stance position on kick performance in taekwondo

ISAAC ESTEVAN1, DANIEL JANDACKA2, & CORAL FALCO1

1
Universidad Católica de Valencia ‘San Vicente Mártir’, Torrent, Spain, and 2University of Ostrava, Ostrava,
Czech Republic

(Accepted 6 May 2013)

Downloaded by [Texas State University, San Marcos] at 21:29 02 September 2013

Abstract
In taekwondo, the stance position can potentially affect kick performance. The aim of this study was to analyse mechanical
variables in the roundhouse kick in taekwondo according to three stance positions (0°, 45°, 90°). Nine experienced
taekwondo athletes performed consecutive kicking trials in a random order according to these three relative positions of
the feet on the ground. Measurements for the mechanical analysis were performed using two 3D force plates and an eight-
camera motion capture system. The taekwondo athletes’ reaction and execution times were shorter when starting from the
0° and 45° stance positions than from the 90° position (P < 0.05). Moreover, the ground reaction force was negatively
correlated with execution time and positively with velocity of thigh and shank. Our results suggest that the stance position
affects the execution technique of taekwondo athletes’ kicks. It is suggested that athletes should not adopt the 90° stance
position because it will not enable them to achieve the best performance in the roundhouse kick.

Keywords: taekwondo, biomechanics, ground reaction force, time, performance

Introduction particular, knowledge is lacking about other factors

that can affect performance, such as the stance
In combat sports such as taekwondo, athletes try to
position.
hit their opponent with as much speed and power as
The kick start, as a sprint start, is a complex motor
possible (Gulledge & Dapena, 2008). Although ath-
task characterised by large forces exerted in different
letes may use both their fists and feet, kicks are more
directions and by the ability to generate these forces
common in both training and championships
in a short period of time (Fortier, Basset, Mbourou,
(Kazemi et al., 2009). Sørensen, Zacho, Simonsen,
Favérial, & Teasdale, 2005). Therefore, the starting
Dyhre-Poulsen, and Klausen (1996) found that kicks
position could be a key factor in the sport perfor-
are typically performed in a proximodistal sequence:
mance of taekwondo athletes seeking to execute
first, proximal segments accelerate while distal seg-
offensive or defensive movements. For both offence
ments lag behind, and then proximal segments
and defence, athletes usually adopt a stance position
decelerate while distal segments accelerate.
that they feel more comfortable with (Estevan, Falco,
The research literature on combat sports has ana-
& Jandacka, 2011) or from which they can achieve
lysed execution techniques in relation to several fac-
the highest possible final foot velocity during the
tors that affect performance, such as execution
impact. This suggests a need for the in-depth study
distance (e.g., Falco et al., 2009; Kim, Kwon,
of kick performance according to the stance position.
Yenuga, & Kwon, 2010), the height of the target
There are three basic stance positions: (1) where
(i.e., O’Sullivan et al., 2009), the kind of technique
athletes stand with their feet approximately in an
(i.e. Gulledge & Dapena, 2008; Kim, Kim, & Im,
orthogonal direction (90°) with respect to the target;
2011; Koh, Watkinson, & Yoon, 2004), the athletes’
(2) where athletes stand with their feet approxi-
level and sex (i.e. Estevan, Álvarez, Falco, Molina-
mately in a diagonal direction (45°) with respect to
García, & Castillo, 2011; Pozo, Bastien, & Dierick,
the target; and (3) where athletes stand with their
2011), and weight category (i.e. Estevan, Falco,
feet oriented toward the target (0°). The 0° stance
Álvarez, & Molina-García, 2012). However, scienti-
position is used relatively seldom because taekwondo
fic knowledge on taekwondo kicks is still relatively
coaches and athletes believe that this position inhi-
limited (Estevan et al., 2012; Heller et al., 1998); in
bits the development of correct spin kicks. Research

Correspondence. Isaac Estevan, Universidad Católica de Valencia ‘San Vicente Mártir’, Applied Sciences in Physical Activity and Management, Torrent,
Spain. Email: isaac.estevan@ucv.es

© 2013 Taylor & Francis

 2 I. Estevan et al.
in karate (Wang & Liu, 2002) on the effects of two
different stance positions (5:5 and 7:3; according to
the body weight contribution in each foot) on
mechanical variables found that attacks from posi-
tions with a higher load on the front foot (7:3; similar
to the 0° and 45° stance positions) were made using
faster movements than those with an equal load on
both feet (5:5; similar to the 90° stance position).
This suggests that the 90° stance position is less
efficient than the 0° and 45° stance positions.
Traditionally, kick performance has been analysed
in terms of biomechanical variables. Several research-
ers have reported on the time, foot velocity, and
ground reaction force of circular kicks (e.g., Falco
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et al., 2009; Katis & Kellis, 2010; Kim et al., 2011;
Pieter & Pieter, 1995), finding that circular kicks are
executed in less time and at higher foot velocity than
other types of kicks, but that in the sagittal plane, they
exhibit similar kinematics data (temporal parameters)
to other kicks. However, few data are available on the
effect of the stance position. In taekwondo, Estevan,
Falco, et al. (2011) found in a pilot study that the
execution time when starting from the lateral stance
position (90°) are longer than those when starting
from the forward (0°) and diagonal (45°) stance posi-
tions. These authors reported the 45° stance position
as the most effective position in combat. With stance
position emerging as an example of a constraint and
potentially a key factor in sport performance, there is
a need for thorough research into kick performance
according to the stance position.
The overall aim of this study was to analyse bio-
mechanical performance according to the stance
position in the roundhouse kick in taekwondo. The
first specific aim was to compare selected biomecha-
nical parameters such as the ground reaction force,
reaction time, execution time, and peak thigh, shank,
and foot velocity of the kicking lower extremity in the
roundhouse kick to the chest (Bandal Chagui) in
taekwondo for the three stance positions: 0°, 45°,
and 90°. The second specific aim was to analyse
the relationship between the ground reaction force
and kinematic variables in each of the three stance
positions.
Methods
Participants
Nine experienced and black belt taekwondo athletes
(five male and four female) participated in this study
(mean age, weight, height, and experience were
26.62 years, s = 4.6; 72.94 kg, s = 16.09;
1.76 m, s = 0.09; and 14.16 years, s = 5.60, respec-
tively, where s is the standard deviation for each
value). None of the athletes had a history of injury
within the six months before measurements. Before
participating in the experiment, all participants gave
their written informed consent. The protocol was
approved by the University Ethics Committee and
performed in accordance with the principles of the
Declaration of Helsinki of 1964.
Instrumentation
The participants stood with each foot on a force
plate (Kistler 9286AA, Switzerland). Kinematic
data during the roundhouse kick were synchronised
with force data and collected at 247 Hz with an
eight-camera motion capture system (Qualisys
Oqus, Sweden). Cameras were located around the
two force platforms with mutual offset by an angle of
45° (see Figure 1). The volume of space captured by
cameras included the target. A light-emitting diode
(LED) placed on the target generated the signal to
kick and was used to synchronise all the equipment.
Experimental design
Twenty-four retroreflective markers were attached to
the athletes’ body according to the Visual 3D man-
ufacturer’s recommendations (C-motion, USA).
The calibration markers were specifically placed
bilaterally on the lateral and medial malleolus, med-
ial and lateral femoral epicondyles, greater trochan-
ter of femur, on the foot over the first and fifth
metatarsal heads. The tracking markers were
securely positioned to define the target, the trunk
(acromion), the tenth thoracic vertebra, the chondral
projection of the sternum, iliac spine, posterior
superior iliac crest, and posterior calcaneus.
Moreover, solid light weight plates with four tracking
markers were placed on the thigh and shank and two
other tracking markers were placed on the calcaneus.
After the static calibration record in the basic anato-
mical position when the segment dimensions and
relations between the calibration and tracking mar-
kers were defined, the calibration markers were
taken off the athletes’ bodies.
After an individual warm-up and throughout the
test, each participant’s feet (barefoot) were posi-
tioned on the force plates with the kicking leg at
the rear. To guide the athletes in the stance position,
three marks were made on the ground pointing in
different directions, creating three lines (at 0°, 45°,
and 90°) (Estevan, Falco, et al., 2011). Each parti-
cipant’s preferred target distance was used as the
target height (Gulledge & Dapena, 2008) and execu-
tion distance (Kim et al., 2010). Athletes were
allowed a specific warm-up that consisted of six
kicks (Roundhouse kick or Bandal Chagui) – two
kicks per stance position – to familiarise themselves
with the process of kicking the target. The athletes
received the standard instruction to kick the target

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Figure 1. Description of relative position of instrumentation and experimental design. The solid, dashed and dotted lines on the force
platforms represent marks on the ground to guide the athletes in the stance position.
‘as fast as possible’ in the lateral side. Each trial
started when the LED lit up and athletes reacted
by kicking the target (a surface of foam and nylon
similar to a typical taekwondo handle pad (0.65 m in
circumference) at the athletes’ chest height
(1.24 m; s = 0.12) with the instep of the dominant
lower limb (four athletes were right and five were
left-footed). The rest interval between trials was
2–3 min, after each trial athletes returned to the
force platforms. In total, each athlete performed 15
kicks: five kicks for each stance position in a rando-
mised order. The distribution of the magnitude of
the ground reaction force (% body weight) in the
force plates from the 0º stance position was 52.59%
(s = 7.66) in the front foot and 56.2% (s = 7.31) in
the rear foot. From the 45º stance position it was
53.62% (s = 6.34) and 54.3% (s = 5.53) in the front
and rear foot, respectively. Lastly, from the 90º
stance position it was 56.43 % (s = 4.28) in the
front foot and 52.60% (s = 8.73) in the rear foot.
Analytical methods
Data from the markers were processed using Visual
3D software (C-motion, USA). All extremity seg-
ments were modelled as a frustum of right circular
cones, and the torso and pelvis were modelled as a
cylinder. During the movement, three main instants
were identified: (1) the instant at which the LED was
switched on; (2) the instant at which the kicking leg’s
ground reaction force lifted 1% of the athlete’s body
weight; and (3) the instant when the first target
movement was detected (i.e., the impact moment,
when the first marker moved). The variables in this
Stance position and kick performance 3
study were the reaction time, as the period of time
between instants 1 and 2, and the execution time, as
the period between instants 2 and 3. The ground
reaction force in each of three planes (the sagittal,
x; the lateral, y; and the vertical component, z) and
the magnitude of this force were measured.
Additionally, peaks of components of ground reac-
tion force (x, y, z) and the magnitude were deter-
mined as a global maximum during the stance phase
of the posterior (kicking) foot. The zero levels of the
forces on the force plates were set as the average of
the first 10 measured values after the flashing LEDs.
In addition, the peaks of the velocity of the thigh,
shank, and foot and their values for each of the three
planes were measured. The velocity in each segment
was measured in terms of the first derivative of the
centre of gravity position of this corresponding seg-
ment, the positive and negative signs describe the
direction of the vector. In the lateral direction, the
data for athletes who kicked with their left leg were
multiplied by (–1). In addition, the kinematic and
kinetic signals were normalised to 100% of the total
response time (time between instants 1 and 3) and
the five trials were averaged for each participant (see
Figure 2).
Statistical analysis
Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS
17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The preliminary
analysis (Kolmogorov–Smirnov) showed a normal
distribution of all the considered variables. The
intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for biome-
chanical variables was determined (see Table I).
 4 I. Estevan et al.
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Figure 2. Mean and standard deviation of magnitude of the kicking leg’s GRF and velocity for the three (0°, 45°, 90°) stance positions
(n = 9): (A) magnitude of the GRF, (B) thigh velocity, (C) shank velocity, (D) foot velocity. The solid, dashed, and dotted lines represent
the mean for kicks when starting from the 0°, 45°, and 90° stance positions, respectively. The solid area represents the standard deviation
from the 45° curve.

Table I. Descriptive data of mechanical variables for each stance position and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of biomechanical
variables.

0° Stance position 45° Stance position 90° Stance position

Mean S Mean S Mean s ICC (95% CI, inf limit – sup limit)

RT (s) 0.162 a 0.04 0.171 b 0.04 0.232 ab 0.03 0.85 (0.74–0.92)

ET (s) 0.587 a 0.09 0.593 b 0.11 0.731 ab 0.09 0.93 (0.88–0.96)
GRF x (N) –375.19 152.53 –350.94 133.92 –349.35 106.34 0.92 (0.86–0.96)
GRF y (N) 73.11 ab 65.23 110.03 a 69.29 123.47 b 71.27 0.97 (0.94–0.99)
GRF z (N) 757.53 332.86 707.06 267.07 742.64 221.73 0.93 (0.89–0.96)
GRF (N) 843.57 364.28 789.24 292.58 829.33 248.65 0.94 (0.90–0.97)
Vthigh x (m · s−1) –3.12 ab 0.44 –3.33 a 0.50 –3.35 b 0.42 0.96 (0.92–0.98)
Vthigh y (m · s−1) –0.82 0.23 –0.73 0.31 –0.65 0.39 0.79 (0.62–0.89)
Vthigh z (m · s−1) 2.36 0.50 2.26 0.44 2.24 0.52 0.93 (0.87–0.96)
Vthigh (m · s−1) 3.95 0.68 4.10 0.68 4.10 0.63 0.97 (0.95–0.99)
Vshank x (m · s−1) –5.70 0.58 –5.89 0.57 –5.82 0.56 0.88 (0.77–0.94)
Vshank y (m · s−1) –0.21 0.95 –0.12 1.21 –0.28 1.28 0.88 (0.79–0.94)
Vshank z (m · s−1) 3.88 0.55 3.73 0.58 3.79 0.59 0.92 (0.86–0.96)
Vshank (m · s−1) 6.73 0.99 7.03 0.66 6.97 0.80 0.74 (0.53–0.87)
Vfoot x (m · s−1) –9.90 2.19 –11.23 4.03 –10.65 2.34 0.92 (0.86–0.96)
Vfoot y (m · s−1) –4.79 1.84 –4.81 1.67 –5.07 2.07 0.80 (0.64–0.90)
Vfoot z (m · s−1) 6.50 1.62 5.98 1.52 5.64 1.39 0.76 (0.58–0.87)
Vfoot (m · s−1) 12.89 1.63 14.31 3.68 14.42 2.69 0.73 (0.53–0.86)

Note: RT = reaction time; ET = execution time; GRF = peak of ground reaction force; V = peak velocity; no letter to the right of the ground
reaction force and velocity variables means the magnitude; x, y, and z represent the sagittal, lateral, and vertical planes, respectively.
Superscript ‘a’ or ‘b’ to the right of the mean value indicates significant differences (P < 0.016).

Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated performed to compare biomechanical variables

according to the stance position to determine the
relationship between the peak of the force and the
data for kinematic variables for magnitude and
component (P < 0.05). A one-way analysis of var-
iance (ANOVA) for repeated measures was
according to the stance position as a factor and to
calculate observed statistical power (SP) of the test.
Initial exploratory analyses used a significance level
of 0.05, but any significant effects were subse-
quently examined using Bonferroni adjustments

Table II. Cohen’s d value for each significant pairwise comparison
from ANOVA.
d-value (98% CI, inf
limit – sup limit)
RT (s) 0º compared to 90º 2.10 (2.08–2.13)
45º compared to 90º 1.83 (1.81–1.86)
ET (s) 0º compared to 90º 1.70 (1.63–1.77)
45º compared to 90º 1.46 (1.39–1.54)
GRF y (N) 0º compared to 45º 0.58 (–51.16–53.15)
0º compared to 90º 0.78 (–51.36–54.48)
Vthigh x (m · s−1) 0º compared to 45º 0.47 (0.13–0.86)
0º compared to 90º 0.57 (0.23–0.89)
Note: confidence interval was set at 98%.
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for multiple comparisons. According to this
adjusted P-value the confidence interval (CI) was
set at 98% (see Table II). When significant differ-
ences were obtained from post-hoc comparisons,
Cohen’s d score was quantified to analyse the effect
of size of the comparisons (Mullineaux, Bartlett, &
Bennett, 2001); a d value > 0.8 indicated a large
effect, 0.8–0.5 a moderate effect, 0.5–0.2 a small
effect, and <0.2 a trivial effect (Cohen, 1988).
Results
Table I sets out the statistical data for all biomecha-
nical variables (reaction and execution time, ground
reaction force, velocity of thigh, shank, and foot) for
the three stance positions.
Significant negative correlations were found for
every stance position between the peak of the ground
reaction force and execution time (r0 = –0.93;
r45 = –0.79; r90 = –0.94) (P < 0.01). Moreover, for
every stance position, the peak of the force correlated
positively to the velocity of the thigh (r0 = 0.84;
r45 = 0.76; r90 = 0.73) and shank (r0 = 0.71;
r45 = 0.68; r90 = 0.77) (P < 0.05). The peak of
ground reaction force x correlated positively for
every stance position to the velocity of the
thigh x (r0 = 0.75; r45 = 0.72; r90 = 0.76) and
shank x (r0 = 0.72; r45 = 0.65; r90 = 0.69)
(P < 0.05). The peak of ground reaction force y
correlated positively for every stance position to the
velocity of shank y (r0 = 0.72; r45 = 0.65; r90 = 0.80)
(P <0.05). Finally, the peak of ground reaction force
z correlated for every stance position to the velocity
of the thigh z (r0 = 0.84; r45 = 0.80; r90 = 0.81),
shank z (r0 = 0.75; r45 = 0.67; r90 = 0.81), and foot z
(r0 = 0.67; r45 = 0.78; r90 = 0.74) (P < 0.05).
The one-way ANOVA for repeated measures
showed a main effect in: reaction time (F(1.4, 10.9) =
53.11; P <0.001; SP = 1.00), execution time
(F(2, 15.7) = 218.89; P < 0.001; SP = 1.00), ground
reaction force y (F(1.3, 10.3) = 42.16; P <0.001;
Stance position and kick performance 5
SP = 1.00), and velocity of thigh x (F(2, 15.6) = 11.65;
P < 0.01; SP = 0.85). The Bonferroni statistics adjusted
for paired comparisons showed lower reaction and
execution time values when starting from the 0° or
45° stance positions compared with the 90° position
(P <0.001). The normalised effect size (Cohen’s d
value) was higher than 0.8 (see Table II). The peak of
the ground reaction force y was lower when starting
from 0° than from 45° or 90° (P < 0.001). Regarding
the velocity of the thigh x, it was lower when starting
from 0° than from 45° or 90° (P <0.001).
Discussion
The aim of this study was to analyse selected biome-
chanical parameters in the roundhouse kick in taek-
wondo according to the stance position. The ICC of all
data was above 0.70 (see Table I), which means it can
be considered as having good reliability (Nunnally &
Bernstein, 1994). Our results suggest that stance posi-
tion influences kick performance in terms of timing,
and thigh velocity in the sagittal plane. The round-
house kick is a circular kick in which the execution is
carried out in different planes (Kim et al., 2011); that
is, the kick generally starts in the sagittal plane and
finishes in the lateral plane (Falco et al., 2009). Pieter
and Pieter (1995) noted that kicks involved in circular
trajectories generate greater foot velocity at impact
than linear kicks because of the rotational participation
of segments in different planes. A study of combat
sports found that a kick’s ground reaction force in the
vertical plane is not affected by the height of the target
in the roundhouse kick (O’Sullivan et al., 2009).
Although kicks in combat sports and football are dif-
ferent, they could base the execution technique on
similar biomechanical patterns (Kreighbaum &
Barthels, 1990). In this sense, similar results in football
kicks were found by Kellis, Katis, and Gissis (2004)
who noted that the angle of approach to the target does
not affect the peak of ground reaction force in the
vertical plane during the kick. The present results par-
tially support these findings, as there were no differ-
ences in the peak of this force in the vertical plane,
although the ground reaction force in the lateral plane
was affected. Specifically, in our study, no differences
were observed in the peak magnitude of the ground
reaction force according to the stance position, and this
peak force in the lateral plane (y) when starting from
the 90° and 45° stance positions seemed to be higher
compared with the 0° position. Thus, 3D analysis can
yield distinct results for each plane – that is, biomecha-
nical analysis using reliable instrumentation is neces-
sary to advance knowledge in combat sports (Smith,
Dyson, Hale, & Janaway, 2000) – and the use of 3D
analysis when studying an execution technique allows
researchers to describe the performance in detail.
 6 I. Estevan et al.
With regard to kick performance, similar descrip-
tive results in the field of roundhouse kick in sports
such as karate or taekwondo were reported in timing
by Falco et al. (2009) Kim et al. (2011) and Pozo
et al. (2011), and in foot velocity by O’Sullivan et al.
(2009) and Serina and Lieu (1991). Our results
show that the taekwondo athletes’ reaction times
and execution times were shorter when they started
from the 0° or 45° stance position compared with the
90° position. According to Cohen’s d value, the
effect of these differences is considered as large
(Cohen, 1988), which could orient our results
towards practical applications. That is, the literature
on combat sports (e.g. Estevan, Álvarez et al., 2011)
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concludes that faster kicks result in better perfor-
mance; therefore, our results might suggest that
taekwondo athletes should adopt the 0° or 45° posi-
tions when they want to develop a roundhouse kick.
This conclusion appears to support a study by Kellis
et al. (2004), which found that the kick in football
becomes inefficient when approach angles higher
than 45° are used. On the other hand, when starting
from the 45° or 90° stance position, the athletes’
ground reaction force in the lateral plane and thigh
velocity in the sagittal plane were higher compared
with the 0° position, with the magnitude of the effect
in the majority of cases being moderate. As athletes
in combat sports such as karate and taekwondo use
various types of kicks (linear, back, circular) (Kim
et al., 2011), they tend to use the stance position that
they find most comfortable to kick from (Estevan,
Falco et al., 2011). In taekwondo, the regulations
award an extra point to kicks with a previous spin
(World Taekwondo Federation, 2012); in this
regard, the 0° position would not be appropriate
when the athlete wants to develop a spin kick.
From a technical training and performance perspec-
tive, it is considered appropriate to train athletes to
adopt a position similar to the 45° stance position.
This diagonal position allows athletes to develop any
type of kick they want without limitations; in parti-
cular, they can develop a roundhouse kick with a
similar performance to that achieved when starting
from the 0° stance position and higher performance
compared with the 90° position. However, some
points related to the effect size must be reported.
In this line, Nakagawa and Cuthill (2007) stated
that when the confidence interval (CI) of the magni-
tude of the effect in a variable includes the zero
value, significant differences should not be consid-
ered (this result has also been found regarding the
force in the lateral plane). Thus, suggestions regard-
ing practical orientations must be careful. Taking
into account the results about ground reaction
force, in order to clarify the influence of the stance
position in the force generated for the execution of
kicks, future studies in the field should analyse the
influence of the stance position on kick performance
in different types of kicks in taekwondo.
With regard to the effectiveness of the roundhouse
kick for each stance position, from a practical point
of view, it could be hypothesised that taekwondo
athletes achieve higher velocity when starting from
the 0° stance position in the sagittal plane than from
other stance positions because of the trunk forward
orientation. In this line, athletes would be able to
generate reaction forces in the direction desired
(backward) what could imply higher kick perfor-
mance from the 0° position (Estevan, Falco, et al.,
2011). Our results show that the thigh velocity in the
sagittal plane is higher when starting from the 45° or
90° stance position than from the 0° stance position
(the magnitudes of the effect on these differences are
considered as small and moderate, respectively), but
no differences were found in the shank or foot velo-
city between stance positions. These findings sug-
gest that the stance position seems to affect the
execution technique in terms of velocity in proximal
segments of the kicking leg, but it does not affect
velocity in distal segments. That is, the effect size
and differences disappear as the stance position ori-
ents from lateral or diagonal positions and the kick is
developed. These results could be attributed to the
fact that athletes are able to coordinate their seg-
ments and so adapt the execution as the sequence
of movement as a way of achieving similar velocity
when they kick the target. Moreover, our results on
foot velocity are similar to the data from Kim et al.
(2011), who found that the roundhouse kick is the
fastest kick in taekwondo because it involves greater
coordination of joints compared with other types of
kicks. A few authors have examined the coordination
of segments in kicks. Sørensen et al. (1996) stated
that kicks are typically performed in a proximodistal
sequence, which was supported by Kim et al.
(2011). We were not able to confirm this from our
results (see Figures 1(b)–(d)), although they do
appear to indicate that the execution technique is
based on this proximodistal sequence. Future stu-
dies should therefore analyse the variability and
intra-limb coordination in taekwondo kicks accord-
ing to the stance position in order to thoroughly
study the execution technique from a functional
point of view.
The participants in this study performed the kicks
from a static position. However, during sparring, taek-
wondo athletes usually use previous movements to
find the optimal distance to achieve a clean hit to the
opponent by sliding or stepping forward and backward
when they kick (Kim et al., 2010). In line with Kellis
et al. (2004), the static position was used in the present
study because our purpose was to assess the effect of
stance position on kick mechanical performance.
Taking into account that, in combat, taekwondo

athletes must be ready to react (e.g., moving backward
to defend or counterattack), from a technical point of
view, distribution of the magnitude of ground reaction
force (% body weight) over feet should be similar.
Participants in our study were experienced; they
adopted similar distributions in both feet even from
the 0º position in which they would find no option of
attack. This is in contrast with the Wang and Liu
(2002) procedure in which authors suppose that posi-
tions similar to 0º stance position mean higher load in
the front foot when athletes execute the technique.
Future studies should also analyse kick performance
with a previous movement.
On the other hand, the peak velocities of the thigh and
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shank are related to the peak magnitude and peak sagittal
and vertical components of the ground reaction force (x
and z, respectively); even the peak of this force in the
vertical plane is related positively to the foot velocity in
this plane. However, the peak of the force in the lateral
plane is related to the peak velocity of the shank only in
the lateral plane. The greater an athlete’s ground reac-
tion force, the shorter the execution time (Serina & Lieu,
1991). In our study, similar relationships also exist
between the ground reaction force and the magnitude
of the velocity of segments in each plane. Thus, techni-
ques in combat sports are often powerful actions devel-
oped in a short time (Gulledge & Dapena, 2008). This
indicates a need for taekwondo training to include either
periods of power training or power training in technical
sessions because such training could help taekwondo
athletes improve their performance independently of
the athletes’ preferred stance position.
Conclusion
In taekwondo, the stance position affects the execution
technique of kicks. That is, although foot velocity is
similar from each position, the execution time and
reaction time were longer when athletes started the
kick from the 90° stance position. Thus, our findings
suggest that taekwondo athletes should not adopt the
90° stance position because it will not enable them to
achieve the best performance in the roundhouse kick.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the project 2012-007-001
of the Catholic University of Valencia. We would like
to thank the Royal Spanish Taekwondo Federation
because of their interest and help in the data acquisition
process and the field of researching, and also to Ms
Alicia Raya for her support in the technical design of
figures.
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