Research on the biomechanical laterality of athletes' lower limbs during side kick in the competitive Taekwondo.

Laterality between lower limbs can affects sports performance when Taekwondo athletes completing kicking movements, and Side Kick (SK) is the one of the most used kicking movements in Taekwondo competitions. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore whether there is biomechanical laterality of the dominant side (DS) and non-dominant side (NS) of the lower limbs in competitive Taekwondo athletes during SK movements when effectively scored. Fourteen Taekwondo elite athletes were selected as subjects. The kinematic and kinetic data of the SK performed by subjects were collected using motion capture system and a three-dimensional force platform. The collected data were imported into Visual3D software for inverse kinematic calculations. There are biomechanical indicators with laterality in the lower limbs of the DS and NS: For attacking leg, there are significant differences between DS and NS in peak hip flexion moment and extension power; peak knee flexion moment and extension angular velocity; and peak foot linear velocity, translational energy, and linear momentum. For Support leg, there are significant differences between DS and NS in peak hip joint abduction angle; peak knee joint flexion moment; and peak vertical ground reaction force of the foot. In summary, Taekwondo athletes have a certain degree of laterality when performing SK in their lower limbs, and their sports performances can be impaired when Taekwondo athletes using SK techniques in DS and NS. To achieve the same strike effect when using DS and NS to complete SK, unilateral resistance training and other training methods should be employed.