Premotor and Motor Reaction Time of Educable Mentally Retarded Youths in a Taekwondo Program

Abstract

This study investigated the educational effect of a Taekwondo program on premotor and motor reaction time in high school students who were mentally retarded but educable. Subjects were voluntarily recruited from the Special High School for the Mentally Retarded in Busan, South Korea. Subjects were divided into a trained group ( n = 10) and a control group ( n = 10) with balanced ages, physical conditions, and IQ. Subjects took part in pretests after practicing a Taekwondo motion 10 times with a signal presented randomly between 2 and 8 sec. after “Ready!” The motion was raising the right knee powerfully enough to crush a pine board. Subjects in the trained group took a Taekwondo course three times a week for 7 mo. This program was designed for the cognitive and physical characteristics of mentally retarded persons. After 7 mo., all subjects underwent posttests like the pretests. A four-channel EMG analyzing device (LAXTHA Inc., 2001) recorded EMG activity. Analysis of covariance analyzed the difference of mean pre- and posttests for the two groups. For premotor RT, mean performance of the groups showed no significant difference, but significant improvement in mean motor RT by the trained group ( p <.01) was noted.