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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Currently, there are pros and cons of research results related to weight cutting in combat sports, resulting in inconclusive results regarding the effects of weight-cut on athletes’ performance, and biomechanical investigations are hardly seen. Therefore, this pilot study tried to fill the gap by initiating an exploration in real-life competitions. It is our hope to add biomechanical insights (advantages/disadvantages) that would discern the impact of weight cutting on competitive performance and help to structure hypotheses in future research. The method consisted of 3D motion capture, EMG measurement and biomechanical modeling. Through the synchronized data, striking power, striking accuracy and reaction time were quantitatively determined. Pre- and post-test design was used to test common strikes before weight cutting and 24 h after weigh-in. Seven male athletes from local clubs were tested during regional competitions. Results were characterized by using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and T-tests were performed to contrast differences between the pre- and post-tests. This pilot study has revealed that there is actually weight-regain instead of weight-loss. The weight-regain would speed up the perceptional and total reaction, slow down the limbs’ movement, worsen the striking accuracy and, possibly, decrease the strike power. The preliminary results are inconclusive regarding the competitive advantages/disadvantages induced by weight cutting. Further biomechanical studies are needed to deal with the controversial subject more objectively and scientifically.

Details

Title
Performance Alteration Induced by Weight Cutting in Mixed Martial Arts—A Biomechanical Pilot Investigation
Author
Liu, Yufeng 1 ; Evans, Jared 2 ; Wąsik, Jacek 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zhang, Xiang 1 ; Shan, Gongbing 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Physical Education, Xinzhou Teachers’ University, Xinzhou 034000, China; [email protected] (Y.L.); [email protected] (X.Z.) 
 Biomechanics Lab, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada; [email protected] 
 Department Kinesiology and Health Prevention, Jan Długosz University in Czestochowa, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland; [email protected] 
 Department of Physical Education, Xinzhou Teachers’ University, Xinzhou 034000, China; [email protected] (Y.L.); [email protected] (X.Z.); Biomechanics Lab, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada; [email protected] 
First page
2015
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2632745822
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.