KINETICS OF THE SUPPORT LEG JOINTS IN THE SIDE STEP CUTTING TECHNIQUE

The purposes of this study were to investigate the kinetics of the support leg joints and to identify roles of the joints in the side step technique. Twenty male university ball game players performed three running trials of the cutting direction of 30, 60, and 90° with the side step cutting technique. A force platform technique and three-dimensional motion analysis technique were used. Roles of the ankle, knee, and hip extensors did in the side step cutting technique were similar to those of the straight sprint running. The negative and positive powers exerted by the ankle plantar flexors and knee extensors absorbed and generated the mechanical energy during the support phase in the cutting motion. The hip seemed not to generate great energy but to control the body posture, especially in directions 60° and 90°.