Mawashi-gueri Analysis in Karate - The Anticipation Problem

The aim of this study is to understand if the execution time of the mawashi-gueri technique in a competition situation enables the reading of indicators in the opponent movement in order to anticipate a response and if there is a significant difference between the movement runtimes of high-level karatekas and average experienced karatekas. The quantification of the runtime of the mawashi-gueri was held in an ecological situation from videos of international and national competitions. Results indicate that the time required in performing mawashi-gueri (280-480ms) is lower than the average choice reaction time suggested in literature. We verified that the times for the execution of this technique were not significantly different for the different practitioner’s level. We concluded that in combat, to prevent an attack from a mawashi-gueri the karateka should start the reaction process (choice reaction time) before the opponent starts the technique, as it is usually described.