PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS KARATE AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE POLISH JUNIOR REPRESENTATION SQUAD: DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY

Abstract

Attitudes and motivations of people practicing Karate are studied by a relatively small group of researchers. Such surveys have not yet been conducted among the national Karate squad of the Polish Traditional Karate Association for this age group. The anthropology of martial arts provides a scientific framework for this study. The scientific problem was formulated as the following questions: What is the perception of karate and attitude toward karate in the Polish junior squad in relation to their values? What are the preferences of the surveyed in terms of value hierarchy? Does gender variable differentiate the selection of the most important values?  The main method of empirical research here is a diagnostic survey. The tools are: a direct extended questionnaire by Cynarski, auxiliary questionnaire A, survey questionnaire "Perception of martial arts by the practicing youth. Motives and effects of training, values of martial arts against other values", and the Rokeach scale. The research material is based on the responses made by the members of national squad of the Polish Traditional Karate Association 2016, junior category (16-17), N = 25. The study used statistical coefficients, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, the mean ( ), median (M_e), standard deviation (S), chi-square test (X²) and the Fisher's exact test. Results: in general, the very fact of cultivating Karate is highly valued. The gender variable differentiates the choice of the most important values - women more often point to "family and friends", as well as "respect". For most of the subjects, the Karate philosophy is important, but this does not imply internalisation of the imperative of "continuous pursuit of the goal." Novum in this study is the inclusion of the level of advancement, gender variable and the correlation of choices through answers to specific questions. Conclusions: the respondents most frequently pointed to "family security", "happiness" and "wisdom" on the scale of terminal values, "ambition" and "responsibility" on the scale of instrumental values.