TITLE:
The Effect of a Psychological Skill Training Package on the Mental Readiness of Taekwondo Athletes
AUTHORS:
Tanida Julvanichpong, Choosak Pattanamontri, Sukanya Charoenwattana, Chatkamon Singnoy
KEYWORDS:
Psychological Skills Training Package, Mental Readiness, Taekwondo Athletes
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.13 No.12,
November
7,
2022
ABSTRACT: This research aims to 1) explore the psychological demands and prepare a psychological skill training (PST) package for taekwondo athletes; and 2) study the effect of a PST package on the mental readiness of a taekwondo athlete. Phase 1 is a discussion about the sports psychology skills needed for athletes. The PST package was developed and confirmed by 7 experts. In phase 2, 26 amateur taekwondo athletes from the eastern region of Thailand were divided into 2 groups. The experimental group had traditional taekwondo training combined with a program supplement of sport psychology skills training and the control group had only traditional taekwondo training: physical exercise, skills, and technique. The program duration was 8 weeks (3 times a week, approximately 30 - 45 minutes for each session). The tools used in this study included: 1) the PST package consisting of breathing control, muscle relaxation, complete relaxation, self-talk, and imagery techniques; and 2) the athletes’ mental readiness for competition questionnaire. A t-test was used to analyze the data. The results found that the experimental group had a higher mean score of the mental readiness in all aspects than the control group with significance at 0.05. In conclusion, the findings provide further evidence to suggest that psychological skills training packages are effective for the mental readiness of taekwondo athletes.