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objectives were to identify the participation motivations and the
perceived importance of certain participation factors in martial artists
in the West Midlands, England, UK. A 28-item adapted version of the
Participation Motivation Questionnaire with additional demographic
questions was distributed to 30 martial arts clubs in the West Midlands
region. Eight questions that assessed the perceived importance for
participation of progression through grades, learning self defence
skills, technical ability of instructors, cost of participating, development
of confidence, underpinning philosophy and instructional style were
included. Seventy-five questionnaires were returned from a total of
11 clubs from across representing practitioners in Tai Chi, Karate,
Kung fu, Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, British Free Fighting, Taekwon-Do and
Jujitsu. Results indicated that the rank order in terms of participation
motives was: 1-Affiliation; 2-Friendship; 3-Fitness; 4-Reward/status;
5-Competition; 6-Situational and 7-Skill development. Participants
who trained for more than 4 hours per week placed greater importance
on the underpinning philosophy of the martial art. Findings suggest
that whilst there is a gender discrepancy in participation level,
once engaged, females were equally committed to weekly training. The
'style' of the instructor is of paramount importance for enhancing
student motivation to participate. High volume practitioners would
appear to be fully immersed in the holistic appreciation of the martial
art through increased value placed on its underpinning philosophy.
KEY
WORDS: Aspirations, self-defence, physical fitness, recreation,
martial arts.
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