Karate or Kung Fu?

NCT ID: NCT04120896

Last Updated: 2019-10-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 52 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-04-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-03-31

Brief Summary

Sedentary lifestyle in Asian children together with aversive parenting style may compromise their physical and psychological health. The aim of the proposed stratified, randomized controlled study are to explore the beneficial effects of Japanese martial art (karate) and Chinese martial art (Ving Tsun kung fu) training on improving the psychophysical health in this population. Over fifty-two Asian children (age = 6-12 years) will be recruited from schools in Hong Kong and then randomly assigned to either a karate group or a Ving Tsun group. Children in both groups will receive the respective physical and spiritual martial art training for 3 months (3 times/week, one hour each). Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline and after the intervention by a blinded assessor. Primary outcomes include muscle power of the arms and legs as measured by a medicine ball throw test and a standing long jump test, respectively. Secondary outcomes include flexibility as quantified by a sit-and-reach test, aggression as measured by the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, and attention as measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist-Youth Self-Report. Both karate and Ving Tsun kung fu training programs are predicted to improve physical health of Asian children. It is expected that these training programs can be incorporated into the physical education classes or extracurricular activities in schools or in the community to improve project sustainability.

Conditions

Childhood ALL

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Karate group

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Karate group

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Children in the karate group will receive the basic Goju Ryu Karate training that includes basic stances (dachi), punching (zuki), blocking (barai) and kicking techniques (keri), form training (kata), supervised sparring (kumite), and conditioning exercises (for warm up and cool down).

Kung Fu group

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Kung fu group

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Children in the Ving Tsun kung fu group will receive the basic Wong Shun Leung style Ving Tsun training that includes basic stances (ma), footwork (bu), punching (quan), kicking (jie) techniques and conditioning exercises (for warm up and cool down).

Interventions

Karate group

Children in the karate group will receive the basic Goju Ryu Karate training that includes basic stances (dachi), punching (zuki), blocking (barai) and kicking techniques (keri), form training (kata), supervised sparring (kumite), and conditioning exercises (for warm up and cool down).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Kung fu group

Children in the Ving Tsun kung fu group will receive the basic Wong Shun Leung style Ving Tsun training that includes basic stances (ma), footwork (bu), punching (quan), kicking (jie) techniques and conditioning exercises (for warm up and cool down).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 6-12 years old
• Asian ethnicity and reside in Hong Kong

Exclusion Criteria

• any physical or psychological disorders that may affect test results
• previous experience in martial arts
• participate in regular sports training

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Shirley S.M. Fong

Dr

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

Other Identifiers

0002

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id