The impact of traditional Taekwondo on self-control for middle school students

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 10-week, 20 sessions traditional martial arts curriculum on teacher referred middle school students' self-control behaviors. A second purpose of this study was to examine maintenance effects after a 3-month follow-up. A multiple baseline design using two groups of males was employed and eliminated the need for a matched control group.;Data pertaining to fidelity were collected by two outside observers for each session and then converted into a weekly average. The average percentage of targeted activities observed was 100% for both Group A and Group B.;Results of this study were mixed with regards to the impact of a Taekwondo program on middle school students' self-control behaviors. Self-reported student measures and standardized pre-post measures showed no change in students' self-control from baseline to treatment. However, teacher reported behavior, discipline data and behavioral observations showed increases in self-control from baseline to treatment and decreases in discipline actions from baseline to treatment.;Qualitative data from both groups did indicate that participating teachers believed that the Taekwondo program was beneficial in relation to participants' ability to control their emotions, be respectful and maintain their focus in class. Although quantitative data from participants showed little change in self-control ratings from baseline to treatment, participants' qualitative data indicated perceived significant positive changes in their behavior. The qualitative data demonstrates support that aligns with weekly teacher reported quantitative data regarding positive changes in participants' behavior both immediately after treatment ended and during the maintenance phase.