The Characteristics of Skinfold Thiackness and Muscle Mass of Judo and Taekwondo Athletes

Background/Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the skinfold thickness and the characteristics of muscle mass of judo and Taekwondo athletes by comparing the data on those athletes with the data on non-martial art athletes engaged in sporting activities. Methods/Statistical Analysis: For the purpose, 20 collegiate athletes were selected from collegiate judo and Taekwondo athletes and handball, rugby, table tennis and badminton players of the same ages. So, a total of 120 collegiate athletes were selected as participants in this study. And we evaluated skinfold thickness and muscle mass components based on the anthropometry manual presented by International society for accreditation kinanthropometry. Findings: We showed that judo athletes had larger skinfold thickness and muscle mass than the mean compared with non-martial arts players; Taekwondo athletes, who are martial arts athletes similar to judo athletes, had very small skinfold thickness compared with non-martial arts players and a little larger muscle mass than racket sports players such as badminton and table tennis players. Application/Improvements: It is confirmed that the formula used by this study was appropriate for determining the ranking of muscle masses of athletes by sport types and available for their comparison with the muscle masse of a corpse.