Fun forms of martial arts in diagnosing and reducing aggressiveness ?mental effects of a one-day course for Polish animators of sport

Jarosław Klimczak1, Roman Maciej Kalina2, Władysław Jagiełło2

1Faulty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Tourism and Recreation, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland
2Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Combat Sports, Poland

Abstract
Background and Study Aim. During a fight, various aspects of human nature become apparent ? anxiety, aggression, pride, vanity, skills, physical  dispositions, knowledge and interdependence between these characteristics [1]. Only in few countries martial arts are part of universal education: in Japan school youth practice judo, kendo and sumo as part of the budo module [2]; in South Korea taekwondo [3]. In Poland these are covered only as original curricula, for example. hapkido [4] or as fun forms of martial arts [5,6].  The purpose of the research is the knowledge of mental effects (associated with the perception of the phenomena of violence and aggression and a possibility to diagnose and modify human violent behaviours) for sport animators participating in one-day specialist courses.
? Detailed research questions:
? does training change the perception of the phenomena of ?aggression?, ?aggressiveness? and ?violence? (courses I and II)?
? is aggressiveness desirable in sport (course II)?
? is a one-day course enough to convince the most creative participants to take effort to specialize in diagnosing and therapy of aggressiveness  based on cognitive-behavioural methods, including fun forms of martial arts (courses I and II)?
Materials and Methods. Total 1,076 and 618 sports animators, recruited mainly from among Physical Education teachers and sport coaches,  participated in two one-day courses (in 2014 and 2015, respectively), 237 of them (38%) also participated in course I. Women accounted for  (23% and 13%), men (77% and 87%). Persons with work experience of over 10 years dominated (67% and 70%).
Results and Discussion. Prior to training (course I) it was obvious only for 50% of the teachers that the notions of ?aggression?, ?aggressiveness?, ?violence? mean various phenomena related to each other in substance, but for almost half (48%) these terms were synonyms of the same phenomenon (Figure 1), which is a clear lack of understanding of the essence. After the training these proportions already diversified: 56% and 37%, respectively. However, this seemingly positive trend was a result of three-fold increase (from 2% to 6%) in the declaration of those who  believed that these concepts were unrelated, which is another proof of the lack of understanding of the essence of the differences, but also of the substantive ties between the phenomena thus named. This is an indirect evidence that the issue of aggression (with which the key concepts  of ?aggressiveness? and ?violence? are related and are often distorted in the media) is not easy. Hence a valid directive for future trainings ? to  pay more attention to the semantic aspect of the taught content.The result of course II shows a positive, long-lasting educational effect. From among persons who participated in the course for the second time,  62% declared that the concepts of ?aggression?, ?aggressiveness?, ?violence? mean various phenomena related to each other in substance, but  34% still thought that they were synonyms of the same phenomenon. This significant positive effect can be hypothetically connected with studying  the coursebook [7], which each participant received. Similar declarations, however, were made by those participating in the course for the  first time (60% and 37%, respectively). The conclusive result whether aggressiveness in sport is desired is an argument reinforcing the authenticity  of this hypothesis: 47% of newcomers believed ?yes? and 7% said ?strongly yes?, while those attending for the second time 37% and 5%, respectively (p<0.01). Only 29% of newcomers said ?never?, but 46% of those participating for the second time in the course (p<0.01) (Figure 2).  Clearly the most positive training effect shows in the structure of answers to the question about taking the trouble in the future to specialize in the treatment of aggressiveness based on cognitive behavioural methods. The majority (56%) want to gain such qualifications (Figure 3). The result after the second course is similar.
Conclusion. Aggression and violence in school [8] and in the area of sport activity [9] are growing phenomena on a global scale. A large  percentage of sports animators working with Polish youth who are determined to take the trouble to specialize in the treatment of  aggressiveness based on cognitive behavioural methods gives optimistic educational prospects and expected social effects. The result of the study also indicates a possibility of a successful promotion of widely understood martial arts in the prevention and therapy of aggressiveness, positive education and health promotion defying the expansion of neo- gladiatorship.
Keywords: cognitive behavioural methods ? physical education teachers ? social effects ? specific courses

Published online: 17 September 2015
Copyright: ? 2015 the Authors. Published by Archives of Budo
Contributors: Jarosław Klimczak, Roman Maciej Kalina conceived the study design. Jarosław Klimczak, Roman Maciej Kalina collected the  data. Jarosław Klimczak, Roman Maciej Kalina, Władysław Jagiełło analysed the data. Jarosław Klimczak, Roman Maciej Kalina, Władysław  Jagiełło prepared the manuscript. Jarosław Klimczak, Roman Maciej Kalina secured the funding.
Funding: The study was conducted within the framework of the project ?Prevention of pathology and aggression among children and youth  through sport? financed by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Poland
Conflict of interest: Authors have declared that no competing interest exists
Ethical approval: Not required
Provenance and peer review: Under responsibility of HMA Congress
Corresponding author: Jarosław Klimczak, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Tourism and Recreation, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Michała Oczapowskiego 2, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland; e-mail: klimczakwmrot[at]op.pl
Open Access License: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0  International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license