ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1629653
Study on Stability Differences in Heel Kick Movements of Tai Chi Athletes Based on Statistical Parametric Mapping
Provisionally accepted
- 1Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
- 2Engineering Research Center of Sports Health Intelligent Equipment of Hubei Province, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Sports Engineering of General Administration of Sports of China, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
- 4Research Center of Sports Equipment Engineering Technology of Hubei Province, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective: The study aims to investigate the stability differences in the heel kick movement between Tai Chi athletes of different skill levels and explore the impact of Tai Chi training on postural control and stability. Methods:The study recruited 16 Tai Chi athletes, who were divided into two groups based on their skill level: the Elite Group (EG, 8 athletes) and the Sub-Elite Group (SG, 8 athletes). While performing the heel kick movement, the athletes' kinematic data were captured using a Vicon motion capture system. The study compared the differences between the two groups by analyzing the changes in hip, knee, and ankle joint angles, and by using the SPM method. Additionally, the inter-group differences in center of mass (CoM) sway volume were also compared. Results: Significant differences in joint angles were observed, with EG showing greater stability in knee and ankle external rotation. During the knee-lifting phase, the CoM sway volume of the EG was significantly greater than that of the SG (p = 0.046), indicating larger postural adjustments in EG during this stage. No significant differences were found in the extension and recovery phases (p > 0.05). Conclusion: EG demonstrate superior joint stability and more efficient postural control strategies during the heel kick, particularly in the preparation phase. These findings highlight the role of advanced neuromuscular coordination in enhancing movement stability, providing biomechanical evidence to inform high-performance Tai Chi training.
Keywords: Tai Chi, heel kick movement, statistical parametric mapping, stability, joint angle, center of mass
Received: 04 Jun 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Liu, Jia and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaopei Zhang, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
Gan Liu, Engineering Research Center of Sports Health Intelligent Equipment of Hubei Province, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
Yong Ma, Engineering Research Center of Sports Health Intelligent Equipment of Hubei Province, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.