COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES IN EXHIBITING FLEXIBILITY INYOUNG FOOTBALL
PLAYERS AND KARATE PRACTITIONERS (KARATEKA)
Authors: Šunje Enes , Čolakhodžić Ekrem , Novaković Rijad , Alić Džafer , Redžić Enaid 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
The athlete's ability to achieve the maximum amplitude of movement in certain sports can be crucial for achieving a top
result. Most theorists consider flexibility to be one of the essential motor skills of humans. Flexibility is defined as the ability
of the locomotor apparatus to realize movements of optimal amplitude in a certain joint. The goal of this research was to
determine the differences in flexibility between football players and karate practitioners (karateka) between the ages of 12
and 14 years, in chronological order. The purpose of this paper is to determine the differences in flexibility between football
players and karateka based on the obtained results, and to further determine whether and within which variables of flexibility
karateka are more dominant than football players. This research will complete the findings and fill the knowledge gaps that
exist about flexibility. The importance of this research is reflected in that it will gather relevant information about the status
and differences in flexibility between football players and karateka within the specified age group. The research was carried
out on a sample of 40 respondents who make up two subsamples, football players (n=20; age 12.70 ± 0.86) and karateka
(n=20; age 12.95 ± 0.82). Tests were applied to determine height and body mass, as well as to determine flexibility (10
variables). The obtained results were processed in the program package IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0. Descriptive parameters
were calculated for all collected data, normality of distribution was determined, while differences in tests were determined
by T-test for independent samples. The results showed that in terms of body height and mass, there are no statistically
significant differences between young football players and karateka, nor in the ability to lower a stick behind the back
(MFLISK). In all other flexibility tests (deep front bend off an elevated platform/block, deep bend with legs apart, side split,
active straight leg raise while lying on the back (degrees) for both legs, leg raises while lying on the chest, leg raise while lying
on the side) a statistically significant difference was obtained at the significance level of .99% (p ≤ 0.01), and all in favor of
karateka. We can conclude that the level of flexibility is higher in karate practitioners compared to football players, which
was to be expected. The main discovery of this study is the existence of statistically significant differences in almost all
flexibility variables, where better values were shown in favor of karatekas, except for the back stick raise test, where no
statistically significant difference was found between football players and karateka. The research can serve other researchers
who will deal with similar issues, and the findings of this research will complete the mosaic of research regarding flexibility in
karate and football. The obtained results will benefit sports teams, researchers, trainers and physical education professors,
as a relevant indicator of the importance and significance of flexibility development and flexibility training in sports.
Key words: flexibility, football, karate,