The Effect of 8-Week Apparatus Technique Training on Hand and Foot Simple, Selective and Discrimination Reactions of Female Athletes

Movement training is thought to be very important in terms of learning both basic motor skills and new techniques in sports branches. Rhythmic gymnastics apparatus technique applications, which is a widely used method in movement training; it aims to display predetermined choreography in harmony with various tools. In this context, the aim of this experimental study is to examine the effect of rhythmic gymnastics equipment technique, which is predicted to be a good tool to improve reaction performance for movement educators and athletes, on various hand and foot reaction parameters. A total of 42 female athletes, including 22 experimental group members who had not previously practiced rhythmic gymnastics and 20 control group members, were included in the study on voluntary basis. The reaction performances of the athletes were determined using the ÇAGIN Hand and Foot Reaction Test. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 package program using Repeated Measures-ANOVA and descriptive statistics. In the pretest-posttest results of the reaction time of the individuals, it was determined that the hand simple and discriminative reaction time and foot discriminative reaction time of the experimental group decreased significantly (p<0.05). In the pretest-posttest results regarding the individuals' correct reaction rates, it was determined that only the foot selective reaction correct rate of the experimental group increased significantly (p<0.05). As a result of the study, it was observed that the application of the apparatus technique generally positively affected the athletes' hand and foot reaction times and the accuracy of the reactions.