{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T20:02:06Z","timestamp":1782331326449,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,23]],"date-time":"2025-10-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761177600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JFMK"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Change-of-direction (CoD) ability is critical in karate, yet sport-specific assessment tools are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of a newly developed karate-specific CoD test for male and female athletes and to examine its relationships with other motor performance measures. Methods: Thirty-six experienced karatekas (20 men: age 20.8 \u00b1 1.8 years, height 1.79 \u00b1 0.05 m, body mass 73.1 \u00b1 10.6 kg; 16 women: age 21.2 \u00b1 1.7 years, height 1.67 \u00b1 0.04 m, body mass 63.5 \u00b1 8.9 kg), all national squad members, participated. Athletes performed the karate CoD test twice to assess test\u2013retest reliability, and completed additional CoD tests (Y CoD, T-half), linear sprint tests, standing long jump, and Y-balance tests to evaluate criterion validity and associations with other motor abilities. Results: The karate CoD test demonstrated excellent reliability (ICC = 0.996), with similar consistency in men and women. Criterion validity was supported by a meaningful correlation with the Y CoD test, but not with the T-half test. Associations with linear sprinting and lower-limb power (standing long jump) were weak or inconsistent, indicating that karate-specific CoD performance is distinct from general physical capacities. Conclusions: The karate CoD test shows good reliability and validity for assessing planned change-of-direction ability in elite karate athletes. Its use should be limited to pre-planned movements and complemented with other tests (e.g., reactive agility, sprinting, jumping, strength) for a fuller performance assessment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk10040417","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]],"date-time":"2025-10-24T01:35:11Z","timestamp":1761269711000},"page":"417","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Enhancing Karate Performance: Development and Validation of a Karate-Specific Change-of-Direction Test"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Said Ben","family":"Hassen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"},{"name":"Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) \u201cSport Performance, Health & Society\u201d, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6240-7162","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raouf","family":"Hammami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"},{"name":"Tunisian Research Laboratory \u201cSports Performance Optimization\u201d, National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis 1003, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8680-2490","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yassine","family":"Negra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"},{"name":"Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) \u201cSport Performance, Health & Society\u201d, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Senda","family":"Sammoud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"},{"name":"Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) \u201cSport Performance, Health & Society\u201d, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, University Campus, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4481-4490","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roland","family":"van den Tillaar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Nord University, 7600 Levanger, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"829","article-title":"Physical and physiological profile of elite karate athletes","volume":"42","author":"Chaabene","year":"2012","journal-title":"Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1007\/s00421-004-1073-x","article-title":"Energetics of karate kumite","volume":"92","author":"Beneke","year":"2004","journal-title":"Eur. 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