Cross self-confrontation as a Vygostkian interventionist method: the case of young aspiring elite taekwondoists

ABSTRACT

Despite growing numbers of references to Vygotsky’s historical-cultural framework in the international literature, the interventionist principles of his methodology and relationship to practice remain implicit or absent in the literature. The objective of this article is to present a framework for intervention and research rooted in Vygotsky’s framework and one that mobilizes cross self-confrontations. This Vygotskian methodology is part of an intervention in response to a request from a regional taekwondo league, following a change in the application of fighting rules. This article demonstrates how this methodology enables the development of techniques and the analysis of development processes simultaneously. The results illustrate the advancement of athletes’ techniques through the progressive instrumentalization of biomechanical data. The Vygotskian methodology empowers athletes to assume an active role in the analysis of their techniques, thereby facilitating their development. In other words, the principle mobilized here is not to describe technique qualitatively, but to bring about qualitative changes. This is achieved by developing the athlete’s activity through the use of biomechanics as a means of deliberation, comparison, controversy, astonishment, dialog and reworking techniques.

KEYWORDS:

• Interventionist methodology
• development
• activity
• techniques
• cross self-confrontations

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Gabriel Fernandez who took part in designing the intervention with the first author of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The ‘Ap Tchagui’ technique is a front kick that a makes it possible to hit the opponent with the ball of the foot (below the metatarsals). The use of e-trunk protectors in competition allows this technique but with a slight modification: a front kick to hit the opponent with the top of the foot.