Investigating the Effects of Motor Imagery Practices on Delta Time and Mental Visualization Skills: The Example of Karate-Kata Athletes

Motor İmgeleme Uygulamalarının Delta Zamanı ve Zihinde Canlandırma Becerisi Üzerine Etkilerinin İncelenmesi: Karate-Kata Sporcuları Örneği

Emre Boz¹

*Correspondence: Emre BOZ emrebboz@gmail.com ¹Bayburt University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Bayburt/TÜRKİYE. Orcid: 0000-0001-8117-9329

Doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18892787

https://www.ijoss.org/Archive/v3-i1/ijoss-Volume3-issue1-19.pdf

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Received / Gönderim: 10.12.2025 Accepted / Kabul: 17.02.2026 Published / Yayın: 28.02.2026

Abstract

Motor imagery exercises, which contribute to athletic performance as well as learning and rehabilitative mechanisms, are known to yield effective results in various sports branches. This suggests that motor imagery exercises integrated with physical activities can be considered a crucial element of an athlete’s multifaceted development. In this context, the primary objective of our research was to examine the effects of motor imagery exercises applied to athletes in the kata discipline of karate on delta time and mental imagery skills. 11 adult kata athletes were included in the study. In this study, designed in a quasi-experimental model, a digital stopwatch was used to calculate delta time, the get-up-and-go test was used, and the Movement Imagery Scale was used to measure mental visualization skills. The study lasted four weeks, and the exercises were administered three days a week before training. These motor imagery exercises included mental imagery exercises related to the Gojushiho sho kata from the Shotokan style. In addition to the pretest measurements taken before the experimental period, posttest data were calculated in the fourth week. After collecting these data, the obtained data were subjected to descriptive analyses in SPSS (Version 26) software, in addition to the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. These analyses revealed a positive improvement in the differences between delta duration and imagery time. Furthermore, significant differences were identified based on the positive mean ranks of the participants’ mean scores for both visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery. Consequently, it was determined that motor imagery practices applied to kata athletes contributed to the development of both delta time and mental imagery skills.

Keywords Motor Imagery, Visualization, Delta Time, Karate, Kata.

Öz

Sportif performansa olduğu kadar öğrenme ve rehabilite edici mekanizmalara da katkısı olan motor imgeleme çalışmaları çeşitli spor branşlarında efektif sonuçlar doğurduğu bilinmektedir. Bu durumu, fiziksel aktivitelere entegre biçimde yapılan motor imgeleme çalışmalarının sporcunun çok yönlü gelişiminin önemli unsurlarından birisi olarak değerlendirmek mümkündür. Bu bağlamda araştırmamızın temel amacı, karate sporunun kata disiplininden sporculara uygulanan motor imgeleme çalışmalarının delta zamanı ve zihinde canlandırma becerisi üzerine etkilerini incelemektir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda 11 yetişkin kata sporcusu araştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Yarı deneysel modelde tasarlanan bu araştırmada verilerin toplanması için; delta süresinin hesaplanmasında dijital kronometre, kalk ve yürü testi ve zihinde canlandırma becerisinin ölçülmesinde Hareketi İmgeleme Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Araştırma 4 hafta sürdürülmüştür ve çalışmalar haftanın 3 günü antrenman öncesi uygulanmıştır. Bu motor imgeleme çalışmalarında shotokan stilinden gojushiho sho katasına ilişkin zihinde canlandırma çalışmaları gerçekleştirilmiştir. Deney süreci başlamadan alınan ön test ölçümlerine ek olarak 4. haftada son test verileri hesaplanmıştır. Bu verilerin toplanmasının ardından elde edilen veriler SPSS (26. Versiyon) yazılımında tanımlayıcı analizlere ek olarak wilcoxon işaretli sıralar testine tabi tutulmuştur. Bu analizlerin neticesinde delta sürelerinin zaman ve imgeleme zamanı arasındaki farklılıklarda pozitif yönde gelişim sergilemiştir. Buna ek olarak katılımcıların hem görsel imgeleme hem de kinestetik imgeleme ortalama puanlarının pozitif sıra ortalamalarına bağlı anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak kata sporcularına uygulanan motor imgeleme uygulamalarının hem delta zamanında hem de zihinde canlandırma becerilerinin gelişimine katkıda bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler Motor İmgeleme, Zihinde Canlandırma, Delta Zamanı, Karate, Kata

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