125 Journal of Exercise Physiology online December 201 8 Volume 21 Number 6 EditorOfficial- in Research- Chief Journal of JEP online Tommythe American Boone , PhD Society, MBA of ReviewExercise Board Physiologists Exercise I ntensity of Kung Fu G ymnastics in A mateur Todd Astorino, PhD Julien Baker,ISSN 1097 PhD - 9751 P ractitioners : Comparison to Tai Chi Chuan Steve Brock, PhD Lance Dalleck, PhD Meng Fan 1 , Naoyuki Yamashita 1, 2 , Hiroki Matsuoka 3 , Takaaki Eric Goulet, PhD Matsumoto 1 Robert Gotshall, PhD Alexander Hutchison, PhD 1 M. Knight - Maloney, PhD Laboratory for Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics, Graduat e Len Krav itz, PhD School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, Toyota, James Laskin, PhD Japan, 2 Faculty of Arts and S ciences, Kyoto Institute of Technology , Yit Aun Lim, PhD Kyoto, Japan , 3 Department of Modern Chinese Studies, Faculty of Lonnie Lowery, PhD Derek Marks, PhD Modern Chinese Studies, Aichi University, Nagoya, Japan Cristine Mermier, PhD Robert Robergs, PhD ABSTRACT Chantal Vella, PhD Fan M, Yamashita N, Matsuoka H, Matsumoto T. Exercise Dale Wagner, PhD I ntensity of Kung Fu G ymnastics in A mateur P ractitioners : Frank Wyatt, PhD Ben Zhou, PhD Comparison to Tai Chi Chuan . JEP online 20 1 8 ; 21 ( 6 ): 125 - 133 . The purpose of this study was to examine the exercise intensity of a practi ce routine of Chang Chuan , which is generally called Kung Fu gymnastics. Ten healthy subjects (3 men and 7 women) in their 30s and 40s who had practiced Tai Chi Chuan and Kun g Fu gymnastics Official Research Journal of the American Society of for 2 y rs performed Kung Fu gymnastic s 1 and Kung Fu gymnastic s Exercise Physiologists 2 for 2 min and 24 forms Tai Chi Chuan for 6 min. Breathing frequency, expired ventilation , and oxygen consumption were ISSN 1097 - 9751 measured with a portable device. Exercise intensity and heart rate was 5.6 ± 1.6 METs and 119 ± 13 b eats·min - 1 during Kung Fu gymnastics a nd 3.9 ± 0.9 METs and 105 ± 12 beats·min - 1 during Tai Chi exercises (P<0.01). Breathing frequency, expired ventilation and forearm accelerations during Kung Fu gymnastics were significantly higher than in the Tai Chi exercises (P<0.01). Moreover, it was fo und that forearm acceleration dynamically changed throughout Kung Fu gymnastics, while it was relatively stable during the Tai Chi exercises. This is the first report that shows the exercise intensity of Kung Fu gymnastics or Chang Chuan. Because of its hi gher exercise intensity and simpler movements, Kung Fu gymnastics might be more suitable than Tai Chi Chuan to introduce for the beginners, particularly for young to middle - aged people. Key Words : Exercise Intensity, Forearm Acceleration, Kung Fu Gymnast ics, Tai Chi Chuan 126 INTRODUCTION The Chinese martial art "Chang Chu an (Long Fist)" or "Chang Quan" has a long history. It was originated , and is still popular in the northern China (north of Yangze River) including Cha Quan, Hua Quan, Hong Quan, Shaolin Q uan, Fanzi Quan , and Pao Chui. It is characterized by open and long - range strikes, and wide variety of leg techniques and circular motions. It util izes open and expanded postures and high speed techniques as well as many aerial and acrobatic moves . It is a fast, dynamic , and exciting style that incorporat es many breathtaking movements (20). It is helpful for training the body and the spirit in terms of speed, power, jumping, starting power, agility, flexibility, stamina, cooperativeness, etc. Despite these benefits, however, Chang Chuan is not prevailing compared to Tai Chi Chuan (21), which is the most widely practiced and popular martial art in the world. Exercise intensity and physiological impacts on the body are relatively unknown in Chang Chuan. In 19 96, Wushu Federation of Asia established 4 kinds of practice routine of Chang Chuan and named them "Kung Fu gymnastics 1", "Kung Fu gymnastics 2", "Introductory Chang Chuan", and "Elementary Chang Chuan", based on the proposal of Japan Wushu Taijiquan Fede ration, aiming for the prevale nce of Chang Chuan in Japan (7, 8). Thereafter, the number of Chang Chuan practitioner has increas ed among Japanese from middle - aged people to children. Tai Chi Chuan, on the other hand, is the most widely practiced and popula r martial art in the world. It is characterized by slow and graceful motions and a combination of both hard and soft techniques. It is comprised of well - known styles such as Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun and Wu (Hao), and is popular due to its health building and lo ngevity benefits. It is defined by slow motions coupled at times with explosive bursts of force, which require total harmony of motion and breath, concentration , and co - ordination of the entire body and spirit in a continuous practice (20) . Many studies ha ve investigated the positive health effects of Tai Chi Chuan for healthy elderly (14), as well as for patients (2). Such health benefits include improvement in aerobic fitness and energy metabolism, muscle strength and b alance, and mental control (14, 16,17 ). However, it is not easy for healthy elderly or even for young beginners to learn Tai Chi Chuan because its forms are complex and it requires many different motions of both the upper and the lower extremities at the same time, though the movements are s low and calm. Exercise intensity of Tai Chi Chuan has been reported to be relatively low as 3.0 METs on average (1). I n contrast, the Kung Fu gymnastics practice routines of Chang Chuan are easier to learn because the movements are simple compared to Tai Chi Chuan. Furthermore, a modified exercise program of Tai Chi Chuan combined with Kung Fu gymnastics could be more efficient than the current Tai Chi Chuan in the improvement of physical fitness (5). For those reasons, Kung Fu gymnastics are more suitabl e than Tai Chi Chuan to introduce to beginners, particularly people in their 30s and 40s . According to our knowledge, there are no studies that show the exercise intensity of Kung Fu gymnastics, nor of Chang Chuan. In this study, therefore, exercise inten sity of Kung Fu gymnastics was examined to provide the scientific bases for the propagation of Kung Fu gymnastics and Chang Chuan. 127 METHODS Subjects Ten healthy people in their 30s and 40s, 3 men (age, 44.7 ± 3.2 yrs; height, 177.9 ± 6.8 cm; body mass, 68 .5 ± 7.2 kg; mean ± SD) and 7 women (age, 39.6 ± 4.7 yrs; height, 157.6 ± 5.5 cm; body mass, 51.5 ± 4.0 kg) volunteered to participate in this study . All subjects had practiced Yang style Tai Chi Chuan and Kung Fu gymnastics under the supervision of an exp erienced instructor onc e a week for approximately 2 y rs. All subjects gave their written informed consent, after they were fully informed about the purpose of the study. The present study was approved by the Human Subjects Committee at Chukyo University Gr aduate School of Health and Sports Sciences. Procedures All measurements were carried out at the Laboratory for Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics in the Graduate School of Health and Sports Sciences at Chukyo University. Upon reporting to the laborator y, the subjects’ height and body mass were measured. After warming - up, each subject perf ormed Kung Fu gymnastics and 24 - form Tai Chi Chuan in a random or der, inserting a rest of 2 to 3 h rs. Exercise The subjects, under instruction, performed Kung Fu gymna stics 1 and Kung Fu gymnastics 2 that last ed for 20 to 25 sec , respectively, with some repetitions, for 2 min in total. 24 - form Tai Chi Chuan was performed with music for 6 min. Measurements Breathing frequency (Fb) , expired ventilation (V E ) , and oxygen c onsumption (VO 2 ) were measured using a Metamax 3B portable system with MaxSport Jacket and Triple V volume transducer (Cortex, Leipzig, Germany) during 3 min of sitting - rest and 3 min of standing - rest, and exercise. The VO 2 values were standardized for tem perature and pressure dry (STPD) prior to calculat ion . The measurement system was calibrated according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Heart rate (HR) and tri - axial acceleration were also measured using a heart rate transmitter (Polar, Helsinki, Fin land) fixed on the thorax and a tri - axial accelerometer (RF - BBC, Medical Electronic Science Institute Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) was attached to the dorsal aspect of the distal end of right forearm, respectively. Statistical Analyses The d ata were expressed a s mean ± standard deviation (SD) in tabular and graphical formats. All data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS software ver.12 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Differences between Kung Fu gymnastics and Tai Chi Chuan were assessed using a paired t - test. T he significance level was set at P <0.05. RESULTS Changes in VO 2 during Kung Fu gymnastics (2 min) and during Tai Chi exercises (6 min) are shown in Figure 1. In Kung Fu gymnastics, VO 2 rapidly increased as soon as the subjects started the exercise and re ached the plateau at the latter half. In the Tai Chi exercises, VO 2 gradually increased and remained low throughout the exercise . 128 Figure 1. Changes in O xygen C onsumption during Kung Fu G ymnastics (2 min) and Tai Chi Chuan (6 mi n). Values are expressed as mean ± SD. Three - dimensional acceleration of the forearm was measured using a three - dimensional accelerometer. Figure 2 shows changes in three - dimensional acceleration during Kung Fu gymnastics and during Tai Chi exercises.