Attitude of schoolchildren towards martial arts

Purpose: to determine modern aspects of schoolchildren's interest in martial arts classes. Material and methods. The following research methods were used in the work: analysis of scientific and methodological literature and Internet sources, questionnaires, methods of mathematical statistics. In order to determine the main aspects of schoolchildren's interest in martial arts classes, a questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire consisted of five questions; the first two questions had two answer options (yes/no). Answer options were presented for the last three questions, and in the option, other schoolchildren could provide their answer option if they wished. Results: the results of the conducted questionnaire among schoolchildren indicate a high level of physical activity among schoolchildren, where the majority of respondents (84,6 %) confirmed their experience of playing sports or visiting sports sections. At the same time, 15,4 % do not have such experience. Interest in martial arts turned out to be significantly less, however, more than half of schoolchildren (56,3 %) expressed a desire to practice or try martial arts. The following results were obtained during the survey of schoolchildren regarding their desire or existing experience in martial arts. Eastern martial arts stand out as the predominant choice among respondents, accounting for 38,2 %. Boxing and kickboxing (26,8 %) also showed great interest, overtaking wrestling and judo (19,7 %) in the choice of schoolchildren. 15,3 % of schoolchildren want to practice other types of martial arts. The results indicate a high level of interest of respondents in the development of self-defense skills (68,6 %), which exceeds other aspects. Improving physical fitness (47,2 %), the opportunity to learn something new and interesting (34,5 %), as well as forming new acquaintances (31,4 %) combine a significant number of answers. The most important factors preventing attending martial arts classes were the lack of appropriate infrastructure or a coach near the place of residence (46,6 %) and insufficient free time (38,4 %). Conclusions. The survey revealed a high level of physical activity among schoolchildren, but interest in martial arts turned out to be less. More than half of the students expressed their desire to engage in this activity, in particular, oriental martial arts were of particular interest. The ability to self-defense and the desire to improve physical fitness turned out to be key motivators for students. However, less than a third of schoolchildren consider martial arts to participate in competitions, which should be taken into account when developing this direction. The most important obstacles to attending classes are lack of infrastructure and limited time. Keywords: schoolchildren, martial arts, attitude, aspect, questionnaire.