Hajime! Karate as Academic Salvation

In March 2020, an official international declaration of a global pandemic resulted in worldwide uncertainty as our everyday experiences, including those within academia, were being hijacked by a contagion. Herein, I merge a philosophy of phenomenology with the methodology of autoethnography to elicit my personal story by recounting my academic experiences throughout the pandemic. This chapter describes how the first lockdown compelled a swift resignation from my revered, yet altered, academic position followed by an enrolment in PhD studies while simultaneously registering for Karate. Unexpectedly, training in Karate has proven to be a key ally in sculpting my academic identity, presenting as academic salvation during a time of professional crisis and global despondency. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

The Impact of Physical Activity Classes on Academic Performance in Lebanese Students Aged 9 to 14 Years: A Quasi- Experimental Study

Background: several studies have revealed the positive effects of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity on student performance and academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a specific physical activity program on academic performance among children aged 9 to 14 in the Lebanese schools. Methods: Participants were eligible if they did not participate in any sport activity during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the first semester of the academic year 2020 - 2021 and were able to complete a three-month PA program at the BH CLUB-KYOKUSHIN JAMMAL academy with no psychological or physical limitations. A well-trained physical coach established a PA program consisting of karate and general fitness exercises for three months, three times per week, one hour per session. Academic performance was measured using the official marks from three core academic classes at each school, as well as the overall GPA. Results: Out of 250 eligible children, only 60 students, 47 males and 13 females, with a mean age of 11.7 +/- 1.68 years old, participated in the study. All scores for all participants from both genders improved significantly (p<0.05) with exception of mathematics and science scores of the females. Furthermore, no significant gender differences were observed in any of the variables with p-value>0.05 and a size effect of Cohen's d<0.219. Conclusion: PA had a significant impact on academic achievement in children aged 9 to 14 years old, and it may help to offset the unavoidable negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, Lebanon's parents and schools should prioritize PA for their children.

Investigation of The Relationship Between The Life Quality and Life Satisfactions of Karate Do Coaches in The Covid-19 Outbreak Process

Aim: The aim of the study is to report the quality of life and life satisfaction of karate-do trainers during the covid-19 epidemic and public health restrictions, and to examine the relationships between trainers' quality of life and life satisfaction while the restrictions persist. Methods: During public health restrictions, Karate Do trainers were recruited through an online survey and social media posting of demographics, quality of life, and life satisfaction sections. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the 7-point Likert-type Life Satisfaction Scale developed by Diener et al. (1985) and validated in Turkish by Bekmezci and Mert (2018) were used. IBM SPSS 22 package was used for data analysis. Independent Sample T test, One way Anova Test and Pearson Correlation Test were used with the program. The significance level of all evaluations was taken into account as p<0.05. Results: In the findings obtained in the study, no significant difference was found between the participants' gender, age, educational status, residence and coaching time, and life satisfaction in the sub-dimensions of quality of life. A significant difference was found between the monthly income levels of the participants and the sub-dimensions of the quality of life, namely the psychological field and the environmental field and life satisfaction. During the pandemic period, significant differences were observed in the levels of paying attention to mask-distance-hygiene rules and in all sub-dimensions of quality of life. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was observed that as the quality of life of karate do trainers increased, life satisfaction at the mid-low level increased positively. Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the variables of gender, age, education level, residence and duration of coaching of karate do trainers and quality of life and life satisfaction. It was observed that there was a significant difference between the monthly income of the trainers and the sub-dimensions of the quality of life, namely psychological domain, environmental domain and life satisfaction. As karate do trainers pay attention to hygiene rules in every period, significant differences were observed between the level of attention to mask-distance-hygiene rules and all sub-dimensions of quality of life during the pandemic period. From this point of view, it can be said that Karate Do trainers pay attention to hygiene rules, especially during the pandemic period. In our study, it was observed that as the quality of life of Karate Do trainers increased, their life satisfaction also increased moderately positively. It is predicted that this ratio will increase even more with the new regulations to be made on the living standards and personal rights of Karate Do trainers.