BODY COMPOSITION AND EXPLOSIVE POWER OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES OF TOP KARATE PLAYERS
The aim of this research was to determine the connection between body composition and explosive power of the lower extremities in top karate players, representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to identify the differences between men and women in these parameters. Correlation analysis was performed between body composition variables and lower extremity explosive strength, with additional use of independent samples t-test to examine gender differences. The results showed a significant positive correlation between body mass, muscle mass, total amount of water and jump height, while the percentage of fat tissue had a negative correlation with jump height. Also, significant gender differences were identified in variables such as fat tissue percentage (.004), muscle mass (.000), total water volume (.000) and jump height (.000), with men achieving better results. These differences indicate that body composition and explosive power are key factors in karate and highlight the need to adapt training and nutritional strategies to gender specificities in order to optimize results.