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Aim. The purpose of the study is to look into the visuomotor reaction time (simple and complex reaction time) of combat sports athletes.
Material and method. Sixty-eight participants (Mage = 21.85) took part in the research. For assessing simple reaction time and choice reaction time two computerized tests were used (TRS and RCMV, respectively), calibrated on the Romanian population by RQ Plus company.
Results. Analysis of variances and Tukey post-hoc test for equal variances were performed to verify the differences in terms of choice and simple reaction time, according to martial arts athletes’ sports level. Also, gender-related differences were examined (considering the visuomotor reaction time), using the Goodman and Kruskal tau association test. Data analysis showed that athletes with superior results in competitions registered a faster choice reaction time (even if the difference was not statistically significant). Considering simple reaction time values, the difference between combat sports athletes (according to sports performances) was almost nonexistent. Also, male athletes obtained better values for simple reaction time and slightly better results for choice reaction time than female athletes.
Conclusions. Combat sports athletes having international performances registered better values for choice reaction time, compared to athletes having national, respectively regional/local results. A significant link was found between athletes’ gender and martial arts athletes’ results for simple reaction time, with male athletes obtaining better scores.
