ABSTRACT
For analytical purposes, the kicking motion may be divided into four phases: the approach phase; the swing phase; the collision phase; and the follow-through. The duration of the core phase, the collision phase, is rather short as it takes only about 8 to 15 ms according to various studies listed by Asami and Nolte (1983). Thus, within the collision phase the player is not able to influence the kicking motion and its outcome once this phase has started. This means that the success of the kick is already determined immediately before the functional unit of foot and shoe hits the ball. In order to analyse the collision phase of the kicking motion the pure application of classical theories according to Newton’s mechanics are not sufficient as the soccer kick cannot be seen as a purely elastic impact. Generally, accelerations of objects in sports may be classified as throwing-like or impact-like situations. However, kicking incorporates aspects of both of these types of ball and effector interaction, as during the collision phase the ball is displaced while
Barefoot kicking superior to shod kicking? 51
being in contact with the foot (Tsaousidis and Zatsiorsky, 1996). Therefore, it is of interest whether the biomechanical interaction of the kicking limb with the ball changes when kicking with or without a shoe.
