Energy Expenditures of Gateball and Tai Chi Chuan

門球及太極運動的能量消耗

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.

Gateball originates in Japan and is particularly popular among elderly persons (Traphagan, 1998). The game, played very much like croquet but on a faster clip, was introduced to Hong Kong in 1986. Almost twenty years later, the game has grown in popularity and is now played by over 800 elderly persons on a regular basis (Ms. Michelle Ma, personal communication, 5 August 2005). While Gateball is appreciated as a team game, Tai Chi Chuan, another activity popularly pursued by elderly persons in Hong Kong, is appreciated predominantly as a solo activity. Research surrounding Tai Chi Chuan far exceeds that of Gateball, therefore, the purpose of this study was to contrast the energy expended in playing Gateball and in Tai Chi Chuan practice. Such insight could be profitably used by recreation providers when planning exercise programs and when promoting activity among the elderly.

門球起源於日本，是長者喜愛的運動(Traphagan, 1998)。此運動的規則與槌球大致相同。但比槌球的節奏快。門球於1986年引入香港。經過近二十年才普遍在香港流行。現時有大概800多名長者定期參與門球運動(Ms. Michelle Ma, 私人通訊，2005)。除了這項團體運動，香港的長者亦積極參與太極拳，一項以個人為主的活動。關於太極拳的研究遠超門球，因此休閒活動提供者將可在策劃及推動長者運動時，有效地利用此研究的結果。