Self-Compassion and Pre- Competition Anxiety among Martial Arts Students

Objective: This study is an examination of the relationship between self-compassion, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence as competitive state anxiety among female athletes Students. Methodology: The research method was descriptive-correlational. Two hundred and fifty-three female student (140 taekwondo and 113 karate) were selected among athletes present at the 14th Student Cultural Sport Olympiad. Self-compassion Scale (SCS) and Revised Competitive State Anxiety–2 (CSAI-2R) were used in the study before competing in games to measure the aforementioned theoretical constructs. Results: The results showed a significant relationship between self-compassion and pre- competitive anxiety. Moreover, Components of this characteristic positively predicted self- confidence variance, but this prediction reversed with both somatic and cognitive anxiety. Conclusions: The results suggest that Self-compassion plays an important role in moderating pre- competitive anxiety of female martial arts. Therefore, improving this characteristic should be taken into consideration to promote self- confidence and reduce the pre- competitive anxiety in these athletes.