The impact of Chinese calligraphy practice on athletes’ self-control

ABSTRACT Case studies in sports suggest that calligraphy practice contributes to the psychological regulation of athletes in competition. Preliminary evidence suggests that Chinese calligraphy practice may enhance athletes’ self-control and emotion regulation. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of Chinese calligraphy practice on two types of self-control (persistent and inhibitory self-control) and emotion among athletes. Two experiments with a mixed 2 × 2 experimental design was conducted with 207 Chinese collegiate athletes (129 males and 78 females) who were assigned to a calligraphy practice group or a control group. The findings reveal that Chinese calligraphy practice, which involves concentration, meditation, skill training and Taoist ideas, can improve athletes’ self-control. Specifically, it is more effective at enhancing persistent self-control than inhibitory self-control. Moreover, calligraphy practice can lead to increased positive emotion, reduced fatigue, and higher levels of vigor among athletes. These findings enrich the reservoir of psychological training (self-control training) in sports and provides a new self-control intervention.