Self-compassion and Pre-competition Anxiety in Martial Arts Student Athletes

Introduction: the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between selfcompassion and precompetitive anxiety among female athlete students. methods: this was a descriptive correlational study. two hundred and fifty-three female students (140 taekwondo & 113 karate) were selected among athletes present at the 14th student cultural sports olympiad. self-compassion scale and competitive state anxiety–2 were used in this study before competing in games to measure the aforementioned theoretical constructs. results: the obtained results revealed a significant relationship between pre-competitive anxiety and self-compassion. moreover, the components of this characteristic positively predicted self-confidence variance; however, this prediction reversed with somatic and cognitive anxiety. conclusion: based on the current study results, self-compassion plays a moderating role in the pre-competitive anxiety of female martial arts athletes. therefore, improving this characteristic should be considered to promote self-confidence and reduce the precompetitive anxiety in these athletes.