Introduction

1. 01 Results Introduction Results Descriptive Statistics Chinese martial arts (Kungfu) as a form of nontraditional sports has become more popular in recreational facilities around the world. In recent years, Chinese martial arts have attracted more participants in North America and resulted in approximately 13,950 commercial martial arts schools in the United States (info-USA, 2007). Previous studies focused primarily on the market demand of martial arts schools(e.g.,Kim, 2009), or the benefits of practicing martial arts(Massey et al., 2013). However, limited research can be found in analyzing Chinese martial arts participants’ motivation. Motivation theory has prevalently been applied as an important role of many of the most intriguing problems in sports (Deci, & Ryan, 1987).Membership fee is a primary concern and may affect the current or future participants’ decision to attend or remain at martial arts schools (Sawyer & Smith, 1999; Kim, Zhang & Ko, 2009).  The purpose of this study was to examine difference of participants’ motivation based on two membership types: Individual and family. Methods Conclusion Participants • A total of 310 participants (female = 95, male = 215) voluntarily took part in this study. • All participants have had learning and practice experience of Chinese martial arts, including novice group (less than two years, n = 75), intermediate group (two to five years, n = 96) and advanced group (more than five years, n = 139). Their practiced styles of martial arts were Self-defense (n = 65), Modern style (n = 48), and Traditional style (n = 197) Procedures and Measures After being randomly selected from the International Chinese Martial Arts Championship in Washington DC, each participant completed the informed consent form and questionnaire.  The Motivation Inventory for Chinese Martial Arts (MICMA) that contained four factors (Competence, Health, socialization, Utilitarian) with acceptable validity and reliability was used in the survey (e.g., Jones et al., 2006). • The finding indicated that participants with individual membership prefer to improve their physical skills and socialize with others who have the same interests.However, Participants with family membership showed more preference to receive group or family discount for participation in Chinese martial arts. • The researchers suggested that the owners of martial arts school should provide diverse programs to meet the different needs from participants. Sales promotion (i.e., price reduction, free class trial, coupons or vouchers, and cash refund) should be considered as an important promotional techinique to encourage new customers to participate. • The study also filled a void in Chinese martial arts research and contributed to the literature of participant’ motivation in nontraditional sports. • The study supported conceptual framework in which the individuals participated in various forms of sports could be motivated by discrepant factors and affected by their characteristics. Findings Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed four factors: Competence, Health, Socialization, and Utilitarian. The Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) in SPSS 17.0 was utilized to examine significant mean difference (Lambda = .865, p < .01). Follow-up Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) identified significant differences on three factors: Utilitarian (F = 13.9 p < .01), Competence (F = 6.39, p <.05) and Socialization (F = 12.26, p < .01). Participants of individual membership responded higher on Competence (M = 5.38 vs. M = 5.00) and Socialization (M = 5.62 vs. M = 5.15) than family members. On the other hand, participants of family membership scored higher on Utilitarian (M = 3.84 vs. M = 3.05) than individual participants. For more info please contact: Lzou@springfieldcollege.edu