Abstract:

Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the level of courage and mental toughness of professional wrestlers according to their age, sport year, a national player, working time with their coaches, punishment and disability and the relationship between them. Method and Materials: The study group consisted of 118 professional wrestlers with a mean age of 21.43±5.31 and 9.19±5.63 sports years.  “Mental Toughness Scale” developed by Sheard, Golby &Wersch (2009), the validity and reliability study was conducted by adopting Turkish by Altintas and Koruc (2017) and the “Courage in Sports Scale” developed by Konter and Johan (2012) are used as data collection tool. In the analysis of the data descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were applied. Results: It was determined that wrestlers correctly accepted all sub-dimensions of the Mental Toughness Scale. It was also determined that the wrestlers participated in the subordinate dimensions of Courage in Sports Scale in terms of determination, assertiveness, dangerousness and self-sacrifice but they experienced instability in the competence-mastery dimension. There was a significant positive correlation between the courage in sports scale subscales and the mental toughness scale subscales. Conclusion: It has been concluded that the mental toughgness and courage levels of professional wrestlers are related, and that the injuries experienced in sports environment have a negative effect on the level of mental toughness and courage.    

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