Effectiveness of the Methodology for the Development of Cadets’ Motor and Military-applied Skills during Orienteering Training Sessions: A Case-Control Study

Introduction The current conditions of warfare and the level of development of military equipment and tactics require high-quality professional training of military personnel. This requires a high level of development of motor and military applied skills of cadets. Orienteering is the most effective means of developing motor and military-applied motor skills in cadets that contribute to the formation of their psychophysical readiness for future professional and combat activities. The aim of the research is to substantiate the methodology for the development of motor skills, and the formation of military applied skills in cadets during their orienteering training sessions and to test its effectiveness. Methods The research, which was conducted in 2018-2023, involved 80 male cadets of the S. P. Koroliov Zhytomyr Military Institute (Ukraine), aged 17 to 23. The study’s design was a case-control study. To test the methodology of the author, the experimental (EG, n = 40) and control (CG, n = 40) groups were formed from the cadets who entered the institute in 2019 with significantly the same indicators of the development of motor skills, physical condition, health and mental cognitive processes (p > 0.05). EG was formed from the cadets who were engaged in orienteering training sessions during the sporting and mass participation activities (3 times per week for 1.5 hours). CG cadets were not engaged in sports, but they practiced sporting and mass participation activities according to the traditional method of physical training. The research methods included analysis of scientific, educational, and methodological literature, internet data and best practices, testing, pedagogical experiments, and methods of mathematical statistics. The level of cadets’ motor skills development was assessed by physical training tests, the level of military applied skills formedness in orienteering was assessed by the standards of military topography, and the dynamics of mental cognitive processes was assessed by psychodiagnostic methods. The reliability of the difference between the indicators was determined by the Student’s t-test. Results The methodology for the development of motor skills and the formation of military-applied skills in cadets during their orienteering training sessions has been worked out and substantiated. Further, it aims to form the psychophysical readiness of cadets for their future professional and combat activities. The methodology has been implemented in four stages: basic, preparatory, main, and military applied, which are characterized by a scientifically sound ratio of theoretical, general, special, and applied physical training. A significantly better (p ≤ 0.05-0.001) level of development of general and special motor skills in the EG cadets compared to the CG was revealed by the results of 10 x 10 m shuttle run, 3 km run, obstacle course exercise, 6 x 100 m shuttle run, 3 km run with obstacles, and 10 km accelerated march. The EG cadets showed significantly (p ≤ 0.001) better indicators than the CG cadets in determining direction (azimuth) afield, transferring targets from the terrain scheme to the map (aerial photo), and passing the 50 m orienteering distance with 5 control points. The EG cadets showed a significantly better (p ≤ 0.05-0.001) level of indicators of stability and concentration of attention, short-term memory, peculiarities of thinking, and intellectual working capacity than the CG at the end of the experiment. Conclusion Testing the methodology for the development of motor skills and the formation of military-applied skills in cadets during their orienteering training sessions confirmed its effectiveness in shaping the psychophysical readiness of cadets for their future professional and combat activities. Assessment of the developed methodology showed its more pronounced positive effects, compared to the traditional method of physical training, in terms of the development of motor skills in cadets, formation of military applied skills in terrain orienteering, and improvement of mental cognitive processes.