The physical and physiological demands of taekwondo training and international competition

Abstract

The aim of this PhD thesis was to characterise the physical and physiological demands of taekwondo in the aftermath of an evolution of rule changes over the last 19 years. The entry of taekwondo to the Olympic games in 2000 brought a spotlight and visibility to the sport that put pressure on the governing body to refine the rules and make it more exciting for spectators. As a result, there has been an evolution in the demands of taekwondo from a technical and tactical standpoint. Anecdotally, this has also caused a shift in the physical and physiological requirements for performance optimisation but it has yet to be demonstrated in the literature. The results demonstrated an increased physical demand of and physiological response to competition, compared to previous research. This change in physical and physiological demand was not appropriately echoed in the physiological profile of the athlete suggesting that the physical preparation of athletes should focus on energy system development to optimise performance success. Furthermore, it was found that the training load actually experienced by each athlete was not sufficient to promote progressive overload due to a lack of organisation of training stress. This was influenced by a high rate of injury occurrence and a demanding competition schedule that impacted each athlete’s ability to complete the scheduled training sessions. Therefore, this thesis concluded with comprehensive considerations and guidelines for designing training programmes to coordinate physical preparation with the demands and schedule of competition by optimising energy system development and individualising training programmes in order to maximise competition performance.