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Physical and Physiological Profiles of Taekwondo Athletes

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Abstract

Taekwondo has evolved into a modern-day Olympic combat sport. The physical and physiological demands of modern-day taekwondo competition require athletes to be competent in several aspects of fitness. This review critically explores the physical and physiological characteristics of taekwondo athletes and presents implications for training and research. International taekwondo athletes possess low levels of body fat and a somatotype that characterises a blend of moderate musculoskeletal tissue and relative body linearity. While there is some variation in the maximum oxygen uptake of taekwondo athletes, moderate to high levels of cardio-respiratory fitness are necessary to support the metabolic demands of fighting and to facilitate recovery between consecutive matches. Taekwondo athletes demonstrate high peak anaerobic power characteristics of the lower limbs and this attribute appears to be conducive to achieving success in international competition. The ability to generate and sustain power output using both concentric and ‘stretch-shortening cycle’ muscle actions of the lower limbs may be important to support the technical and tactical actions in combat. Taekwondo competitors also display moderate to high maximum dynamic strength characteristics of the lower and upper extremities, and moderate endurance properties of the trunk and hip flexor musculature. The dynamic nature of the technical and tactical actions in the sport demand high flexibility of the lower limbs. More extensive research is required into the physical and physiological characteristics of taekwondo athletes to extend existing knowledge and to permit specialised conditioning for different populations within the sport.

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No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this review. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport and Exercise Research Group, Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Wilson Centre, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, L39 4QP, UK

    Craig A. Bridge

  2. Martial Arts and Combat Sports Research Group, Sport Department, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Jonatas Ferreira da Silva Santos & Emerson Franchini

  3. Research Unit, Analysis and Evaluation of Factors Affecting Sport Performance, Higher Institute of Sports and Physical Education, Ksar Said, Tunisia

    Helmi Chaabène

  4. Higher Institute of Sports and Physical Education, Manouba University, Tunis, Tunisia

    Helmi Chaabène

  5. Department of Taekwondo, College of Physical Education, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea

    Willy Pieter

  6. Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Emerson Franchini

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Correspondence to Craig A. Bridge.

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Bridge, C.A., Ferreira da Silva Santos, J., Chaabène, H. et al. Physical and Physiological Profiles of Taekwondo Athletes. Sports Med 44, 713–733 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0159-9

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