Energy demands in taekwondo athletes during combat simulation

The purpose of this study was to investigate energy system contributions and energy costs in combat situations. The sample consisted of 10 male taekwondo athletes (age: 21 ± 6 years old; height: 176.2 ± 5.3 cm; body mass: 67.2 ± 8.9 kg) who compete at the national or international level. To estimate the energy contributions, and total energy cost of the fights, athletes performed a simulated competition consisting of three 2 min rounds with a 1 min recovery between each round. The combats were filmed to quantify the actual time spent fighting in each round. The contribution of the aerobic (W _AER), anaerobic alactic (W _PCR), and anaerobic lactic \( (W_{ [{\rm La}^-]}) \) energy systems was estimated through the measurement of oxygen consumption during the activity, the fast component of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and the change in blood lactate concentration in each round, respectively. The mean ratio of high intensity actions to moments of low intensity (steps and pauses) was ~1:7. The W _AER, W _PCR and \( (W_{ [{\rm La}^-]}) \) system contributions were estimated as 120 ± 22 kJ (66 ± 6%), 54 ± 21 kJ (30 ± 6%), 8.5 kJ (4 ± 2%), respectively. Thus, training sessions should be directed mainly to the improvement of the anaerobic alactic system (responsible by the high-intensity actions), and of the aerobic system (responsible by the recovery process between high-intensity actions).