After careful observation of thousands of matches, the key physical factors in Taekwondo begin to crystallize. Superior anaerobic alactic power (utilized during brief maximum-intensity activities) with moderately well developed aerobic capacity is critical to reaching the highest pinnacles in Taekwondo. Anaerobic lactic power (less intense action, several minutes in duration) is less critical for competition, but long training sessions force the athlete to develop this system. The jury is still out about whether this is time well spent.

Speed-power with superior mental skills is the key to podium success. Efficient training is highly desirable in a sport that has neither a professional level nor scholarship opportunities. Like many Canadian athletes, Taekwondo players must lead alternate professional lives to survive. It is worthwhile to measure critical success factors, and implement systems to develop them. In the words of the late Dr. Mel C. Siff, a world renowned sports scientist and coach,
“Even though a relatively amateurish approach may produce increases during the first year of training, this may not be entirely beneficial to the athlete, because the improvement may not be sufficiently sport-specific.”

A resistance band system is used in training.

The approach of the Author in developing sport-specific abilities is to find ways to add resistance to the exact motions of the sport, and to measure the speed and power of those motions and the flexibility of the athlete performing them. While some sport scientists might dismiss this approach because it does not conform to the established protocols for measuring speed and power, we are prepared to absorb their brickbats in favour of establishing our own standards. While it might be possible to map success of athletes based on their anaerobic power in a jump test, we would rather determine, for example, how fast they can deliver a rear leg round house kick and how much impact they can deliver through a standard hogu to the recipient of that kick.

Proper measurement is crucial in any athletic training program, both for determining how an athlete is reacting to training, and for recognizing when peak performance has been achieved (and hence when the athlete is primed for competition). One measurement strategy is the use of a reaction time, kick speed, and force measurement tester and simulator. Such a system has recently been developed, and will soon be seen on the market.

On the training side, resistance bands (such as the Thera-band™ system) are an inexpensive and versatile way of training a wide variety of Taekwondo-specific motions. While the band is attached to extremities such as hands or feet, the other end is secured to a roller channel system to maintain near-horizontal force vectors. This allows the resistance of the band to enhance the training of both the muscles and the nervous system, causing the body to adapt to the higher resistance by recruiting more type IIb muscle fibres (fast-twitch fibres, ideally suited for short fast bursts of power). This has the added benefit of not adding body weight through hypertrophy of muscles.

Eventually, as you increase resistance in a planned program, you recruit continuously more muscle fibres to perform the task, while strengthening tendons and ligaments without appreciable loss of flexibility, assuming you continue with appropriate protocols for stretching as part of the program. The nervous system is also trained so that it becomes more efficient, even dropping out the recruitment of unneeded muscle fibres, reducing energy use and fatigue.

Roller channels can provide smooth and properly directed resistance.

The challenge is to find the right resistance for each athlete, and ensure that there is no degradation of technique when resistance is added. Then performance can be re-measured, and progress charted. Each athlete is unique and needs assessment and careful coaching to reach their full potential. This system has proven so versatile, that almost any sport can benefit from its use.

Ken Anstruther is a partner at TKF Sport International Inc. (www.tkfsport.com)