Tae kwon do training information

The most popular martial art in the world, tae kwon do involves a series of movements in sequences, including punching, kicking, blocking, jumping, twisting and leaping, performed at a high level of intensity. At Olympic level, tae kwon do bouts are made up of 3-5 second spurts of high intensity in between lower intensity periods, and a round lasts 2 minutes in total. During this 2 minute round, the heart rate reaches maximum levels, and lactate response is high, so tae kwon do requires training in anaerobic power and endurance so that competitors can repeat high intensity bouts of activity with little rest in between.

This martial art doesn't significantly increase cardiovascular fitness, because explosive power is more important to competitors. One fitness element that is crucial to this martial art however, as with all martial arts, is flexibility, more specifically functional flexibility, in other words flexibility which can be applied to competition. A competitor not only needs to be able to perform the splits on the floor, but also have strength and power in the hip flexors to raise the leg above 90 degrees.

When training and conditioning for this martial art, it's important to develop functional flexibility at the same time as maintaining a low body fat ratio. Training should also develop explosive power, limb speed, anaerobic endurance, and maximal strength.