COMBATS SIMULATED IN TAEKWONDO: HEART RATE, BLOOD LACTATE, BREATHING FREQUENCY AND ACCELERATIONS

The aim of this study was to describe the Recovery Heart Rate (RHR), blood lactate, breathing frequency (BF) and accelerations during simulated combats in taekwondo advanced belts and blacks in the junior and senior categories of the municipality of Bello (Antioquia- Colombia). Descriptive-correlational study involving 11 athletes voluntarily. The RHR, BF and accelerations were measured during the simulated combats by a portable physiological monitor (Bioharness 3 Zephyr (TM)), blood lactate during the breaks of each combat by a blood analyzer (Lactate Pro 2) and maximum consumption of oxygen was evaluated days previous to the combats, by the Course Navette Test. The combats consisted in three rounds of two minutes with a minute of rest, trying to reproduce the real characteristics of a competition. There was neither scoring system, nor technical-tactical analysis during the fights. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences in the maximum heart rate and the RHR in round three between advanced and black belts, while in the junior and senior categories differences were found in the maximum heart rate, however, statistically significant differences were also reported (p <0,05) in blood lactate and RHR between rounds independent of the belt and category. The data suggest that a taekwondo combat with one minute of rest between rounds is not enough to achieve a full recovery in these athletes, in addition, taekwondo players should develop the ability to tolerate moderate to high lactate concentrations during a combat and must increase or maintain accelerations as the rounds pass.