Time-motion analysis and effort-pause relationship in taekwondo combats: a comparison of competitive levels

To improve the combat sports training processes, the knowledge of effort:pause (E:P) ratio and of the high intensity:low intensity (HI:LI) relationship may be useful. However, no studies have investigated these aspects in taekwondo (TKD) official matches from different levels. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the temporal structure of TKD combat matches at regional and state-level events. Thirty-four combat matches involving male TKD black belt athletes were analyzed. The athletes took part in two separate championships according to their level of competitiveness. Non-parametric distributions were identified in all variables, and the median was used as centrality and the interquartile range (25%-75%) for dispersion. The analysis of non-parametric variance, Kruskal-Wallis, with Dunn post-hoc, was used for comparisons between variables within the same competitive level and Mann-Whitney test between them. The significance level was 5%. On both levels, approximately 50% of combat time (51.3% and 50.8% in state and regional, respectively) was aimed at low-intensity activities in an observation mode; 12% of the time was devoted to preparation actions; and 36% represented high-intensity activity. It was also noted that the relationship of E:P at the state level was 1:8; at the regional level, it was 1:4. The relationship of HI:LI was 1:3 in the state and regional levels. It was observed that there is a difference in the E:P relationship during TKD competitions among different competitive levels. These findings can assist coaches and trainers in developing suitable, specific training processes according to TKD competition level