The effect of offensive and defensive actions on taekwondo sparring

Performance analysis in sports has been part of the athletes’ training program for several decades as far as discrete movements are concerned in soccer [1] or physical demands by position in the same sport [2]. Sanderson [3] focused on (un)successful patterns of play in squash, while notational analysis in other racket sports was also performed [4,5]. More examples of sports where notational analysis has gained inroads include volleyball [6], water polo [7] as well as rowing and swimming [8]. Performance analysis in combat sports has mainly occurred in judo [9,10,11,12] with one of the earliest done by Matsumoto et al. [13]. Calmet et al. [14] sought to investigate the approach and grappling stages in beginning, intermediate and advanced male judo athletes. The authors reported that the frequency of attacks of experienced judo practitioners (67.4%) was lower than those of the beginners (80.0%) and intermediate counterparts (86.7%). Franchini et al. [15] investigated medal winners (super elite) and those who ranked 4 -7 (elite) in at least two judo world championships or Olympic Games between 1995 and 2001. The authors reported that the super elite group recorded more wins, while the men and women in the super elite group as well as the men in the elite group scored more points than the elite women. Few performance analysis studies were carried out in karate. Koropanovsky et al. [16] revealed that the reverse straight punch was the most often used technique at three European championships, followed by the roundhouse kick. He reported that the reverse straight punch was most frequently used at European and world championships. Laird and McLeod [17] arrived at the same conclusion when investigating tournaments in Europe. In comparing adults with children (12-13 years), Lapresa et al. [18] revealed that the latter preferred to use their left guards as opposed to the adults, who blocked equally as often with the right and left sides. No differences were found in kicks. In taekwondo, research on notational analysis is in its beginning stages. Recent analyses were done by Kazemi and colleagues on full-contact taekwondo according to the rules of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The dominant techniques were kicks, with a total absence of punches at the 2000 Olympic Games [19]. More details were provided by Kazemi et al. [20] on kicks and warnings incurred per weight category at the 2008 Olympic Games. Notational analysis in taekwondo according to the rules of the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) is likewise scarce. Wąsik and Ślęzak [21] found that in females competing in the over-70 kg weight division, the technique that was often successful in scoring points included the straight punch. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to assess the performance profile of selected male and female taekwondo athletes competing according to ITF rules.