PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING TIPS &  PREVENTION OF SPORTS INJURIES IN TAEKWONDO

BY: M.H.TAVAKKOLI

Physical Fitness Training Tips

One of the questions I ask a new student, what are you seeking to accomplish in your studies of martial arts? Nearly all students respond with physical fitness or getting back in shape. With this in mind I would like to address and share with you some of the things I have learned about physical fitness over the years. In Martial Arts, we protect and defend. In Martial Arts our training is for ourselves, our families, and those who are in need of our assistance. There are several areas that I will address in this training tip, components of fitness, principles of exercise, factors for a successful training program, and warm up and cool down.

The following is a definition of physical fitness: It is the ability to function effectively in physical work, martial arts training, other activities, and have enough energy left over to handle any emergencies which may arise.

COMPONENTS OF FITNESS

There are several components of physical fitness and they are as follows:

Cardio respiratory endurance- the efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from the cells.

Muscular strength- the greatest amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert in a single effort.

Muscular endurance- the ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated movements with a sub-maximal force for extended periods of time.

Flexibility- the ability to move the joints (for example, elbow, knee) or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion.

Body composition- the amount of body fat you have in comparison to your total body mass.

Factors such as speed, agility, muscle power, eye to hand coordination and eye to foot coordination are classified as components of "motor" fitness. These factors effect your survivability in a conflict or competition. The physical fitness training that we provide during your training can improve these factors within your physical limitations and potential. Our martial arts training program seeks to improve and/or maintain all the components of physical and motor fitness through sound, progressive physical training for you.

PRINCIPLES OF EXERCISE

Adherence to certain basic exercise principles is important for developing an effective program. The principles of exercise apply to everyone at all levels of physical training, from the Olympic-caliber athlete to the weekend jogger. These principles also apply to physical fitness training for the martial artiest.

These basis principles of exercise must be followed:

Regularity. To achieve a training effect, you must exercise often. You should try to exercise each of the four fitness components at least three times a week. Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good. Regularity is important in resting, sleeping, and following a good diet.Progression. The intensity and/or duration of the exercise must gradually increase to improve the level of fitness.Balance. To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others.Variety. Providing a variety of activities reduces boredom and increases motivation and progress.Specificity. Training must be geared toward specific goals, as ours is towards defending ourselves.Recovery. A hard day of training for a given component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest for that component and /or muscle group to help permit recovery. Alternating muscle groups will also assist in recovery.Overload. The workload of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.

WARM-UP AND COOL-DOWN

You must prepare your body before starting class. You will see prior to class starting, many students warming up on their own. I recommend that all students do this as this will help prevent injuries and maximize performance. Warm up serves to increase the heart rate and increase blood flow to your body.Student should cool down properly after every class, regardless of the type of workout the instructor gives you. The cool down serves to gradually slow the heart rate and helps prevent pooling of blood in the legs and feet.

Tae Kwon Do “Workout “ Plan

Tae Kwon Do is a lot of fun and also a lot of work. Going to class 2-3 times a week is necessary to keep your techniques sharp. However, it is also necessary to practice at home on the various techniques you may need to work on personally that you may not get to work on in class or that you may just need extra practice on. So what is a good workout plan for home?

A properly designed workout plan has four parts, a general warm-up, a specific

warm-up, the main part of the workout, and a cool down. The general warm-up should include basic warm exercises, such as, running in place, rope jumping, joint rotations, and any other techniques where you keeping the body moving that would

provide a good warm-up. Next, in the specific warm-up phase you want to do techniques that would more resemble what you will be doing in main part of the workout. For example, if you going to be doing Tae Kwon Do in the main part of workout, you would start doing exercises like rising kicks, front kicks, and roundhouse kicks. Doing these techniques starting slowly and getting faster and

higher until your body is warmed up. Then you are ready for the main part of your workout, which in this case would be practicing all of your kicking and punching techniques. After you are done with the main part of the workout you are ready for

the final phase, the cool down. In this part I usually do relaxed stretching and joint rotations.

Partner Stretch

Another thing that I like to do before class is to partner stretch. This can be done in several ways. One way is to have your partner stand with his/her back to the wall. You then pick up their leg (keep the knee straight) and slowly raise it to a point where it feels uncomfortable. They will let you know when they’ve reached their maximum stretch. You then hold this stretch for ten seconds. You then repeat with the same leg and then do the other leg. This was the front rising kick stretch. The next one is the side rising kick stretch. The difference is that instead of you partner’s body facing you as in the last stretch, now their side is facing you. Again, raise the leg as far as is comfortable for your partner, hold for ten seconds then repeat and then do the other leg.

Prevention of sports injuries in taekwondo

Training habits and injury

Most martial arts athletes practice between two to four times per week. However, like in any sport, the frequency and hours of martial arts training can vary widely depending on athletic and competitive level of the individual. Training may be defined as a routine or process undertaken by athletes to further enhance their skill. Specific training may vary among each athlete, but there is usually a general format which is followed. Training classes often begin with a brief warm-up or stretching routine. This may then be followed by kicking drills, self-defense drills, training in patterns (forms). Taekwondo athletes have a wide variety of protective equipment available, although its use varies greatly, and concerns have been raised that the equipment often protects the attacker more than the defender.

The risk of injury from martial arts is low compared to other contact sports. Most injuries are to the limbs and are usually mild to moderate, for example cuts and bruise.

Common injuries

Most injuries occur when the participant is struck with their opponent’s hand or foot. Common injuries include:

•Skin damage - such as cuts and bruise. •Sprains - injury to ligaments (the tough bands of connective tissue that hold joints together). A common injury is plantar fasciitis, which is bruising or overstretching of the plantar fascia ligament that runs along the sole of the foot. •Strains - injury to muscle or tendon. For example, a muscle may tear from the rapid stop that occurs when you make contact with an opponent or object. •Knee injuries - caused by the bent-knee stance typical of most martial arts and the use of forceful kicks that can injure the joint if not done properly. •Dislocations and fractures - particularly of the hand, finger, foot and toe. •Overuse injuries - any part of the body can be injured by suddenly repetition of movement.

Risk factors

Some of the factors that can increase your risk of injury include:

•Poor technique - holding or moving the body incorrectly can put unnecessary strain on joints, muscles and ligaments.

•Using excessive force - failing to pull a punch or kick can inflict injury on an opponent.

•Inexperience - beginners are more likely to get hurt because their bodies are not used to the demands of the sport.

•Overtraining - training too much and too often can lead to a wide range of overuse injuries.

•Lack of proper stretching – warm-up and cooling down in the time of exercise.

General safety suggestions

Suggestions include: •Obey all the rules of your martial art. •Seek advice from your martial arts teacher if you think your techniques need improving. •Wear appropriate protective equipment like helmets ,chest guards and mouth guards. •Use your peripheral vision. If you have good hand-to-eye coordination, you are less likely to get hit. •Make sure your child understands that playing through pain is wrong.

What to do if you injure yourself

Suggestions include: •Stop immediately if an injury occurs to help prevent further damage. •Seek prompt treatment of injury. Early management will mean less time away from your sport. •Treat all soft tissue injures (ligament sprains, muscle strains, bumps and bruises) with rest, ice, compression, elevation (raise the limb above your heart) and seek advice from a health professional. •Do not resume activity until you have completely recovered from injury.

THANK YOU