PODIUMATHLETES, PARENTS AND COACHES
Recovery guide for taekwondo athletes
How to warm up, cool down, drink enough and make weight safely, the injuries taekwondo athletes get most, and when to see a doctor.
This is general guidance, not medical advice. Every athlete is different. For an injury, pain that doesn't settle, or any head knock, see a doctor or physiotherapist. You can find one in our clinic directory.
1. Warm up before you kick
Cold muscles tear more easily, and taekwondo asks a lot of the hips, hamstrings and groin. A good warm-up takes 10 to 15 minutes and goes in this order:
- Get warm (3 to 5 minutes). Light jogging, skipping or footwork until you're slightly out of breath.
- Loosen the joints. Leg swings front and side, hip circles, ankle circles, arm circles and trunk twists. Keep moving; save long held stretches for after training.
- Wake up the muscles. Squats, lunges and a few short hops or bounces.
- Build up to full speed. Start with slow, low kicks, then raise the height and speed. Finish with a few fast kicks and reaction drills.
On tournament day you may wait a long time between bouts. Keep your track suit on, and repeat a short five-minute warm-up before each bout.
2. Cool down after training and bouts
Stopping suddenly leaves muscles tight and sore the next day. Spend 5 to 10 minutes cooling down:
- Slow down gradually. Walk or jog gently for a few minutes until your breathing is normal.
- Stretch while you're still warm. Hold each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds without bouncing: hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, groin, calves and lower back.
- Change out of wet clothes and keep warm.
- Eat within an hour. Something with carbohydrate and protein helps muscles recover: a banana with milk or curd, dal and rice, an egg sandwich.
- Sleep. Children and teenagers who train need 8 to 10 hours. Most recovery happens while asleep.
3. Hydration
Even mild dehydration makes an athlete slower and more likely to cramp.
- Drink through the day, not only at training. Pale yellow urine is a good sign; dark yellow means drink more.
- During training, take a few sips every 15 to 20 minutes.
- For long or hot sessions and on tournament day, add salts: ORS, or lemon water with a pinch of salt and a little sugar. Plain water is enough for a normal one-hour class.
- Afterwards, keep drinking for the next few hours.
- Avoid energy drinks and caffeine for children and teenagers.
Stop and rest in the shade if an athlete has a headache, dizziness, cramps, feels sick or stops sweating. Give fluids in small sips. If they are confused, very drowsy or don't improve quickly, get medical help straight away.
4. Making weight safely
Weight categories exist so athletes meet opponents of a similar size. They are not a reason to starve or dry out a child.
- Children should compete at their natural weight. Pick the category your child already fits, weighing them in the weeks before. A growing child's weight should go up over time.
- If you're close to a limit, move up rather than cut. Competing well in the next category beats competing weak and dehydrated in a lower one.
- Older teenagers and adults who do need to lose weight should do it slowly, over weeks, by eating sensibly and training, with their coach and ideally a doctor or dietitian. About half a kilo a week is a reasonable limit.
- In the last week, eat normal balanced meals, cut down on fried food, sweets and very salty snacks, and keep drinking water.
- After the weigh-in, drink ORS or water in sips and eat something light and familiar: fruit, rice, bread, curd.
Never use these to lose weight: skipping meals or water, sauna or plastic suits, training in heavy clothes to sweat, spitting, vomiting, laxatives or water tablets. They cause dehydration, fainting and heat illness, and they can be fatal. If a coach or anyone else asks a child to do these, say no.
5. Common taekwondo injuries
- Ankle sprains. From landing badly or twisting during a kick. Swelling and pain on the outside of the ankle.
- Foot, toe and instep injuries. Bruising from blocked kicks. A toe or foot that is very swollen, bent or can't take weight may be broken.
- Hamstring and groin strains. A sudden pull at the back of the thigh or inner thigh during a high or fast kick. More likely without a warm-up.
- Knee injuries. Twisting on the standing leg can sprain the knee. A pop, swelling within hours, or the knee giving way needs a doctor.
- Bruises to the shin, forearm and thigh. Common and usually minor; guards reduce them.
- Finger and hand injuries. From blocking. A finger that is bent, very swollen or can't move should be checked.
- Growing pains at the heel or below the knee. Common in children during growth spurts. Reduce jumping and kicking for a while and see a physiotherapist if it continues.
- Head knocks and concussion. See the warning below.
First aid for sprains, strains and bruises
- Stop. Don't train or fight through the pain.
- Ice wrapped in a cloth for 15 to 20 minutes, several times a day for the first two days. Never put ice straight on the skin.
- Compress with a bandage that is snug, not tight.
- Raise the injured part above the level of the heart when resting.
- Come back step by step: walking without pain, then jogging, then light kicks, then full training, then sparring.
See a doctor the same day if the athlete can't put weight on the leg, a joint or bone looks out of shape, there is numbness or tingling, swelling comes up quickly, or pain isn't improving after a few days.
Head knocks. After a kick or fall to the head, stop for the day. Do not return to the bout or to training on the same day, even if the athlete says they feel fine. Get medical help immediately for loss of consciousness, a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, unusual drowsiness, fits, neck pain or weakness. Return to sparring only after a doctor clears it.