Anaerobic Performance and Competitive Experience in Elite Taekwondo Athletes

Introduction: In taekwondo, anaerobic performance is essential due to the nature of the explosive and high-intensity actions that characterize this sport. Objective: To determine the relationship between anaerobic performance variables and competitive experience in elite taekwondo athletes. Methodology: This research is quantitative in nature and is based on a quasi-experimental observational design with a descriptive-correlational approach. The study was conducted with elite taekwondo athletes who are part of the sports camps associated with the United States Taekwondo National Governing Body (USAT) in the year 2023. Anaerobic performance assessment was conducted using the RAST Test, and competitive experience was considered as the number of sports competitions participated in throughout the athlete's sporting career. Results: Strong positive relationships were identified between the variables of minimum power (0.070, p<0.129) and mean power (0.074, p<0.108) with competitive experience. Additionally, a moderately positive correlation was observed between the variables of relative power (0.050, p<0.281), maximum power (0.068, p<0.139), and anaerobic capacity (0.063, p<0.174) with competitive experience. Lastly, a low positive correlation was found between the fatigue index variable (0.033, p<0.478) and competitive experience. It is worth noting that none of the variables reached statistical significance. Conclusion: There is no significant relationship between the RAST test variables and competitive experience, suggesting that competitive experience did not influence performance in this anaerobic fitness test.