Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between body composition characteristics and general and specific physical performance in Chilean national level TKD competitors of both sexes. Material and Methods: Through an observational design 14 competitors of different categories of body weight and who usually compete in regional and national level tournaments; age 19 (3) years; size 164 (10) cm; body weight 62 (10) kg; years of experience 7.2 (2.9) years. They participated in this study. Different characteristics of body composition that included body weight (kg) (BW), fat mass (kg) (FM), percentage of fat mass (%FM), muscle mass (kg) (MM) were evaluated and the body mass index (kg/m(2)) (BMI). On the other hand variables of the general RF included squat jump (cm) (SJ), countermovement jump (cm) (CMJ), linear speed in 5-m (s) (5-M) and 20-m shuttle run test (min) (20MSR) and specifically the specific agility test in taekwondo (s) (TSAT) and the multiple frequency kick speed test (FSKTMULT) specifically the rate of decrease of kicks (FSKTMULT KDI%) and the maximum number of kicks executed (FSKTMULT MAX). Results: Among the main findings of the study, a significant large relationship (p0.00) between %MG, MG and MM and most of the general physical performance variables analyzed was documented. Specifically, significant significant relationships (p0.05) were observed between %MG, MG and MM and the TSAT test. While a significant large relationship was documented between MM and FSKTMULT MAX (p0.03) and between MG and FSKTMULT KDI% (p0.04). As moderate to low correlations were observed between the PC and the BMI in most of the physical performance variables analyzed. Conclusions: Our data suggest that a low% MG and MG followed by adequate MM are related to the specific general physical performance in Chilean national TKD competitors of both sexes.