So I always complained about being cold and anemic (yes, I should take my iron pills, but I forget and alarms don't work for me), but I never realized how much it was affecting my performance in Taekwondo. I’ve been practicing Taekwondo for over a decade now, and it’s my favorite sport. If you’ve ever watched MMA, and you see those flashy, high kicks? Yes, many of them come straight from Taekwondo.
Taekwondo (TKD) is a type of Martial A,rts sport that mixes endurance and power, with fast, explosive kicks that require both strength and accuracy. To master basic kicks, you must constantly train your muscles for speed, accuracy, and flexibility. Ever since the lecture on skeletal muscles, I’ve wondered how Taekwondo athletes develop fast vs. slow-twitch muscle fibers. As we know from Dr. Campisi, skeletal muscle is composed of a mix of fiber types that range from slow to fast. We have type I (slow-twitch),and type IIa/IIb (fast-twitch), which all vary in their fatigue-resistant ability and use of energy. Because Taekwondo relies heavily on explosive, anaerobic movements, elite athletes tend to have a higher proportion of fast-twitch fibers, particularly Type IIa and IIb, similar to other power athletes (Sladic, 2025).
Now, my anemia can complicate this. A study in rats showed that iron deficiency can cause Type IIa fibers to shift toward Type IIb fibers, which are fast but fatigue very quickly. Interestingly, slow-twitch fibers remained mostly unchanged (Swearingen,1986), which may explain why I could perform better in shorter rounds but struggled over longer sessions (AKA, I always tell coach 30-second rounds). Some of you have even noticed how those staircases in the library kill me every day (let's be honest, who does it not kill).
Another interesting fact about TKD (which I hope gets more research), is the difference between old-school and modern Taekwondo. When I started, old-school Taekwondo was all about power and speed, whereas modern, it's more point-based, focusing on techniques and head-level kicks. We all know about plasticity and how muscles can adapt/ change muscle fibers over time. I wonder whether athletes from the old-school era (me) had a higher abundance of fast-twitch fibers compared to today’s competitors. Regardless, I still need to take my Iron and I’ll be sure to keep you posted on how it affects my Taekwondo performance!
References
Sladic, N., Cular, D., Babic, M., Kezic, A., Tomas, T., & Zubac, D. (2025). Neuromuscular Profile of Top-Level Youth Taekwondo Competitors Assessed Through Tensiomyography-Croatian National Youth Taekwondo Team Example. https://doi.org/10.51371/issn.1840-2976.2025.19.2.1
Van Swearingen, J. (1986). lron Deficiency in Athletes: Consequence or Adaption in Strenuous Activity. www.jospt.org
This is an interesting post, Jojo! Please make sure you are taking your iron pills, we cannot have anymore hemolytic activities persisting. With everything we have been learning through this course, as well as genetics, I am intrigued about the prevalence of iron deficiency in athletes of African athletes. Being that that anemia is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, it begs the question of how that affects the world class athletes that come from that area. And honestly, most especially those who are using fast twitch muscles. I am curious, from a sports medicine perspective, how can be best treat these athletes that can be held at physiological disadvantage from their genetic condition? And this could be beneficial to you, as well. What changes in training should these individuals consider to perform the best?
ReplyDeleteYour post does a great job connecting real personal experience to muscle physiology. The link you made between anemia, oxygen delivery, and fast versus slow twitch fiber performance really helped explain why endurance can suffer even when short bursts of power still feel strong.
ReplyDeleteugh. this post just reminded me that I have to take my iron pills if I want to get better at boxing. Great post jojo!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! especially because I also practiced Taekwondo and could relate to so much of what you said. The part about fast/slow twitch muscle fibers definitely caught my attention. Taekwondo is such an interesting mix of endurance and explosive power, it makes sense that elite athletes lean more towards fast twitch fibers. You really feel the difference when you're doing repeated kicking drills or sparring rounds.
ReplyDeleteand Yes please take your iron, not just for TKD, but so those stairs in the library stop feeling like a full workout ;)