There is no doubt that taekwondo training means taking your body to a whole new level and that you need to be ready and willing to put it to a strain that goes above and beyond most training regimes, which means you will be prone to injuries every now and then.
Your legs are the body part that is mostly prone to injuries, let us talk about the two levels of injuries you can get during taekwondo training:
Level 1 Injuries:
- Sprained Ankles, Knees: Since taekwondo training concentrates in movement (fast movement as you progress) your joints are the first to get in risk of injury as you will be putting a lot of effort in them, especially your ankles and knees so this is where the first injuries can appear.
- Strained Muscles: The next part of your body that will feel the result of the effort you put will, undoubtedly, be your muscles, they carry all the effort you put in your taekwondo training so it will be normal to feel pain and if you are not careful you will get hurt. Remember that the things you will train the most in taekwondo are kicks and punches which mean continuous movements of the legs and arms.
- Sore Muscles: This is the pain you feel in your muscles and the main cause is the buildup of lactic acid during a long period of time. Experts say you should not worry about this.
- Bruises: This will happen during sparring training and, well, technically it’s normal as you are going to be learning how to control your speed and strength and it will be unavoidable to get hurt.
Level 2 Injuries:
- Broken bones: Mostly fingers and toes, this, unfortunately, is one of the most common types of injuries you can have during taekwondo Although rarely seen in lower levels, this is quite common when you progress to higher belt ranks. Although broken legs are rare, they can happen, don’t forget, taekwondo is a contact sport and with that come risks, and the risk of your leg colliding with that of your opponent is always present.
- Joint Injuries: As much as one can train, this kind of injuries do happen in just a second, and the reasons vary, a part of the body that does not move at the same speed and you can have a knee or an elbow injury.
One of the most important things no matter the kind of injury you get, is to get it treated by a physician with no delay, especially because a small injury can become something more delicate if left untreated.
Also, you need to know how far you can go in a given taekwondo training session in order to avoid injury, one of the most important things an athlete needs to learn is to listen to his or her own body as it will tell you when is enough.
A good training session is the one that leaves you feeling OK and happy, not the one that leaves you exhausted in extreme and in pain. Remember, pain only means something is wrong, it would never mean you did great.