Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and international sport, and its psychosocial benefits for its trainees have been studied extensively. This review aims to systematically assess and meta-analyze the effects of Taekwondo training on sociality, character, etiquette, and school life adjustment. We searched the RISS, NDSL, and KISS electronic databases between January 1985 and December 2019. We also included gray literature, such as theses, in addition to peer-reviewed articles. R software (version 3.6.2, R Core Team, Vienna, Austria) was used to synthesize the effect sizes and perform moderation analyses. Twenty-eight studies (24 cross-sectional and four intervention studies) were included in the final meta-analysis. Significant positive effects of Taekwondo training were found on sociality (MD = 0.266, 95% CI: 0.191 to 0.341), character (MD = 0.446, 95% CI: 0.331–0.560), etiquette (MD = 0.562, 95% CI: 0.500–0.624), and school life adjustment (MD = 0.308, 95% CI: 0.195–0.421). Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis support that Taekwondo can have a positive impact on the psychosocial factors of trainees. Due to several limitations discussed, well-designed RCTs and multiple levels of Taekwondo intervention studies should be conducted in future research to validate the current findings.

Background: This study aimed to compare and analysis of cardiopulmonary function, energy metabolism, and exercise intensity and time according to the number of repetitions of Taekwondo Taegeuk Poomsae in Taekwondo players. Methods: The participants were 29 healthy men (19.5 ± 1.2) who could perform Taekwondo Taeguek Poomsae 1 to 8 Jang. Results: Minute ventilation, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide excretion, which assess cardiopulmonary function, were highest in 1st repetition of Taegeuk 6-8 Jang and 5th and 10th repetitions of Taegeuk 4 and 5 Jang, respectively. The respiratory exchange ratio was highest in 1st repetition of Taegeuk 1 Jang and 5th and 10th repetitions of Taegeuk 8 Jang. Regardless of the number of repetitions, carbohydrate oxidation was highest in Taegeuk 8 Jang, and energy consumption was highest in Taegeuk 5-8 Jang. The amount of fat oxidation was higher in 1st repetition of other Taegeuk Poomsaes than in 1st repetition of Taegeuk 1 and 2, and a similar occurrence was observed with 5th repetitions. However, at the 10th repetition, Taegeuk 8 Jang was the lowest. Regarding exercise intensity and time, the percentage heart rate maximum exercise intensity for 1st repetition of the Poomsaes was 54%-63%, for 5th repetitions was 69%-82%, and for 10th repetitions was 72%-87%. The time duration according to the number of repetitions was 0.31 to 0.66 minutes for 1st repetition, 2.05 to 3.79 minutes for 5th repetitions, and 4.22 to 7.70 minutes for 10th repetitions. Conclusions: This study suggests that as the number of repetitions of Taekwondo Taegeuk Poomsae increased, the cardiopulmonary function, exercise intensity, and energy metabolism increased. In particular, cardiopulmonary function and exercise intensity were similar for all but Taegeuk Poomsae 1 Jang, but the energy consumption was higher in Taegeuk 5-8 Jang than in Taegeuk 1-4 Jang.

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Taekwondo training on body composition and to evaluate the magnitude of the effect. Methods: Databases were used to select studies related to the effectiveness of Taekwondo training, and the inclusion criteria were as follows. Results: Thirty-seven studies were selected. We found statistically significant differences from the control group in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist–hip ratio (WHR), body fat mass, body fat percentage, lean mass, and muscle mass. Also, the age group was statistically significant in control variables on weight, BMI, and body fat percentage. Conclusions: Taekwondo training had a positive effect on body composition, and these results suggest that Taekwondo training is an effective exercise method to lower obesity.