Time-motion and heart-rate characteristics of adolescent female foil fencers

Abstract

Wylde, M.J., & Yong, L.C. (2015). Time-motion and heart-rate characteristics of adolescent female foil fencers. J. Hum. Sport Exerc., 9(Proc2), pp.S699-S706. Purpose: The aims of this study was to understand the time-motion and heart-rate characteristics of adolescent female foil fencing, explore the differences between the 5-touch and 15-touch bouts and compare these results with previous analysis of elite female foil fencers. Methods: Eight adolescent female foil fencers (age 14.3 ± 1.2 y, stature 157 ± 3.8 cm, body mass 45.9 ± 5.2 kg) were analysed at a youth fencing competition. Each fencer wore a heart-rate monitor throughout the competition and bouts were filmed so time-motion analysis could be carried out. Five movement classifications were used for the time-motion analysis, this were grouped into three categories based on movement intensity: Low, Moderate and High. Results: High-intensity movement accounted for 8.8 ± 4.4 % of total bout time with a mean duration of 0.8 ± 0.2 s. A higher percentage of low-intensity movement was recorded in the 15-touch bouts, with a higher percentage of high-intensity movement recorded in the 5-touch bouts. The mean duration of low-intensity movement was longer in the 15-touch bouts compared to the 5-touch bouts and a higher mean heart-rate was recorded in the 15-touch bouts compared to the 5-touch bouts. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that adolescent female foil fencers perform a greater percentage of high-intensity movement in 5-touch bouts compared to 15-touch bouts. However, these fencers demonstrate a higher heart-rate in the 15-touch bouts. The practical application of this study is that adolescent female foil fencers must have a strong aerobic base to maintain a lower heart-rate in competition and ensure that fatigue does not become a limiting factor to performance.

Physiological demands and motion analysis of elite foil fencing

“…In our study, the male fencers presented HR average values of 81.2 ±5.7% in poule and 84.1 ±5.1% in DE of age-predicted HR max , which is lower than that described in male e ´pe ´e fencers (86.3% and 86.5% age-predicted HR max ) [34]. The values in our female sample represent lower levels of intensity (82.4 ± 8.4% poule and 87.6 ± 3.8% DE of age-predicted HR max ) than those presented in a study with adolescent foil girls (92.5% poule and 96.5% DE of HR max ) [13]. The difference in intensity is most likely due to our study having a more experienced sample of fencers with a much higher mean age (21.0 ± 3.9 years) than the sample of adolescent girls (14.3 ± 1.2 years).…”

“…Understanding the demands of fencing would allow coaches and practitioners to set training programmes to prepare athletes for competition by attempting to match training and conditioning sessions to competition demands. Only two apparent studies have reported heart rate (HR) responses for foil fencing which were found to be ~92.5% HR max in a poule fight and 96.5% for a DE fight with adolescent females [ 13 ] and 173 ±7 beats·min -1 on average for a fight [ 14 ]. There is no data on oxygen consumption for foil but blood lactate was found to be 4.2 mmol·L -1 during an official women’s competition [ 14 ].…”

“…Previous research in foil has attempted to quantify movement patterns using time-motion analysis [ 13 , 15 , 16 ]. Movement patterns in foil fencing have been determined as low (walking and stationary) for 40–45% or moderate (engaged; movement on the piste during engagement such as before an attack or defensive movement) for ~50% with around 5–10% as high intensity (sustained or explosive attacking or defensive) movements [ 13 , 15 ].…”

“…Previous research in foil has attempted to quantify movement patterns using time-motion analysis [ 13 , 15 , 16 ]. Movement patterns in foil fencing have been determined as low (walking and stationary) for 40–45% or moderate (engaged; movement on the piste during engagement such as before an attack or defensive movement) for ~50% with around 5–10% as high intensity (sustained or explosive attacking or defensive) movements [ 13 , 15 ]. With the subjective and time-consuming nature of time-motion analysis, as well as technological advances analysing movement demands has shifted towards GPS/accelerometer-based systems which can provide immediate information such as speed, distance, accelerations etc.…”

The physiological demands of elite epée fencers during competition

“…To determine movement patterns, such as speed and distance covered, within fencing research has traditionally used time motion analysis (Aquili et al, 2013;Wylde, Tan, & O'Donoghue, 2013;Wylde & Yong, 2015). Within recent years the analysis of movement has changed due to technological advances and has been undertaken using tri-axial accelerometer based systems (Barbero, Granda-Vera, Calleja-González, & Del Coso, 2014;Chandler, Pinder, Curran, & Gabbett, 2014;Dempsey et al, 2018;Montgomery, Pyne, & Minahan, 2010;Twist et al, 2014).…”