Reliability and Construct Validity of the Karate-Specific Aerobic Test

Abstract

ABThe aim of this study was to examine absolute and relative reliabilities and external responsiveness of the Karate-specific aerobic test (KSAT). This study comprised 43 male karatekas, 19 of them participated in the first study to establish test-retest reliability and 40, selected on the bases of their karate experience and level of practice, participated in the second study to identify external responsiveness of the KSAT. The latter group was divided into 2 categories: national-level group (G(n)) and regional-level group (G(r)). Analysis showed excellent test-retest reliability of time to exhaustion (TE), with intraclass correlation coefficient ICC(3,1) >0.90, standard error of measurement (SEM) <5%: (3.2%) and mean difference (bias) ± the 95% limits of agreement: -9.5 ± 78.8 seconds. There was a significant difference between test-retest session in peak lactate concentration (Peak [La]) (9.12 ± 2.59 vs. 8.05 ± 2.67 mmol·L(-1); p < 0.05) but not in peak heart rate (HRpeak) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (196 ± 9 vs. 194 ± 9 b·min(-1) and 7.6 ± 0.93 vs. 7.8 ± 1.15; p > 0.05), respectively. National-level karate athletes (1,032 ± 101 seconds) were better than regional level (841 ± 134 seconds) on TE performance during KSAT (p < 0.001). Thus, KSAT provided good external responsiveness. The area under the receiver operator characteristics curve was >0.70 (0.86; confidence interval 95%: 0.72-0.95). Significant difference was detected in Peak [La] between national- (6.09 ± 1.78 mmol·L(-1)) and regional-level (8.48 ± 2.63 mmol·L(-1)) groups, but not in HRpeak (194 ± 8 vs. 195 ± 8 b·min(-1)) and RPE (7.57 ± 1.15 vs. 7.42 ± 1.1), respectively. The result of this study indicates that KSAT provides excellent absolute and relative reliabilities. The KSAT can effectively distinguish karate athletes of different competitive levels. Thus, the KSAT may be suitable for field assessment of aerobic fitness of karate practitioners.

Physiological and Biomechanical Fatigue Responses in Karate: A Case Study

“…The present study aimed to evaluate the physiological and biomechanical behavior during the induced fatigue protocol in karate. The physiological response shows that the heart rate peak was greater than the found by Chaabéne et al [4,5]. Similar values to the anaerobic threshold were found in situation of simulated combat [4,17,18].…”

“…The cortisol and lactate increases were also higher than in combat simulation [3,5,20], kumite karate training or in competition event [16]. When evaluated 9 elite-level male karatekas in combat situation in Tunisia, Chaabene [27] identified double of cortisol values post combat, when compared to the pre-combat situation.…”

“…Changes in the speed of gyako zuki will ocassionate decrease in sport performance [1,4]. In a combat situation, karatekas used more upper-limb than lower-limb techniques [5,16]. The gyako zuki is the most used technique in competitive situation [1,30,31].…”

“…The force-velocity parameters during anaerobic tests indicate that both force and velocity were higher in world-class athletes than non-athletes, suggesting that karate performance depends on the maximal velocity and explosive strength [5]. In combat situation, the duration of high intensity actions per fight is approximately 1-3 seconds each [2].…”

The Influence of Karate Practice Level and Sex on Physiological and Perceptual Responses in Three Modern Karate Training Modalities

“…This result was also reported by Ravier et al [24] and, in a recent review, Chaabene et al [7] confirmed that $\stackrel{.}{\text{V}}$O 2 max does not seem to be influenced by the karate practice level. However, these same authors [8] recently showed that the time to exhaustion during a karate-specific aerobic test was significantly shorter in regional-level karatekas (841 ± 134 s) than in national-level karatekas (1032 ± 101 s). This result highlights the importance of using a karatespecific test to differentiate between practice levels rather than a graded exercise test on a treadmill, as proposed in the present study or by Ravier et al [24].…”