To excel at Taekwondo, you need to improve
your stamina. Taekwondo involves a tremendous cardiovascular
effort. If you are not fit, your performance level will lag
(especially during difficult exercises or at the end of a class).
Moreover, if you are huffing & puffing and straining to do an
exercise, you will increase the odds of getting hurt (i.e.
spraining an ankle or lack the ability to jump out of the way of
an opponent's spinning hook kick!).
Try to go to your Taekwondo
class more often. Many adults go only once or twice a week
and wonder why they don't have much stamina. Duh! :) Try to
go at least 3-4 times per week.
Jump rope - Try a weighted rope
set in order to maximize the workout.
Jump ropes
from Amazon.
Run - Don't just go for distance, you also need to get your heart
pounding. Mix in a variety of sprinting drills.
Swimming - A good non-impact
form of exercise. Try to mix up distance & speed training.
Bicycling - Another good reduced
impact exercise. Try to mix in some hill climbs.
Weight training - The stronger
you are, the more you can endure.
Kicking drills against practice
dummies - Gradually boost the speed & intensity of your
kicking drills. Remember to train with both legs!
Sparring - A great way to build
up your stamina. Sparring will also show you if you are
lacking in stamina. I have seen many people with inferior
skills (but great stamina) win their
sparring matches in the later rounds because their opponent is too tired to
attack/defend.
Lose weight. 5-10 extra pounds
is a lot of "useless" weight to carry around and will
significantly reduce your stamina.
Eat right - Cut out the junk
food (i.e. soda & chips) and munch on more veggies, lean
meat and fruit. Try to drink more water and/or low fat dairy
milk/soy milk.
from Amazon.