2.3.3. Taekwondo Specific Agility Test (TSAT)

Specific agility was assessed through the taekwondo-specific agility test (TSAT) following previous recommendations [23]. From a guard position with both feet behind the start/finish line, the performer had to (a) move forward in guard position, without crossing feet, as quick as possible to the centre point; (b) turn toward partner 1 by adopting a lateral shift and perform a roundhouse kick with the left leg (i.e., leading-roundhouse kick; dollyo tchagui); (c) move toward partner 2 and perform a roundhouse kick with the right leg (i.e., leading-roundhouse kick; dollyo-chagi); (d) return to the centre; (e) move forward in guard position and perform a double-roundhouse kick (i.e., narae-chagi) toward partner 3; and (f) move backward to the start/finish line in a guard position. Sparring partners 1 and 2 hold a kick-target, whereas partner 3 holds two kick-targets. Sparring partners were instructed to maintain the kick-target at the torso height of the tested athlete. If a participant failed to follow these instructions (e.g., crossed one foot in front of the other during the various displacements, or failed to touch the kick-target powerfully when kicking), the trial was terminated and restarted after a three-minute recovery period. The time needed to complete the test was used as performance outcome, and it was assessed with an electronic timing system (Brower Timing Systems, Salt Lake City, UT, USA). Two trials were accorded to each athlete, with the best one maintained for later analysis (ICC pre = 0.90 [CI95% 0.87 a 0.92], ICC post = 0.86 [CI95% 0.78 a 0.87).