Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46
DOI 10.1007/s11332-008-0053-7
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Analysis of heart rate and lactate concentrations during coordinative
tasks: pilot study in karate kata world champions
P.L. Invernizzi · S. Longo · R. Scurati
Received: 10 May 2008 / Accepted: 5 June 2008
© Springer-Verlag 2008
Abstract Kata, the artistic part of karate, requires mo-
tor control, rhythm and movement differentiation capac-
ities. When performing in a synchronised manner, kata
team members have to make temporal and spatial adap-
tations to satisfy the requested task. It is not clear whether
these coordinative adaptations modify physical output
such as heart rate (HR) and blood lactate ([Laa–]) nor is
it known how rapidly top-level athletes adapt. This study
examined HR and [Laa–] outputs in different coordinative
tasks and how accurately these tasks were done, in three
world champion kata team competitors. In session 1, ath-
letes performed their individual best trial (IM) on
Gankaku, the kata that is normally executed during final
team events. In sessions 2 and 3, the athletes repeated the
kata with temporal and spatial variations (TV10 and
TV20, SV1 and SV2). In session 4, one maximal team
trial (TM) was performed. There was a decreasing trend
in both HR and [Laa–] across the trials (HR: -2% in TV10,
-4.2% in TV20, -2.9% in SV1, -3.2% in SV2; [La–]:
P.L. Invernizzi (쾷) · S. Longo · R. Scurati
Laboratory of Sports Analysis
and Human Performance
Faculty of Exercise Sciences
University of Milan, Milan, Italy
e-mail: pietro.invernizzi1@unimi.it
-23.6% in TV10, -32.6% in TV20, -18% in SV1, -15.9%
in SV2), and between IM and TM (HR -9.9%; [Laa–] -
21.5%). The coordinative tasks were achieved with a
small error (<3%) in all subjects. These results indicate
that top-level kata athletes easily adapt to coordinative
modifications, with a reduction in HR and [La–].
Although this decline does not compromise the compe-
tition results, it also occurs when the performance is ex-
ecuted synchronously in a team.
Key words Karate · Coordination · Heart rate · Lactate
Introduction
Karate is one of the most popular martial arts, particu-
larly in Italy, where the Italian national team ranked first
in the latest edition of the World Championship (Tampere,
Finland, 2006). Karate is distinguished into two compet-
itive disciplines: kata and kumite. Kata is an established
sequence of offensive and defensive techniques that rep-
resent actual fights against fictitious opponents, where-
as kumite is a real match against one opponent where the
two competitors, under strict rules, are free to move, kick
and punch in defensive and offensive ways. In national
and international competitions, kata specialists are judged
on specific parameters: technique, rhythm, power, ex-
pressiveness of movements, and kime, i.e. the force gen-
erated by an isometric contraction at the end of a tech-
nique. Therefore, the aim of kata training is to improve
these parameters as close as possible to the ideal gesture.
Like gymnastics, diving and figure ice-skating, kata
is considered a closed skill discipline in which coordi-
native skills, such as motor control, capacity to differ-
entiate movements and rhythm capacity, play major roles
42
during both learning and performance. When the schema
theory for discrete motor skill learning [1] is applied to
karate, two phases during the learning process are ob-
served: first, new techniques are acquired and linked
with previously learned movements; second, these tech-
niques are practiced with the aim of transforming gross
gestures into fine, coordinated and efficient actions.
The latter phase implies that automatic movements take
over conscious movements. Logan [2] underlined how
access to subcortical areas, which memorise specific ac-
tions, provides automatic movement control, a charac-
teristic lacking in novice athletes in whom this specific
memory is absent [3, 4]. The undoubted advantages that
derive from the automatic management of actions are a
better gesture economy and a better muscle contraction-
relaxation cycle [5–7].
Besides individual competitions, team karate competi-
tions also exist. Regarding team kata, several routines, with
the features described earlier, are performed in a synchro-
nised manner by three team members. When coaches put
together a kata team, they hardly ever find athletes who have
exactly the same anthropometric and physiologic features.
In order to produce a synchronised performance, these is-
sues have to be overcome in some way. Therefore, it is pos-
sible that some temporal and spatial variations (TV and SV,
respectively) among team members occur during training
sessions. Hence, top-level kata competitors are probably so
skilled that the manipulation of different coordinative pa-
rameters should be simple, but there is no evidence for this.
Furthermore it is not clear whether these adjustments dif-
ferently affect exercise outputs when comparing the indi-
vidual performance and the team performance at maximal
level. For these reasons, the aims of this study were: (i) to
assess whether interfering with automatic movements, such
as a well-established kata routine, leads to different per-
formance outputs; (ii) to determine if, when passing from
a maximal individual execution to a maximal team execu-
tion, these outputs vary or remain the same; and (iii) to look
at the ability of the participants to accomplish the request-
ed tasks with a small amount of error.
Materials and methods
Three kata team world champions participated in this
study. They are black belt 5th dan athletes who have been
practicing karate for a mean of 25.6 years (SD=2.0) and
who, in the past decade, have won several high-level
tournaments such as Golden League, European and World
Championships. The subjects had a mean age of 31 years
(SD=2), mean height of 1.78 m (SD=0.03 m), mean
weight of 77.3 kg (SD=3.79) and mean body mass index
of 24.7 (SD=0.6).
Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46
The three participants provided written informed con-
sent. The study protocol was approved by the Ethic
Committee of the University of Milan.
Experimental protocol
All evaluations were carried out during several trials of
Gankaku kata. This routine was examined because coach-
es and athletes generally consider it one of the most dif-
ficult to perform due to balance positions and body ro-
tations, points where a little error may compromise the
whole performace. Furthermore, Gankaku kata is the
most employed routine during final events of many com-
petitions, in which the Italian national team won several
gold medals.
After familiarisation with the procedures and a free
warm-up, each athlete underwent a total of six trials in
four sessions, one trial in session 1, two trials in sessions
2 and 3, one in session 4, with full recovery (15 minutes)
between trials. Heart rate (HR) had to be between 80 and
90 bpm before the beginning of each trial. The content
of each session was as follows:
Session 1. An individual Gankaku kata was executed
by each athlete at maximal level, called individual max
(IM). Total trial time (T) was recorded with 2 precision
stopwatches. The most backward and the most forward
points that delimited the displacement line during the rou-
tine were located using a grid drawn on the floor (tatami),
and the distance (D) between these points was determined
with a tape measure. T and D were the reference values
used to extrapolate TV and SV in sessions 2 and 3.
Furthermore, HR and lactate concentration [La-] were
measured.
Session 2. In this session, athletes had to perform the
same kata expanding T by 10% (TV10) and 20% (TV20),
respectively, keeping constant D, rhythm and maximum
power of techniques. The actual real time employed
(TVr10 and TVr20 respectively), HR and [La-] were mea-
sured in each trial. Prior to the trial, subjects were in-
formed about the specific time they had to reach.
Session 3. In this session athletes had to perform the
same kata lengthening D by 10% (SV1) and shortening
D by 10% (SV2) respectively, keeping constant T, rhythm
and maximum power of techniques. The actual real space
covered (SVr1 and SVr2 respectively), HR and [La-] were
measured in each trial. As in TV10 and TV20, subjects
were previously informed about the displacement they
had to cover.
Session 4. A synchronised Gankaku kata was per-
formed by the whole team (team max, TM) without any
restrictions as if they were competing at their best. Time
of the trial, HR and [La-] were measured.
Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46 43

Data analysis Results

T and D data were immediately put on a previously pre-
pared excel sheet for calculations of time and space val-
ues that the athletes had to reach in sessions 2 and 3, re-
spectively. These predicted values were 10% more and
20% more than T in IM (TVp10 and TVp20, respective-
ly), 10% more and 10% less than D in IM (SVp1 and
SVp2, respectively). Hence, the predicted values were
compared to the real time and space values recorded at
the end of each trial in sessions 2 and 3 (TVr10, TVr20,
SVr1 and SVr2). Through the same excel sheet, the dif-
ference between the predicted and the real value of each
trial was carried out as percentage of the predicted val-
ue. It was established that this difference had to be in-
cluded within -5% and +5% of the predicted value in or-
der to consider valid the trial. All sessions were video-
recorded with 2 HD cameras (Handycam HDR-SR7E,
Sony, Japan) to ensure that the precision, rhythm and
power of techniques were not biased by TV and SV. HR
was monitored throughout all trials with a 5-s sample
heart rate monitor (Polar S810, Polar Electro, Kempele,
Finland). [Laa–] was measured (Lactate Pro System LT-
1710, KDK, Kyoto, Japan) 2, 4 and 6 minutes after the
end of each trial: fingertip blood samples were collected
and the peak value of the lactate concentration curve was
used.
Statistical analysis
TV10 and TV20
Results are shown in Table 1. Comparing IM and TM it
is noticeable that 2 athletes performed the kata in a slow-
er manner. The temporal variations were executed with a
small error for all subjects in both tasks, TV10 and TV20.
SV1 and SV2
Results are shown in Table 2. The spatial variations were
executed with a small error in both tasks, SV1 and SV2.
HR
Modifications of HR for TV are shown in Figure 1. There
is a tendency to decrease mean HR when passing from
IM through TV10 and TV20 (-2% and -4.2% respective-
ly). For SV (Fig. 2) there is also a decrease in mean HR
when passing from IM through SV1 and SV2 (-2.9% and
-3.2% respectively). The HR comparison between IM
and TM is shown in Figure 3. On average our subjects
decreased HR (-9.9%) when performing TM compared
to IM.
[La-]
Modifications of [La-] for TV are shown in Figure 4.
There is a tendency to decrease mean [La-] when passing
from IM through TV10 and TV20 (-23.6% and -32.6% re-
spectively), as well as for SV (Fig. 5) there is a decrease
in mean [La-] when passing from IM through SV1 and
SV2 (-18% and -15.9%, respectively). The [La-] compar-
ison between IM and TM is shown in Figure 6. On aver-
age our subjects had a decrease in [La-] (-21.5%) when
performing TM compared to IM.

HR in IM was taken as reference for further comparisons

with HR in TV10, TV20, SV1, SV2 and TM. These dif-
ferences were expressed as percentage of HR in IM. [La-
] in IM was taken as reference for further comparisons
with [La-] in TV10, TV20, SV1, SV2 and TM. As de-
scribed for HR these differences were expressed as per-
centage of [La-] in IM. Calculations were made using
Excel 2003 (Microsoft Office 2003™).
Discussion
The focus of this research was to understand whether TV
and SV affected the performance of high-level karate
athletes in terms of energy demand, measured through HR
and [La-], and if this energy demand was different when
the exercise was executed at the best level in both indi-

Table 1 Difference in TV and its modifications from IM and TM

T (s) IM TM Diff% TVr10 TVp10 Diff% TVr20 TVp20 Diff%
Athlete 1 104 110 + 5.77 112 114 +1.79 126 124 –1.59
Athlete 2 95 110 +15.79 106 105 –0.94 115 114 –0.87
Athlete 3 110 110 0 124 120 –3.23 130 131 +0.77

Table 2 Difference in SV and its modifications from IM

D (cm) IM SVr1 SVp1 Diff% SVr2 SVp2 Diff%
Athlete 1 420 450 462 -2.60 385 378 +1.85
Athlete 2 415 448 457 -1.97 380 374 +1.60
Athlete 3 434 485 477 +1.68 380 391 -2.81
44 Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46

155.00 -2%

150.00

145.00 Athlete 1
HR (bpm) Athlete 2
Athlete 3
140.00 Mean

135.00

- 4 .2 %
130.00
IM TV10 TV20
Fig. 1 Heart rate (HR) variations from IM through TV10 and TV20

160.00

- 2 .9 %
155.00

150.00
Athlete 1
HR (bpm)

Athlete 2
145.00
Athlete 3
Mean
140.00

135.00
- 3 . 2%
130.00
IM SV1 SV2
Fig. 2 Heart rate (HR) variations from IM through SV1 and SV2

165.0

160.0

155.0

150.0
HR (bpm)

IM
145.0
TM
140.0

135.0

130.0

125.0
Mean
Fig. 3 Heart rates (HR) in IM and TM. Values are mean and SD
Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46 45

6
–23.6%

Athlete 1
[La-] (mmol/l) Athlete 2
4
Athlete 3
Mean

–32.6%

2
IM TV 10 TV 20
Fig. 4 Variations
i i in
i bl
blood
d llactate (([La-])) from
f IM through
h h TV10 andd TV20

6
–18%

Athlete 1
[La-] (mmol/l)

Athlete 2
4
Athlete 3
Mean

–15.9%

2
IM SV1 SV2
Fig. 5 Variations in blood lactate ([La-]) from IM through SV1 and SV2

6.0

–21.5%

5.0
[La-] (mmol/l)

IM
4.0
TM

3.0

2.0
Mean
Fig. 6 Blood lactate concentration ([La-]) in IM and TM. Values are mean and SD
46
vidual and team performances. Furthermore, we wanted
to assess the capability of the athletes to adapt from au-
tomatic movements, such as IM and TM, to voluntary
movements, such as TV10, TV20, SV1 and SV2 within
a small margin of error.
The main features of automatic movements [9] are the
absence of a central command combined with high in-
tensity performance and low level of awareness, thus re-
sulting in effort reduction. On the other hand, when move-
ments are voluntary, the presence of a central command
combined with relevant effort and high level of con-
sciousness are observed. Relating these topics to karate,
it is possible that changes in attention levels carried out
through TV and SV would lead to some variations in en-
ergy demand that may be reflected in HR and [La-].
Concerning TV, we observed a decrease in both HR and
[La-]. Giving that subjects were asked to maintain rhythm
and power of each performed technique, time dilation was
due to occur prolonging pauses between techniques, and de-
spite a small increment of isometric actions it is reasonable
that this factor did not cause either HR or [La-] rises.
Regarding SV, the subjects had to accomplish the un-
natural task of either lengthening or shortening consoli-
dated postures, and we did not know what to expect about
modifications in spatial displacements and how they
could have affected HR and [Laa–]. We observed the same
trend shown for time modifications, indicating that these
unusual tasks did not create particular problems in top-
level athletes, although it could be argued that the 10%
variations requested were so demanding that changes in
cardiovascular and metabolic parameters did appear.
Although both routines were performed at maximal
level, HR in TM was 9.9% less than in IM. This point,
which may be surprising, can be explained by the fact that
when the kata is executed synchronously, all the mem-
bers of the team slightly reduce the velocity of their own
performance, in order to equalize some possible individ-
ual differences in time execution. This decrease in HR re-
sulting from individual-to-team adjustments does not
seem to compromise the competition results, keeping
these athletes still at the top.
Sport Sci Health (2008) 3:41–46
Concerning the ability of performing TV and SV with-
in a small margin of error, our subjects easily accom-
plished these tasks. In all trials (TVr10, TVr20, SVr1,
SVr2), the average error was less than 3% and the aim
was reached by all athletes at the first attempt, confirm-
ing the hypothesis that the sensor-perceptive skills of
these advanced competitors are high. Thus, it appears that
feedback information, related to the extent of the modi-
fication to achieve, elicited a calibrated and correct sen-
sorimotor action.
In conclusion, this study showed that three karate (kata)
world champions easily adapted when passing from in-
dividual to team performances in both TV and SV, with
a decrease in HR and [Laa–]. Considering that no studies
have been conducted on this topic further studies are
needed to better understand coordinative adaptations in
kata competitors, considering larger samples of different
levels and genders.
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