Physical preparation for fencing: tailoring exercise prescription and training load to the physiological and biomechanical demands of competition

Sport science based research regarding fencing competition demands and athlete physical characteristics (PC) is sparse; as a consequence, training programme design cannot be optimised. The aim of this PhD thesis therefore, is to describe the PC that best relate to (1) lunge velocity (LV), (2) change of direction speed (CODS) and (3) repetitive lunging ability (RLA). It also sought to analyse (4) the physiological intensity and associated fatigue of competition and (5) the efficacy of the subsequently delivered periodised training programme. Fencers from the Great Britain Fencing squad were investigated. Results revealed that LV and CODS were best predicted by the standing broad jump (SBJ) (r = 0.51 and -0.65 respectively). Through linear regression analysis, CODS and SBJ provided a twopredictor model accounting for 61% of the common variance associated with RLA. Competition intensity and fatigue was measured across two competitions, including subsequent recovery days, where countermovement jump (CMJ) scores and saliva samples (measuring testosterone, cortisol, alpha-amylase and salivary IgA) were taken. On the day of competition, all fencers had their heart rate (HR) recorded and had blood lactate (BL) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) measured after each bout. Average (± SD) scores for RPE, BL and HR (average, max and percentage of time ≥ 80% HRmax) were highest in the knockout bouts compared to the pools (8.5 ± 1.3 vs. 5.7 ± 1.3, 3.6 ± 1.0 vs. 3.1 ± 1.4 mmol/L, 171 ± 5 vs. 168 ± 8 bpm, 195 ± 7 vs. 192 ± 7 bpm, 74 vs. 68% respectively), but only significantly (p < 0.05) so in RPE. CMJ scores measuring jump height, peak power (PP) and peak rate of force development, increased throughout the competition and dropped thereafter. For jump height and PP, the post-knockout score was significantly higher than precompetition scores, and all scores taken at competition were significantly higher than post competition scores. No significant differences were noted across time-points for any of the measured salivary analytes. Finally, the efficacy of the training programme, designed following the findings of the preceding studies, was analysed. RPE, HR and BL scores from competition bouts were compared to that recorded in training sessions aimed at developing the fencer’s sport-specific fitness. Alongside this, CMJ height, reactive strength index and questionnaires regarding “readiness to train” were completed daily and compared to the prescribed training load (TL) as calculated using session RPE. Only “off-feet” non-sport specific conditioning drills were found to provide an appropriate stimulus (with respect to HR, RPE and BL) for competition based fitness. Using multilevel modelling, no relationships between TL, jump scores and questionnaires were noted

Data’s Hidden Data: Qualitative Revelations of Sports Efficiency Analysis brought by Neural Network Performance Metrics

In the study of effectiveness and efficiency of an athlete’s performance, intelligent systems can be applied on qualitative approaches and their performance metrics provide useful information on not just the quality of the data, but also reveal issues about the observational criteria and data collection context itself. 2000 executions of two similar exercises, with different levels of complexity, were collected through a single inertial sensor applied on the fencer’s weapon hand. After the signals were split into their key segments through Dynamic Time Warping, the extracted features and respective qualitative evaluations were fed into a Neural Network to learn the patterns that distinguish a good from a bad execution. The performance analysis of the resulting models returned a prediction accuracy of 76.6% and 72.7% for each exercise, but other metrics pointed to the data suffering from high bias. This points towards an imbalance in the qualitative criteria representation of the bad executions, which can be explained by: i) reduced number of samples; ii) ambiguity in the definition of the observation criteria; iii) a single sensor being unable to fully capture the context without taking the actions of the other key body segments into account

Spartan Daily, October 10, 1973

Volume 61, Issue 9https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5769/thumbnail.jp

The Cultural Politics of Proprietorship: The Socio-historical Evolution of Japanese Swordsmanship and its Correlation with Cultural Nationalism

This thesis provides a detailed socio-historical analysis of the evolutionary process of traditional Japanese swordsmanship (kenjutsu) from the inception of distinct martial schools (bugei-ryuha) in the fourteenth century, to its gradual progression into a modern competitive sport (kendo), and a subject of study in the current Japanese education system. The following questions with regards to the development of Japanese swordsmanship were analysed: 1) How did schools dedicated to the study of martial arts (bugei-ryuha) evolve, and why was the sword so important to the early traditions? 2) What was the process in which kenjutsu become “civilised”, and how did it relate to class identity in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868)? 3) In what way did kenjutsu transmute when class distinctions and national isolationist policies (sakoku) were abolished in the Meiji period (1868–1912)? 4) What were the cultural and political influences in the rise of “state” and “popular” nationalism, and how did they affect the “re-invention” and manipulation of kendo in the first half of the twentieth century? 5) How did post-war private and national cultural policy affect the reinstatement of kendo and its usefulness in inculcating a sense of “Japaneseness”? 6) What are the nationalistic motivations, and perceived dangers of the international propagation of kendo with regards to cultural propriotership? Through applying socio-historical concepts such as Norbert Elias’s “civilising process” and Eric Hobsbawm’s “invention of tradition”, as well as various descriptions of nationalism to the evolution of kendo, this thesis demonstrates how the martial art has continued to maintain a connection with the past, while simultaneously developing into a symbolic and discursive form of traditional culture representing a “cultural ethos” considered to be a manifestation of “Japaneseness”. Ultimately, kendo can be described as a kind of participatory based mind-body Nihonjinron. Japan’s current reaction as it ponders the repercussions if it were to somehow lose its status as the suzerain nation of kendo, i.e. as exclusive owners of kendo - a martial art perceived as one of the most representative forms of traditional Japanese culture – is also assessed in this thesis