Kōdōkan Jūdō’s three orphaned forms of counter techniques: part 2: the Nage-waza ura-no-kata: 'forms of reversing throwing techniques'

Background and Study Aim: The purpose of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive review of nage-waza ura-no-kata [“Forms of Reversing Throwing Techniques”], a non-officially accepted kata of Kōdōkan jūdō made famous by the late Mifune Kyūzō (1883-1965), of which the date of creation has not been previously established, nor under what circumstances it was created or what its sources of inspiration were. Material and Methods: To achieve this, we offer a careful critical analysis of the available literature and rare source material on this kata. Results: In 1903 Mifune entered the Kōdōkan and in 1904 he attended Waseda University’s Preparatory School for a year. The inspiration for Nage-waza ura-no-kata may be traced back to Waseda University, where Takahashi Kazuyoshi was Mifune’s contemporary. While Mifune, in combination with an intensive competitive career, also spent time researching new individual throwing techniques, it is Takahashi’s research that focused on the concept of ura-waza or reverse-throws. On Kanō’s invitation Takahashi authored many articles on this topic which appeared in Yūkō-no-Katsudō, the Kōdōkan’s official magazine. It is likely that drawing from Takahashi’s and his own research Mifune completed his nage-waza ura-no-kata probably around 1934-1938. The objective of the kata is not to copy a supposed gold standard performance that then needs to be evaluated and scored by a jury, but to develop the ability of performing jūdō at the supra-mechanical level of myōwaza [unexplainable sophisticated technique], irrespective of differences in minute technical details. Conclusions: Nage-waza ura-no-kata is an exercise devised by expert-technician Mifune Kyūzō which similarly to katame-no-kata complements nage-no-kata and of which the practice is intended to contribute to developing the highest levels of jūdō technical ability

Rupture of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle in late-career and former elite jūdōka: a case report

Introduction. In 1883 Powell in The Lancet for the first time described a clinical condition incurred during lawn tennis, and which involved a calf injury that most commonly resulted from sprinting acceleration or a sudden change in running direction, and which hence became known under the name “tennis leg”. In the present case report we describe for the first time how, a similar injury arises from a very different way of moving that may occur during the practice of jūdō. Case presentation. A 52-year-old male former elite jūdō athlete of African-American ethnicity, during the entry for performing a jūdō shoulder throw, upon pushing off with the front part of his right foot while making an inward turning motion and simultaneously stretching his right knee, heard a snapping sound in the mid-portion of his right calf accompanied by a sudden sharp pain and immediate loss of functionality. Ultrasonography and clinical findings were consistent with a partial rupture of the distal part of the medial head of the right gastrocnemius muscle. Differential diagnosis. Achilles tendon rupture, arterial aneurysm, Baker’s cyst, deep venous thrombosis, ischemic necrosis, tendon strain or rupture of the plantaris or soleus muscles, tendon strain or rupture. Treatment. Proper acute care (P.R.I.C.E.-principle [Protection-Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation]) and rehabilitation were adhered to, which contributes to excellent prognosis of partial gastrocnemius ruptures. Uniqueness of the study. “Tennis leg” as previously described has not been associated with practicing jūdō. Conclusion. Simultaneous active plantar flexion or dorsiflexion of the foot and extension of the knee, as may occur during entry for some standing jūdō throws, puts the gastrocnemius muscle at risk for rupture. Predisposing factors are its high density in type-2 fast-twitch muscle fibers, reduced neoangiogenesis, increased nonimmuno-hematopoietic cell content, muscle fatigue, adipositas athletica, metabolic syndrome, male gender, and age-related sarcopenia

a technical pedagogical and historical reflection on the conceptual and biomechanical properties of kōdōkan jūdō s ko uchi gari minor inner reaping throw

Throwing techniques represent an important part of Kōdōkan jūdō, aimed at defeating an opponent. Ko-uchi-gari [minor inner reaping throw] is a versatile throw of which the exact origin is unknown. Clear and correct jūdō-specific and didactic terminology are helpful in acquiring the complex motor skills that enable a refined and highly technical jūdō. Ko-uchi-gari relies on the physics principle of a "simple couple," i.e., an acting pair of two bound opposing forces around the opponent's center of mass with the result, in this case, being perpendicular to those forces, hence producing a torque. Appreciating this may provide an idea about the method this throwing technique is relying on to achieve its success and about its challenges. The purpose of the present paper is to improve the understanding of ko-uchi-gari from a historical, terminological, linguistic, technical, and biomechanical perspective in order to facilitate transferring or acquiring the motor skills necessary to properly master and teach this jūdō throwing technique. Open access: http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/05.25.CP.1.

The 'jūdō sukebei' phenomenon: when crossing the line merits more than shidō [“minor infringement”] ―Sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior in jūdō coaches and instructors

The sport of jūdō was intended as an activity “for all”. Since in 1996 a major sex abuse scandal broke out that involved a Dutch top jūdō coach and several female elite athletes, international media have identified many more abuses. To date no scholarly studies exist that have examined the nature, extent, and consequences of these anomalies. We intend in this paper to review and analyze sexual abuses in jūdō. To do so we offer a descriptive jurisprudence overview of relevant court and disciplinary cases, followed by a qualititative-analytical approach looking at the potential factors that prompt jūdō-related bullying and sexual harassment. Sex offenders may be attracted to jūdō because of: 1. the extensive bodily contact during grappling, 2. the easy access to voyeuristic opportunities during contest weigh-ins and showering, 3. Jūdō’s authoritarian and hierarchical structure as basis for ‘grooming’, 4. lack of integration of jūdō’s core moral component in contemporary jūdō coach and instructor education, and 5. its increasing eroticization by elite jūdō athletes posing for nude calendars and media and by specialized pornographic jūdō manga and movies. Cultural conceptions and jurisprudence are factors that affect how people perceive the seriousness and how these offences are dealt with. A survey of 19 cases of abuse in jūdō worldwide shows that cultural conceptions and jurisprudence cause that such cases are handled in a very heterogeneous way by the law and by the jūdō governing bodies. Jūdō clubs and organizations overall suffer from a lack of expertise, intellectual insight, ethical objectivity, and solid procedures of fairness for both victim and accused, in this way often failing in both sufficiently protecting the weak from sex offenders, and in educating and reintegrating past of-fenders through jūdō activities that do not involve their victim target groups. Jūdō’s moral philosophy implicitly attempts to offer a utilitarian answer as to how the jūdō community should deal with serious offences. These incidents, however, continue to show the limitations of jūdō‘s utopian “prosperity for all” objective

Infrared thermography-calorimetric quantitation of energy expenditure in biomechanically different types of jūdō throwing techniques: a pilot study

It was the purpose of this pilot study to assess the energy expenditure (EE) of two biome-chanically different jūdō throws, namely, the simple mechanical couple-based uchi-mata vs. the lever-based throw ippon-seoi-nage, using infrared thermal calorimetry (ITC). Testing subjects included one Caucasian female elite athlete (age: 26.4 years) and one male veteran jūdōka (age: 50.8 years). ITC images were captured by an Avio NEC InfRec R300 camera and thermal data obtained were plotted into a proprietary equation for estimation of EE. Data were compared to respiratory data obtained by a Cosmed K4 b2 portable gas analyzer. Oxy-gen consumption as estimated by ITC capture during practice of uchi-mata was markedly lower than during performance ippon-seoi-nage in the female (457 mL•min-1 vs. 540 mL•min-1, P<0.05) and male subject (1,078 mL•min-1 vs. 1,088 mL•min-1, NS), with the difference in values between both genders subject being significant (P<0.01). The metabolic cost of the exercise (uchi-mata vs. ippon-seoi-nage) itself was 1.26 kcal•min-1 (88 W) vs. 1.68 kcal•min-1 (117 W) (P<0.05) in the female subject, and 2.97 kcal•min-1 (207 W) (P<0.01) vs. 3.02 kcal•min-1 (211 W) (NS) in the male subject. Values for the female were significantly differ-ent (P<0.01) from those of the male subject. The results support the initial hypothesis that the couple-based jūdō throws (in this case, uchi-mata) are energetically more efficient than lever-based throws, such as ippon-seoi-nage. Application of this approach may be of practical use for coaches in optimizing energy-saving strategies in both elite and veteran jūdō athletes

The Effects of Muscle Mass on Homocyst(e)ine Levels in Plasma and Urine

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between homocyst(e)ine (H[e]) lev-els and muscle mass. Two experimental groups each of 24 Caucasian males, one consisting of higher-muscle mass subjects (HMM) and the other of lower-muscle mass subjects (LMM) par-ticipated in this study. Muscle mass was estimated from 24-hour urine collections of creatinine (Crt). Muscle mass was 40.3 ± 15.9 kg in HMM and 37.2 ± 11.4 kg in LMM (P= 0.002). Mean plasma H(e) levels in HMM were 10.29 ± 2.9 nmol/mL, and in LMM were 10.02 ± 2.4 nmol/L (Not significant, [NS]). Urinary H(e) levels (UH[e]) were 9.95 ± 4.3 nmol/mL and 9.22 ± 2.9 nmol/mL for HMM and LMM, respectively (NS). Plasma H(e) levels correlated well with UH(e) (HMM: r= 0.58, P= 0.009; LMM: r= 0.66, P= 0.004). Muscle mass and was not correlated to either plasma H(e) or UH(e). However, in HMM trends were identified for body mass to be cor-related with UH(e) (r= 0.39, P= 0.10) and UCrt (r= 0.41, P= 0.08). Surprisingly, in HMM plasma and UCrt were only weakly correlated (r= 0.44, P= 0.06). Our results do not support a causal relationship between the amount of muscle mass and H(e) levels in plasma or urine