Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify the factor structure of the reasons for the continuation of judo practice among adult judo-ka, and to understand the way attitudes change according to age and years spent practicing judo.
The subjects were 186 male judo-ka aged 18 to 80 years at a sports center in Tokyo. A control group consisted of 58 males aged 18 to 59 years who participate in other sports at a sports centre. The subjects were asked to answer a questionnaire containing 50 items related to the reasons for continuing to exercise, such as physical, social, perceptual, mental, and emotional reasons.
Five factors were extracted from the two groups. Three of the factors: “character development,” “a favorable impression,” and “improvement of physical fitness” were common to both groups. Factors unique to each group were “improvement of mentality” and “attracted to martial arts” in the judo group, and “personal goals” and “recreational purposes” in the non-judo group. It was clear that the factorial structure in the judo group was different from that in the control group. That is, the reasons for continuing training in the judo group contained factors concerned with Budo, but did not contain “recreational purposes” or “personal goals.”
There were significant positive correlations between age and years of training, and factors such as “character development” and “improvement of mentality.” These factors are related to the maturing of human nature according to age or years of training, and it suggests that maturing or continuing to practice judo over the years are able to aid judo-ka in character development.
