The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of the acquisition of life skills on competitive results in Japanese university judo players considering the temporal delay between the two variables. 517 judo players who belong to private universities (12 universities in total) participated in this research. For the life skills survey, which was conducted between early-May and late-June 2014, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire—the Appraisal Scale of Required Life Skills for College Student Athletes (Shimamoto et al., 2013)—before the competition. The competitive results of the participants were obtained from the All-Japan Student Judo Championship Competition (AJSCC) for university students held in Tokyo during late-September. First, participants were categorized into 2 groups: a “High Competitive Level Group (n＝103)”, who participated in the above mentioned AJSCC, and a “Low Competitive Level Group (n＝400)”, who did not participate in the AJSCC. The results of the t-test revealed that the life skill levels of the former group were significantly higher than the latter group regarding thinking carefully, communication, setting goals, always making one’s best effort, and taking responsibility for one’s own behavior. Secondly, the participants of the former group were classified into 3 groups based on the results of the AJSCC: a “High Competitive Result Group (HCRG, n＝38)”, a “Middle Competitive Result Group (MCRG, n＝28)”, and a “Low Competitive Result Group (LCRG, n＝37)”. The results of the analysis of variance using the life skills data obtained before the AJSCC showed that: (1) on the level of being humble, HCRG is significantly higher than MCRG; (2) on the level of taking responsibility for one’s own behavior, HCRG is significantly higher compared to LCRG; (3) on the level of maintaining physical health and well-being, HCRG is significantly higher than the other 2 groups. It was suggested that the results of this study could lead to a coaching style to achieve high competitive results without violent behavior from coaches.

The aim of this study was to consider the influence of “Medical Research on Kyudo”, which was conducted by surgeons in Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital from 1939 to 1941, and which subsequently lead to the dissolution of Kyudoyosoku. This research also looks to clarify the sequence of events during that period from historical records, research contents, and the reaction of archers after the publication of “Medical Research on Kyudo”. The results can be summarized as follows:

1) Kyudo was adopted at the Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital in 1939 as part of a rehabilitation program for disabled veterans with the aim of not only restoring military spirit, but also improving body posture.

2) Following the adoption of kyudo, Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital began the “Medical Research on Kyudo” project to select the most suitable kyudo forms to aid rehabilitation. Impact on the lungs and spinal cord were examined by radiographing the chest of the archers while performing the techniques of chukan-uchiokoshi and shomen-uchiokoshi. The research concluded that skeletal deformity and chest muscle distortion could occur with the chukan-uchiokoshi style. Moreover, the research assumed that incorrect lung position could trigger the risk of pleural inflammation and several diseases with chukan-uchiokoshi, but not with shomen-uchiokoshi.

3) The results of the research study were widely publicized in kyudo and budo magazines, medical academic papers, newspapers and presentations not only for the kyudo archers, but also for the general public. This widespread dissemination of information also lead to the criticism of Kyudoyosoku from outside the kyudo field. This intensified pressure on the Greater Japan Martial Virtues Association, which had adopted chukan-uchiokoshi in Kyudoyosoku, to announce a strong statement denying the research on August 22, 1941.

4) In our research, we could not confirm any other cases where the Greater Japan Martial Virtues Association got into such a situation as this to give a statement against criticism of kyudo’s essential rule. Therefore, it is conceivable that “Medical Research on Kyudo” gave validity or medical justification to criticize Kyudoyosoku. Taken together, the overall criticism from kyudo archers, budo martial artists, doctors, and society in general, and specifically the results from the “Medical Research on Kyudo” that indicated harm to the human body, was one of the main factors that lead to the elimination of the kyudo rationale, or the dissolution of Kyudoyosoku.

This study presents the differences in arm positions between the handling images and the actual movements of kyudo practitioners. Arm positions were established as left hand pressure and as the angle of the left elbow and hand.

Regarding handling images, interviews were conducted separately about the hand-pressure ratio, the angle of the elbow and hand, and the sequence of movements. The targeted movements included the tenouchi   ⁱ of expert and intermediate practitioners. With respect to the sequence of movements, the focus was on hanareⁱⁱ.

The following results were obtained:

1. Hand-pressure ratio showed no differences between handling images and actual movements for both expert and intermediate practitioners.

2. For experts, when the arrow was released from the string, hand pressure increased but showed no differences between handling images and actual movements. However, it decreased and differences between them were apparent for intermediate practitioners.

3. All skill levels moved so that the timing was faster for the angle of the elbow and hand than for hand-pressure. For experts, these angles moved in the same direction, but for intermediate practitioners, the angles moved in the reverse direction.

4. Even when there were no handling images, differences sometimes arose between expert and intermediate practitioners.

These characteristics evaluate the movements of both expert and intermediate practitioners, and in the future this study will be useful for teaching and learning kyudo.

ⁱ Tenouchi: An important skill in tekichu (hitting the target)

ⁱⁱ Hanare: The movement of the release of the hand or the arrow from the string

The purpose of this study was to reveal whether expert university level kendo players have a specific movement pattern when striking with ōji-waza (techniques which utilize the opponent’s attack to make your own attack), and whether male and female kendo players have different movement patterns.

Forty-four university kendo players (22 males; 22 females) participated in this study. For each gender, participants were classified into two groups (regular and sub-regular groups) according to their achievement in a team competition. In this study, kote-suriage-men, which is one of the ōji-waza for kote, was evaluated. All striking movements were recorded with a digital video camera. We analyzed the following 4 points that appeared: migi-ashi-richi (the moment the right foot leaves the ground), temoto-uki (the moment the right fist is raised to the position of shinai’stsubamoto), suriage (avoiding the opponent’s kote strike by deflecting it with the shinai), and furiage-saiko (the minimum speed of the shinai tip when the shinai is raised). Each time point that appeared was calculated as a percentage relative to the entire time period.

The results in this study showed that most of the male kendo players had one movement pattern in the order of migi-ashi-richi, temoto-uki, and suriage. In contrast, female participants showed that the order of their movement patterns was not consistent, and they were classified into three patterns.

The findings of this study demonstrate that most male kendo experts had a specific movement pattern when utilizing ōji-waza. On the other hand, female kendo players did not have a consistent movement pattern, even in the regular group. Therefore, our results suggest that female kendo players acquire their own individual movement pattern for ōji-waza, achieving an effective strike for each approach.

In this research, we devised Janken-JUDO as a teaching material to teach judo effectively and safely in junior high and high schools. Invented in combination with play and sports, it includes basic throws. Since the rules are simple, children and inexperienced teachers can easily understand them. In addition, in this game physique and skill do not affect victory or defeat, so everyone can throw equally by winning in the leg Janken (rock, paper, scissors) game. The main characteristic of this teaching material is to select throwing techniques according to the situation, therefore ensuring safety. Furthermore, techniques are arranged according to the curriculum guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. By using this teaching material it is expected that children will learn to perform judo ambitiously and safely. At present, the material only illustrates what can be done and should be further improved.