The “concept of competition” is at the heart of sporting activities. However, it is also true that the desire for victory that arises in the concept of competition has often become a subject of debate. Thus, social problems related to the idea of “winning at all costs” are a crucial issue in the world of sport, and efforts are also being implemented in the judo world to curb competition becoming too heated. However, an interesting aspect of this approach is that the intention to protect the healthy growth and development of the mind and body is combined with concerns about the inheritance of the cultural value of judo. This approach shows that aside from judo being a type of sport, it is also a physical activity that has the characteristics of a unique traditional culture. There have been numerous initiatives and discussions in recent years in the judo community to address this issue, but only a few discussions have focused on the competitive nature inherent in it. Therefore, this study critically examines the concept of competition in judo through a study of the literature. It also attempts to discuss the future of judo under the win (superiority) or lose (inferiority) structure.

Judo is positioned both as an “international sport” and form of “Japanese traditional culture,” but in both cases the way in which they are evaluated is different than the strength of competition. In other words, in judo’s concept of competition, “athlete strength” is sometimes assessed from a different perspective than “sporting strength”. In the original concept of competition, winning at all costs cannot be criticized. However, in modern sport, where victory and defeat are compared on the basis of superiority or inferiority, winning at all costs disrupts the equilibrium of the concept of competition, masking the cultural value of the sport. In other words, as the value of victory increases, the desire to win at all costs, which is intrinsic to the concept of competition, becomes a social problem, confirming a divergence between the values of victory and defeat. However, even in modern sport, judo still includes “aesthetics of emotional control” in which it is good to end a contest without a sense of superiority or inferiority in terms of victory or defeat. In this study, this is interpreted as “manner of competition”, which concludes that it is a behavior that overcomes superiority and inferiority in victory and defeat.

Nitric oxide (NO), an endogenous vasodilator that relaxes vascular endothelial cells and which is synthesized in the body, is primarily released from the sinuses into the nasal cavity during the continuous vocalization of “humming” nasal sounds. One of the vocalizations performed during kendo is “men”, which produces nasal sounds. We hypothesized that during these vocalizations, the fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) via the nasal cavity may increase. In this study, we measured FeNO through the nasal cavity of nine experienced kendo players when they vocalized “men” with a nasal sound in kendo. As a result, compared with humming (151.4±30.1 ppb), which involves continuous nasal sounds, the single vowel vocalization of “meeen” showed a significantly lower FeNO value (41.6±11.0 ppb, P＝0.005). However, the repeated vocalization of “men”, which consists of two repeated nasal sounds, showed a similar value to that during humming (141.9±25.2 ppb, P＝0.977). Our results illustrated that FeNO release via the nasal cavity increased during repeated vocalizations of “men” in one breath, such as during “kirikaeshi”. Therefore, we were able to further the current understanding of the physiological characteristics of the manner of kendo exercise.

This study investigated the effects of full-force bicycle pedaling exercise on deep body temperature and exerted power while wearing kendo-gu with a mask and face shield in a hot and humid environment. The subjects were eight male university kendo athletes. All subjects wore kendo-gi and kendo-gu but the experiments were conducted under two conditions: one with the subjects wearing a mask and face shield and the other without a mask and face shield. The experiments were conducted in a climate chamber with the WBGT (wet bulb globe temperature) set at 28. Intermittent, full-force pedaling exercises using a bicycle ergometer with a 15-minute rest period in between exercises. Changes in core body temperature during rest and the rate of decrease in exerted power during the two full-force pedaling exercises were examined. The results showed that wearing a mask and face shield caused an increase in deep body temperature during the resting period between exercises, and a decrease in exerted power during the post-rest exercise. These results suggest that wearing masks and face shields in a hot and humid environment in kendo training may increase the risk of heat stroke and affects the quality of training.

This study aimed to clarify the number of nage-waza (throwing techniques) acknowledgements and objections from inside and outside the triangle made by the referees in the conventional referee positions using the International Judo Federation Refereeing Rules. The findings of the study are as follows.

1. Nage-waza acknowledgements were performed 200 times (47.4%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and 222 times (52.6%) outside the triangle, with no significant differences.

2. No objections (3-0) were made 168 times (47.6%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and 185 times (52.4%) outside the triangle, with no significant differences.

3. Objections (2-1, 1-2, 1-1-1) were made 32 times (46.4%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and 37 times (53.6%) outside the triangle, with no significant differences.

4. Objections (2-1) were performed 15 times (48.4%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and 16 times (51.6%) outside the triangle, with no significant differences.

5. Objections (1-2) were performed 16 times (44.4%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and 20 times (55.6%) outside the triangle, with no significant differences.

6. Objections (1-1-1) were made once (50%) inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line and once (50%) outside the triangle, with no significant difference.

7. Inside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line, no objections (3-0) occurred 168 times (47.6%) and objections (2-1, 1-2, 1-1-1) occurred 32 times (46.4%). Outside the triangle connecting the three referees with a straight line, no objections (3-0) were made 185 times (52.4%) and objections (2-1, 1-2, 1-1-1) were used 37 times (53.6%). There were no significant differences in the percentages inside and outside the triangles, with and without objections.

The above suggested that with conventional referee positions, it was desirable for nage-waza acknowledgements to be conducted inside the triangle and for assistant referees to move. However, it could not be concluded that there was a problem in the number of objections. In the future, in situations where the assistant referees cannot present an acknowledgement of nage-waza to the referee, it will be necessary to compare the number of occurrences of objections between the inside and outside of the triangle in the conventional referee positions.

【Introduction】: In Wushu Taijiquan, the “Jumping Lotus Kick （Teng Kong Bai Lian）” movement involves jumping and rotating multiple times around the vertical axis while tapping the feet above the shoulders. Athletes who have difficulty with rotation are often instructed to rotate specific body parts faster. In this study, we aim to objectively identify the differences between the jumping movements of athletes who were able to complete more than one rotation and those who were unable to complete the required rotations to objectively clarify the difference between the two movements.

【Methods】: The study included 10 athletes who successfully, performed the “Jumping Lotus Kick” movement with more than one rotation, and a separate group of athletes who were considered as unsuccessful. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the jumping time and maximum angular velocity between the successful and unsuccessful athletes. Furthermore, the time at which the maximum angular velocity was observed for both groups was visualized.

【Results】: The results showed that the successful athletes were significantly associated with maximum angular velocity at each part （p < 0.05）. However, there was no significant difference in jumping time between both groups. The successful athletes displayed an earlier twisting of the back and waist compared to the unsuccessful athletes from the commencement of the trial to the end.

【Discussion】: This study suggests that rotational velocity is a more critical factor in determining the success of the “Jumping Lotus Kick” movement than jumping height. Additionally, it highlights the importance of rotating in the direction of rotation early in the movement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that objectively analyzes the “"Jumping Lotus Kick” movement in Wushu Taijiquan. This research could contribute to the success of jumping movements in Wushu athletes.

For many judo coaches in Japan, it is important to understand how top foreign judo athletes think and what their specific characteristics are, both of which are rarely known and understood. This allows judo coaches to recognize that there is a wide variety of judo athletes, each with their own unique characteristics. For Japanese judo coaches, this deepens their understanding of the sport and leads to an enhancement in their coaching prowess. Therefore, this study aimed to obtain the insights of Igor Makarov, a gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, to clarify the thoughts and characteristics of a top judo athlete from overseas. The following are the questions and answers this study addressed:

1. “What made you a top athlete?” Makarov answered, “I had the desire to be a top athlete from the very beginning, and I was determined to win against my peers and rivals.”

2. “Tell me about a time when your ability improved significantly.” Makarov answered: “I won the Under-21 European Championships at the age of 19, which gave me a lot of confidence. Whether you will live as a sportsman or an ordinary judo enthusiast depends on whether you can stand firm at around the age of 18 or not.”

3. “Did you ever have a period when you could not win matches or fell into a slump? How did you respond and get back up during a slump?” Makarov answered: “Whenever I lost, I needed to think about the reason why. There is always a problem within yourself.”

4. “Do you have a role model whose techniques you would like to try?” Makarov answered: “I watched videos of various athletes and gradually adopted their techniques.”

5. “What do you think is necessary to become a top athlete?” Makarov answered: “Most importantly, find the challenge yourself, and find the answer. Repeat this process. If you want to win, focus on one goal and go for it.”

Based on the above, we believe that in order to become a top judo athlete, one must have: “A strong desire to win,” “Produce results by the deadline,” “The ability to face oneself,” “An insatiable desire to improve and a high level of observational skills,” and “Can act proactively with clear goals.” The ability to execute these at a high level is considered necessary.

This study qualitatively examined the validity of throwing technique evaluations when differences of opinion among judges and referees occurred when in the conventional referee positions. Three judo experts examined 65 cases of differences of opinions in the evaluation of throwing techniques at the 2011 Kodokan Cup All Japan Judo Championships. The following was shown:

1. The throwing technique evaluations by a majority vote of three umpires, when differences of opinion occurred, were deemed valid 30 times (55.4%) and not valid 29 times (44.6%), with no significant difference between the two cases.

2. The validity of the throwing technique evaluations when one or two judges disagreed with the referee’s evaluation, was significantly higher in the valid cases (45 times, 69.2%) than in the not valid cases (20 times, 30.8%).

3. The validity of throwing technique evaluations when only one judge disagreed with the referee’s evaluations, were deemed valid 19 times (63.3%) and not valid 11 times (36.7%), but there was no significant difference between the two cases.

4. The validity of throwing technique evaluations when two judges expressed the same difference of opinion were significantly higher in valid cases (26 times, 74.3%) than in not valid cases (9 times, 25.7%).

From the above, it was suggested that the evaluation of throwing techniques decided by a majority vote when a difference of opinion occurred is not always valid. Therefore, in order to ensure fair and accurate refereeing, it is essential to first improve the skill level of referees and jury to reduce the occurrence of disagreements. It is also necessary to introduce a system that allows players, managers, and coaches to appeal against the umpire’s throwing technique evaluation. Furthermore, it is important to build a support system for referees and jury using the latest technology that utilizes images of matches taken from multiple angles and AI tools.