Taiikugaku kenkyu (Japan Journal of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences)
Online ISSN : 1881-7718
Print ISSN : 0484-6710
ISSN-L : 0484-6710
Volume 51, Issue 6
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Original investigations
  • Chiung-Fang Chang, Akiko Zukawa
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 737-756
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of Chinese classical dance works performed in Taiwan. Twelve dance works performed by dancers ranging from groups of elementary school children to a professional dance troupe in Taiwan were recorded on VTR and analyzed for composition, outer images and inner images. In order to analyze the compositions of the dances, the theme, genders, music, hand props and movements as dance elements were described on the VTR. Also, in order to analyze and measure dance images through a semantic differential method, a questionnaire with 35 scales for outer images and a questionnaire with 46 scales for inner images were applied. Raw data for two experiments were obtained from 60 and 62 university students, respectively, who responded to these scales for each of the dance works. The results were as follows: 1. It was found that the characteristics of “wen wu” and those of “wu wu” existed, but that both of the characteristics were different. In particular, “wen wu” was expressed in terms of lyrical content, the grace of court women, scenery content, and the atmosphere of wall paintings and sculpture in Tunhuang, using hand props made of fabric, stringed instruments, and curved movements using mainly the upper limbs and upper body. The outer images were obtained in numerous directions in three dimensions, involving “kinds of movements, and space-time variation”, “toe balance and turning while standing”, and “non-transfer by the whole body” and in few directions in a single dimension, such as “lifting of a partner”. However, these dimensions were similar to “wu wu”. The inner images were strongly portrayed in a “flexibility” dimension, and in a light “weight” dimension. On the other hand, “wu wu” was expressed through substance of content through shows of force using weapons, hand props such as swords and shields, percussion instruments, and with movements involving turning of the upper body using mainly straight lines. The outer images were obtained differently with “wen wu” in two dimensions, using techniques such as “one-legged balance and jumping”, and hand props. The inner images were strongly imaged in a stiff “flexibility” dimension, and in a wide “spatiality” dimension. 2. It was found that the characteristics of Chinese classical dance were similar to those of dances performed in Taiwan. In particular, both kinds of dance works were similar in composition in that they were performed mainly by women, using concerto music, and with hand props. Also, the outer images of both were similar in four dimensions such as “kinds of movements and space-time variation”, “toe balance and turning while standing”, “no transfer by whole body” and “lifting of partner”, and the inner images of both were similar in that the directions involved two dimensions, such as “esthetic” in the beauty dimension and “harmoniousness” in the harmony dimension.
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  • Takashi Takenouchi, Tae Taguchi, Aiko Okuda
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 757-771
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study examined the mechanisms and issues that are important for personality development in athletes, and the effect of sports experience on personality development. We hypothesized that experiences of crisis, exploration, and commitment in athletic and daily life events promote personality development. Junior high school athletes (206 boys, 196 girls) and senior high school athletes (217 boys, 163 girls) completed a questionnaire assessing their experience of crisis, exploration, and commitment for four issues in the athletic domain, and for six issues in the daily life domain. Levels of ego development, as an index of individual personality development, were assessed with the Sentence Completion Test. Multiple regression analyses with crisis, exploration, and commitment as predictor variables and ego development as a criterion variable revealed that, for male junior high school athletes, there were significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables with regard to teammates, coaches, athletic performance, studying, and life style/values; for male senior high school athletes, there were significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables with regard to teammates, coaches, athletic performance, and future occupation/life course; for female junior high school athletes, there were significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables with regard to teammates, life style/values, and friends of the same sex; for female senior high school athletes, there were significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables with regard to teammates, coaches, future occupation/life course, life style/values, and friends of the same sex. For all groups, significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables were exhibited for at least one issue in both the athletic domain and the daily life domain. These results provide support for the hypothesized mechanisms of personality development in athletes, and suggest that sports experiences during the junior and senior high school years affect personality development in both boys and girls.
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  • Takashi Mitsui, Koji Zushi
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 773-782
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We previously reported that the ability of elderly people to perform stretch-shortening cycle movement (SSC) would play an important role in maintaining their walking ability. This study investigated the efficacy of a bouncing squat test to evaluate SSC ability in elderly people who had developed weakness in the neuromuscular-tendon complex of the legs. Eight elderly people (aged 83.6 ± 6.3 yr, range 73-93 yr) performed repetitive bouncing squats (BS) and rebound jumps (RJ), as well as three types of gait with different stride length (free, wide, ultra-wide). Kinematic data and ground reaction forces were recorded using a video camera and a force platform, respectively. All subjects were able to perform BS, but three older subjects were unable to perform RJ. The maximal vertical ground reaction force (Fmax) was highest for RJ (3.02 ± 0.73 N · BW-1), followed in descending order by BS (1.63 ± 0.25 N · BW-1), ultra-wide (1.28 ± 0.17 N · BW-1), wide (1.19 ± 0.11 N · BW-1), and free walking (1.06 ± 0.05 N · BW-1). These results suggest that BS is a safe and suitable exercise for the elderly whereas RJ is not. Fmax, the maximum of negative (P-max) and positive vertical power (P+max) during BS, decreased significantly with aging (Fmax, r=-0.861, p<0.01; P-max, r=-0.949, p<0.001; P+max, r=-0.932, p<0.001). Also, there was a significant correlation between the power during BS and each component of the ground reaction force during free walking (negative peak force, r=0.853, p<0.01; positive peak force, r=0.780, p<0.05; vertical peak force, r=0.833, p<0.01; negative impulse, r=0.859, p<0.01; positive impulse, r=0.712, p<0.05). These results indicate that BS power could be a suitable indicator for evaluating SSC ability in relation to walking ability. Moreover, BS may be an effective training method for improvement of walking ability in elderly people.
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  • Tatsuaki Ikeda, Makoto Muraoka, Naoki Mukai, Hideyuki Takahashi, Kaoru ...
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 783-791
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between 1RM (one repetition maximum) during knee extension exercise and the number of repetitions loaded at 90%, 70% and 50% of 1RM for a homogeneous group of 1RM, and to investigate the difference between two indices of the number of repetitions (Ntotal: total number of repetitions loaded at 90%, 70% and 50% of 1RM, I-N slope: Intensity-Number of repetitions slope) based on the effect of 1RM, neuromuscular function and muscle histochemical properties. Fifteen male college soccer players participated in the study. The subjects performed knee extension exercise, and Isom.max (maximal isometric strength), RFD (rate of force development during Isom.max), 1RM, N90, N70 and N50 (the number of repetitions loaded at 90%, 70% and 50%1RM) were measured. In addition, CSA (cross-sectional area of the quadriceps femoris muscle) and muscle histochemical properties were also measured. The results obtained were compared with our previous study for a heterogeneous group of 1RM (Ikeda and Takamatsu, 2005). The major findings were as follows: (1) The coefficient of variation of 1RM in this study was significantly smaller than that in our previous study, and the variation of 1RM differed between the two studies. Therefore, it was suggested that the subjects in this study comprised a homogeneous group of 1RM. (2) Significant negative correlations were observed between 1RM and N90, N70, N50 and Ntotal in our previous study, and there was a significant negative correlation between 1RM and N90 in the present study. (3) There was a significant positive correlation between Ntotal and the I-N slope in our previous study, whereas there was no significant correlation between these two indices in the present study. (4) A significant negative correlation was observed between Ntotal and RFD, and there was a significant positive correlation between the I-N slope and percentage fiber area (Type I) in the present study. These results suggest that the relationships between 1RM and the number of repetitions, Ntotal and I-N slope are influenced by the intergroup characteristics of 1RM, and that Ntotal and I-N slope might each represent different physiologic parameters related to the number of repetitions.
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Practical Investigations
  • Hirokazu Arai, Tomohiro Nakamura
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 793-799
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study was to examine the influences on the affect of parents of individuals with intellectual disabilities through participation in an intensive sport program. Six parents of individuals with intellectual disabilities who participated in a table tennis program as a family (along with the disabled individual) were recruited to serve as participants in this study. The program involved performing three sets of table tennis training, each lasting twenty minutes. Two measures were employed, namely the Waseda Affect Scale of Exercise and Durable Activity (WASEDA; Arai et al., 2003) and the Feeling Scale (FS; Rejeski, 1985). These are exercise-specific affect scales that consider affect with respect to sport bouts. WASEDA measures three types of affect: negative affect, positive engagement, and tranquility. FS is a measure of pleasure/displeasure. This study involved a 2 (condition: participating in the sport with the disabled individual/watching the disabled individual playing the sport)× 2 (time: before/after) repeated measures design. The participants were rated on the basis of WASEDA and FS measurement scales both before and after the program in each condition. ANOVA demonstrated that positive engagement and pleasure were enhanced by participating in the sport program rather than by merely watching it being played. These results suggest that actual participation in table tennis is more beneficial for mental health than merely watching it being played.
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  • Mana Endo
    2006 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 801-815
    Published: 2006
    Released on J-STAGE: January 25, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Based on her own experiences, the author (a professional female tennis player) believes that skill in the “rear leg technique in the groundstroke phase” is a factor that determines tennis performance. This study examined the long-term effects of training in order to acquire this technique. Three college female tennis players performed a specific training program in the rear leg technique for 15 months. This program was based on the author's experience and “knack of movement”. Evaluations of this technique and swing motion by the players themselves and the author herself, in addition to the results of a hitting test, were recorded over a 15-month period of training. All players basically acquired the rear leg technique after the training period. They improved their self-evaluation capacity, hitting performance and results at official tournaments. This improvement in their performance is likely due to the fact that acquiring the rear leg technique develops weight transfer ability, body axis stability, and rapid action to the next movement in swing motion. The results of interviews of the subjects revealed several types of acquisition of the “knack”, and indicated that the knack is very difficult to express and shows individual variation. Consequently, the present findings indicate that acquisition of rear leg technique contributes to improvement of tennis performance.
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