The purpose of this study was to identify the actual status of injuries in gymnasts in the United States and Europe, and to compile the literature on training in order to gain knowledge on the appropriate training methods and injury prevention for gymnasts. The results showed that top national and international gymnasts trained an average of more than 20 hours/week throughout the year, with no significant differences between male and female gymnasts. These increased with age and competition level, with female athletes training more sessions and repetitions during training than male athletes. Sports injuries were reported more frequently in college students, with a higher percentage of injuries to the upper extremity in male athletes and to the lower extremity in female athletes with a high rate of recurrence. Knee injuries occurred 5.43 times more frequently and more severely in female athletes during competition than during practice. Training for more than 12 hours/week increases the risk of injury. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify training, fatigue, and condition in order to elucidate the factors that cause injury in more detail. Future research on the actual situation through a unified definition of injuries in Japan, introduction of an injury management system, and collection of data from Japanese men’s gymnasts will help to reduce injury rates, improve international competitiveness, and extend the athletes’ athletic careers.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the exercise and game characteristics of 3x3 basketball games for non-skilled college students in the context of a physical education college class.

The participants in the experiment were 12 university students with no expert basketball experience. Three practice games of 3 minutes each and three 5-minute measurement games were conducted. The participants’ movement data were recorded using Playertek+(Catapult), a sensor with built-in GPS, and their stats were recorded using video camera images.

The distance traveled during the 5-minute 3x3 game was 0.36±0.05 km, the maximum speed was 3.87±0.36 m/s, and the average travel speed was 70.93±9.40 m/min. These values tended to be smaller than those of the 5-on-5 man team. On the other hand, the average heart rate was 162.26±22.37 bpm and the maximum heart rate was 181.56±19.27 bpm, suggesting that the exercise intensity was comparable to that of the 5-on-5 man team. As for the results of the stat analysis, the average per player was 3.94±2.10 for shot attempts, 2.78±1.73 for total rebounds, 6.81±2.64 for passes, and 12.56±3.12 for touch balls, indicating that the average number of shot attempts and touch balls was higher than that of the 5-on-5 man team. The average number of balls touched and the number of balls touched was high, and there were no participants who did not touch a ball, try a shot, or rebound even once.

Considering these results, it can be inferred that 3x3 is a sport with about the same intensity as a 5-on-5 player match in general university physical education class, and has characteristics that provide opportunities for all participants to demonstrate their athletic skills.

This study adopts the research method of sports anthropology to reveal the formation process of Yang Mingshi Tai Chi in Japan, one of the physical activities that integrates Japanese and Chinese culture.

The research results bear out that based on the idea of politician Furui Yoshimi (who viewed Tai Chi as a bridge of friendship between Japan and China). Furui Yoshimi’s collaborator Yang Mingshi founded on Japanese culture like Japanese martial arts which attach importance to proprieties, Yang Mingshi integrated health-preservation-oriented Tai Chi with The Baduanjin qigong, and received support from Furui Yoshimi, thus creating the “Yang Mingshi Tai Chi” which is an emblem of Japan-China friendship. In other words, Yang Mingshi referred to Japan’s physical and mental culture and excavated China’s inherent physical and mental culture, which is regarded as a combination of guiding or qigong, quanshu skills (or the combination of consciousness, breathing, and movement), thus creating Yang Mingshi Tai Chi featured by Japanese martial arts.

Hence, Yang Mingshi Tai Chi has been recognized by representatives from all walks of life in Japan, and while different from Furui’s Tai Chi, it will also lay the foundation for the popularization of Tai Chi (simplified Tai Chi) in Japan.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of 3x3 basketball games compared to 5-on-5, in physical education classes at junior high schools, and to obtain basic data to use for teaching tools. Seventy second-year boys from Y Junior High School participated in 4 matches of 18 teams (total 36 matches) in 3x3 games and 4 matches of 12 teams (total 24 matches) in 5-on-5 games on different days. The games were filmed with video cameras, later replayed, and the number of passes, shots, and other moves were tallied. After each game, the participants were asked to answer a questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction with the 3x3 and 5-on-5 games. This study was conducted with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of A (A Univ. 33, No. 2).

The following three characteristics of 3x3 compared to 5-on-5 games in physical education classes at junior high schools were revealed: 1) 3x3 games had fewer turnovers and a higher attack completion rate than did 5-on-5; 2) the number of ball operations (shots, passes, rebounds, and touches) per player was higher in 3x3, and the students themselves recognized that they were able to pass and shoot the ball more often; 3) students who do not get the opportunity to manipulate the ball in 5-on-5 may be able to create opportunities in 3x3; and 4) the students felt that the 3x3 game kept them moving throughout the game.

The aforementioned results suggest that 3x3 game is useful as a teaching tool because students have many opportunities to manipulate the ball and are considered to have provided a sufficient amount of exercise.

Few studies have been conducted on the effects of drafting in long distance running under actual competition conditions, such as on a track. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in physiological demands at the same pace between running alone and in formations on the track in male long-distance runners. Nine well trained male collegiate long-distance runners participated in this study (age, 19.9±0.8 years; height, 170.0±5.3 cm; weight, 57.8±4.2 kg; competition career, 7.9±2.6 years). A 5,000 m constant pace run at a running speed equivalent to 80%VO_2max, obtained from incremental testing in the laboratory beforehand, was performed in four positions: at the top, middle, and tail running in formations and a solo-running. The primary findings of this study indicate that the average heart rate during middle-position running was significantly lower compared to solo running (168±10.2 vs. 174.4±9.9 beat/min), and that blood lactate concentrations were significantly lower when running in the middle and at the tail compared to running solo and top (5.6±2.2, 5.6±0.7 vs. 8.6±2.1, 9.5±2.9 mmol/L, respectively, P<0.05). Furthermore, it was observed that running in the middle position was associated with a significantly shorter stride length (1.65±0.08 vs. 1.71±0.08 m/step) and a significantly higher stride frequency (188.2±9.1 vs. 181.1±6.5 step/min) compared to running solo (each P<0.05). These results suggest that when running in a column formation with three runners, physiological demands may be reduced by the presence of a runner ahead, and there is a potential advantage to running in the middle position.