Mental training in Japan, before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, originated from the "stage fright" measures of the Japan Amateur Sports Association’s research project. This project did not continue in its original form; after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, it was promoted as a project study on mental management. As a result, because of the many research studies and books that have been published, mental training awareness has likely increased. In addition, the Japanese Society of Sports Psychology’s “Certified Mental Training Consultant in Sport (CMTCS)” program was implemented to increase area expertise. However, currently this qualification does not have a related established profession.
By acquiring the psychological skills of relaxation, etc., during basic mental training, it is possible for athletes to demonstrate their true competitive abilities. However, some players experience a variety of psychological problems, and they need to participate in a number of different tasks, not only to enhance their psychological skills but also to build a relationship of trust (rapport) with the players and coaches; psychological care then becomes necessary.
To ensure that players receive the appropriate psychological support in the sport, it will necessary to continue to work towards the maintenance of the system.

View full abstract

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this paper was to clarify the risk and extent of injury from human pyramids and towers performed in Japan’s schools. Large pyramids and towers are popular in schools, but little discussion and evidence have been presented so far in terms of the associated risk of injury.
METHODS:
To examine the extent of injury and severe cases, we referred to the National Annual Report of School Safety. I also estimated the height and weight of large pyramids and towers by using data from the National Statistics of Children’s Health, which indicates their average physical constitution.
RESULTS:
From the school year 1983 to 2013, 3 deaths and 88 cases of disability were recorded. In 2013, 6,345 cases of injury occurred in elementary schools. At the bottom of a 7-tier pyramid, which is popular in elementary schools, one person carries the weight of 2.4 persons at the most. In a 10-tier pyramid, which is the highest pyramid recorded in junior high schools in Japan, one person at the bottom carries the weight of 3.9 persons. A human tower is not as heavy as a pyramid but is taller with fewer tiers. Even if elementary-school students make up the human tower, a 3-tier tower reaches more than 3 m in height.
CONCLUSION:
There are many injury cases associated with gymnastic formations. Large pyramids and towers have a high risk of injury.

View full abstract

This study analyzed face-to-face communication with “Business Microscope^®” during play at the ground for the five-years-old kindergarteners. Networks, formed at an early stage, were small, dense, and consisted of members who were similar and continued close communications. These results suggest that playmates are selected by “similarity”of interests and concerns. There were no gender differences in body rhythm, face-to-face communications, and number of conversations. Children with high body rhythm had fewer face-to-face interactions and young children with low body rhythm had many face-to-face interactions and conversed often (p<.01, p<.05).

View full abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between motor ability and utterance content via quantitative comparisons. The subjects, 24 boys, were divided into 2 groups (upper [U] and lower [L]) of 12 children each based on physical fitness (25-m run, standing long jump, softball throw) test results. We used an IC voice recorder (W18×H46×D6 mm) to record the children’s words, and we divided the words into the following categories: “Solicitation and proposal,” “Reaction,” “Information transmission,” “Question,” “Soliloquy,” “Description of the situation,” and “Request and order.” We used t-tests to examine whether differences in motor ability affect children’s abilities to use words. Moreover, we used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to assess the relationships among the items in each group. There were significant differences in “Information transmission” and “Description of the situation,” and the U group performed better than the L group. In the U group, there were significant relationships among the following: “Information transmission” and “Solicitation and proposal”, “Question” and “Reaction”, “Request and order” and “Solicitation and proposal”, and “Request and order” and “Information transmission.” In the L group, there were significant relationships among the following: “Solicitation and proposal” and “Request and order”, and “Question” and “Request and order.” These results suggest that children’s motor ability differences affect their words. Additionally, it is thought that those in the U group actively verbally communicate with their friends and authority figures. In contrast, it is thought that those in the L group are as likely to assert themselves and rely more on their limited in their friends to speak out.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the laterality of the lower limbs during walking and running motions. The tests included analysis of motions in 12-second difference speed walking and running on a treadmill and muscle strength measurements of the hip flexion in a sitting position. The motions of 23 male and 19 female young subjects were videotaped with a video camera operating at 60 Hz. The laterality was evaluated by the perpendicular displacement of the right and left knees during the walking and running motions. The result showed that the right leg lifted higher than the left leg in vertical direction. A sexual distinction of laterality was also observed in the free walking, the difference of males was larger than females. The study also found that approximately 60% of people were right superiority in perpendicular displacement and muscular strength, in other words, a right superiority tendency was observed both in males and females, and males had a larger number of right superiority than females. It can be estimated that the individual distinction of laterality exists in free walking and it kept the same tendency from the developing stage and to the adulthood. It is suggested that the right superiority tendency might be a characteristic of the human nature, or might be influenced by the laterality of the arms.

View full abstract