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CAN PARTICIPATING IN JUDO LEAD TO A
FITTER, HEALTHIER BODY?
In a time where health and fitness
seem to be more and more important to people many are turning
to martial arts as an alternative to gym's and fitness centres.
Tae kwon do and kickboxing seem to be the latest craze amongst
young people. But can the Olympic sport of judo be beneficial
too?
Judo is one of the few activities that can be truly considered
a multi dimensional sport combining the following physical
attributes:
· Strength
· Speed and Agility
· Stamina
· Flexibility
Strength.
Although Jigoro Kano's (the founder
of modern judo) philosophy was one of using an opponents
weight and strength to ones own advantage there is no doubting
strength has its place in modern competitive judo. Every
Olympic squad in the world (including the usually traditional
Japanese team) would have an extensive weights program to
improve core strength. However it is not necessary for the
average judo player to enter a gym to improve basic strength.
By participating regularly in judo there is a good chance most
judoka will notice moderate strength gains. During high
intensity Randori (free fighting) and Ne-Waza (groundwork)
sessions muscles are constantly working both isometricly where
the muscles contracts without actually moving for example
pushing against a static opponent and isotonicly where the
muscles changes length by shortening and lengthening for in
the in the quadriceps muscle when picking an opponent up.
Also by fighting with judoka of differing weights you have in
theory have your very own weights machine.
All good judo clubs will build strength and strength endurance
training into a session. Non judo specific exercises should
include press up's that help strengthen the upper body in
particular the deltoids, triceps and pectorals, Sit up's that
help burn fat and build muscle around the abdominal area, and
Squats which help strengthen the quadriceps and calf muscles
within the leg.
Speed and Agility.
Speed and agility are both innate human traits that all humans
are born with. Speed is dependent on the amount of fast twitch
muscle fibres within the human body. For example a man with a
small amount of fast twitch muscles could train all his life
but never be as fast as an untrained man with a very high
amount of fast twitch muscles.
However it is possible to improve speed and agility by
maximising the muscle fibres within the human body
neurologically. One way judo helps do this is through Uchi
Komi. By turning in and out repeatedly the muscles become more
reliable to repeat the movement more smoothly. This is because
uchi komi enhances the central nervous system's ability to
activate the agonist.
Stamina.
Good stamina can be considered as the basic form of fitness
and Judo like all endurance type sports will without question
build stamina whether you are a sedentary person aiming to get
fit or an already active person looking for a new challenge.
Whether you are warming up, taking part in a randori session
or competing at a top class competition judo combines both the
aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Aerobic workouts work
within the presents of oxygen thus increasing stamina levels.
Flexibility.
Flexibility is defined as the range of movement around a joint
and participating in judo would arguably improve even the most
immobile of participants.
Warm up's on the mat raise body temperature and the stretching
and joint movement involved with uchi komi improves the
elasticity around joints, and therefore improving the
flexibility of the judoka.
Judo is one of only a handful of
sports that can have a genuine claim to improve all of the
above physical attributes for example sprinters need huge
amounts of strength and speed but little stamina, Rugby
forwards need a combination of strength, power and stamina but
have relatively poor flexibility, the same can be said about
Olympic cyclists. Judo may not make you the strongest,
quickest or most flexible athlete in the world but it
unquestionably gives you a combination of all of them making
it an excellent sport to get into shape.
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