Defensive actions of world top judoists

Defensive actions of world top judoists The objective of this work was to define and determine the effectiveness of defensive actions applied in judo fighting. The study was based on recordings of final fights from Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup (2005-2008). Actions of female and male contestants participating in total of 56 fights were analyzed (to an accuracy of 10-second-periods of time). All actions, including attacks, counter-attacks and defense without counter-attack, were recorded and their effectiveness, preparatory actions, breaks and the referees' decisions were evaluated. Altogether fights of 95 contestants were subjected to analysis. According to the author's classification of defensive actions, 12 types of defense without counter-attack were defined as follows: (1) hand block, (2) hip block, (3) maneuvering around, (4) twist onto abdomen, (5) hand and hip block, (6) hand block and maneuvering around, (7) stepping aside, (8) separation from grasp, (9) leaving the mat, (10) leg entanglement, (11) bridge, (12) return to tachi-waza (escape from ne-waza). Types of defense most often applied according to the study - hand block and twist onto abdomen - were the least effective (93% and 70% respectively). Ashi-waza and te-waza were throws most often applied as counter-attack. However, sutemi-waza throws were most effectively (50%) applied. Highly effective counter-attacks (28%) should serve as a clue for coaches and athletes at the competitive level. The rules set forth by professor Jigoro Kano (among others: "give up in order to win") may not be adequate for today's competition.


Introduction
The effectiveness of the training process is evaluated by the results achieved during championship competitions. Sports success is influenced by motor, mental, technical and tactical preparation. As numerous scientific articles have proven, judo contestants competing at the highest level of sports championship do not differ much from one another regarding the level of motor fitness (Little, 1991;Sterkowicz et al., 2000;Degoutte et al., 2003;Krstulovic et al., 2006), body build and body composition (Claessens et al., 1987;Sertic et al., 2006), or mental traits (Callister et al., 1991;Filaire et al., 2001). The most differentiating factors concern technical and tactical abilities. Their acquisition is the effect of many years of training, as well as numerous fights during tournaments and practice. It was proven that surpassing opponents with motor fitness is not the key factor in determining victory in unarmed combats (Kalina et al., 2005).
The analysis of fight tactics was primarily concerned with the frequency of using particular attacks (throws, holdings) (Matsumoto et al., 1978;Adam, 2007Carratala Deval, et al., 2010). More rarely, the subject of analysis concerned preparatory actions (Poluhin et al., 2006;Schaliacho, 2007). Endeavors to perform detailed classifications of defensive actions of judokas were, however, not undertaken. It should be emphasized that defensive effectiveness in a judo fight is of considerably higher importance than attack effectiveness (Kalina et al., 2004;Boguszewski, 2006Boguszewski, , 2010. Therefore, increased interest of theoreticians and coaches in the discussion seems to be fully justified.
The purpose of the research was to define and determine the effectiveness of defense actions most commonly used in judo fights by the best athletes in the world.

Material and Methods
The research utilized the methods of direct, secondary and multiple observations. The   Figure 2). The frequency and effectiveness of using particular means of defense were similar in the group of women and men -statistically significant differences were not stated (adequately: p=0.140 and p=0.171, respectively).
Women used maneuvering around more frequently and more effectively, and men preferred hip blocks.  In all weight categories (men and women), the twist onto belly was used least effectively. In the middle weight categories of women, they were the only group to not execute the twist onto belly with 100% effectiveness. were executed by throws from the sutemi-waza group (sacrifice throws), including the sumigaeshi. They were, however, the most rarely used means of defensive strategies (6.25% of the total counterattacks). The most often used were hand throws -te-waza (50% of the total counterthrows), among which the te-guruma dominated.
Nearly every third action from the te-waza group was successful (31.25% effective). The least effectively used were goshi throws (Figure 3).
Counterattack attempts were more often undertaken by women than men. In the group of women, the effectiveness of this type of action was also higher (p=0.07). The most often counter throws by contestants in the analyzed fights were foot and leg throws by the ashi-waza group.
Among them, the least secure were ko-soto-gake and ko-soto-gari (from the ashi-waza group) and tani-otoshi (from the sutemi-waza group) and teguruma (from the te-waza group). The most effective counter throws were sacrifice throws, as seen in the sutemi-waza group. All of their countering attempts were successful (Figure 4 and 5). Counter-effectiveness was most often seen in the tani-otoshi throws (from the sutemi-waza group), sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi and ko-soto-gari (from the ashi-waza group), kata-guruma (from the te-waza group) and harai-goshi (from the goshi-waza group).

Figure 4
Countered throws and effectively countered throws (among female judoists)

Figure 5
Countered throws and effectively countered throws (among male judoists) © Editorial Committee of Journal of Human Kinetics The least effective (0% effectiveness) were attempts to counter kuchiki-taoshi throws (from the te-waza group) and de-ashi-barai (from the ashi-waza group). Slight differences (but not statistically significant, p=0.351) were noted for groups of women and men. The most often counter throws by female contestants were hip throws (Figure 4), while male contestants, most commonly used foot and leg throws ( Figure 5).
Research has proven that sports activities by female and male contestants do not differ much (Boguszewski & Boguszewska, 2006;Boguszewski, 2010), despite obvious differences in their body built or physiological factors (Laskowski, 2009). Moreover, judo is especially a self-defense system. Having a utilitarian aspect, defensive actions of a woman and a man should be equally fast and efficient (Bukowiecka et al., 2006). Developing defensive skills is one of the most important part of technical training. Every combat sports training should include ethical, philosophical and theoretical values. It should also be directed at maintaining physical fitness and consolidation of self-defense skills (Harasymowicz, 2007). Judo is not only an Olympic sport, but an martial art and a way of life (Shishida, 2010

High effectiveness of counterattacks (28%)
should be a hint for coaches and athletes to make specialized training close to judo principles defined by Professor Jigoro Kano (e.g., "withdraw to win").
4. High counter-effectiveness of sacrifice throws proves only the apparent security of these actions.