ABSTRACT
Judo is characterised by short-duration, high-intensity, intermittent exercise (NCCP, 1990; Callister et al., 1991; Ebine et al., 1991; Takahashi, 1992; Nunes, 1997) followed by periods of constant pulling, pushing, lifting, grappling and gripping movements in preparation for the next explosive effort. The movement patterns primarily consist of grappling the costume via lapel, collar and/or sleeve in order to gain dominance so that subsequent short bursts of effort can exploit this advantageous position. Such sparring can occur either in the standing or ground positions depending on the situation, tactics or individual strengths and weaknesses of the judo player. Sikorski et al. (1987) categorised judo work into four separate phases 0-10 s, 11-20 s, 21-30 s and greater than 30 s. The highest frequency of activity (39%) was in the 11-20 s range with 80% of rest/breaks in the 0-10 s range. NCCP (1990) reported periods of 10-30 s work with a 10-15 s periods of active recovery. In another study, Sikorski et al. (1987) reported that the mean period of work time did not exceed 25 s and rest periods were no more than 10 s in duration. Their research illustrated that attacks occurred every 10-15 s.
