The temporal structure of judo bouts in visually impaired men and women

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the temporal structure of judo bouts in visually impaired men and women (n = 117 judokas in the senior category; 92 men and 25 women). We developed a data recording system based on the temporal parameters of judo and applied it to a broad sample of international bouts (n = 219; 184 between men and 35 between women). The descriptive analysis of frequency of occurrence revealed that most of the bouts ended before the time-up bell sounded (81% men/74% women). Other defining features are shown in the following mean values (for men/women): the total bout time was 266/242 s; the total time paused was 158/172 s; the total time spent in standing combat was 82/54 s (P = 0.008), while that of floor combat was 60/84 s (P = 0.021); each bout had 6.9/5.7 paused sequences with a duration of 19.6/21.1 s, and 12.4/11.7 active sequences with a duration of 22/19.7 s. The sequential analysis by means of T-patterns (THEME) confirmed that the temporal structure of judo is not the same for men and women, thereby highlighting the need for a range of training methods matched to the needs of visually impaired competitors.

Keywords:

• Observation
• judo
• visually impaired
• T-patterns

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Spanish government project Avances tecnológicos y metodológicos en la automatización de estudios observacionales en deporte (Dirección General de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), Grant PSI2008-01179.  The authors are grateful to all the judokas who took part in this study, and would also like to thank the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and the Spanish Blind Sports Federation (FEDC) for allowing them to record the bouts.