versione inglese

BRUNO CARMENI

JUDO

For Visually

Impaired Athletes

January 1997

[Published by IJF and online at http://before.ijf.org/whatnew/links/blind.rtf]

With many thanks to Dr. Matteo Pellicone,

President of the Italian Wrestling, Weight, Judo

and Karate Federation, for having contributed to

publish this work.

C.O.N.I.

F.I.S.D.

F.I.L.P.J.K.

Mutual help which leads

to mutual benefice.

J. Kano

Introduction

A fact which is apparently paradoxical, even though ophthalmology has had progresses and prevention initiatives have been reinforced in different countries, the number of blinds keeps increasing. Such phenomenon has many and quite complex causes, among which:

1. wars - you just need to turn the TV on or to read newspapers in order to find out how many people have lost their sight, this however can only partially explain disabled people's increase;

2. environmental polution - it is one of the diseases of our century, which along with a great number of car accidents, industrial ones and food poisoning causes problems to the optical nerve;

3. demographic increase - children's death and so the one of elders is diminishing, therefore population increases. However reduced elders' death, due to medicine's modern progresses, has also increased the number of living elders. In industrialized countries about two thirds of deaths are associated with elders' illnesses;

4. welfare - everybody knows how dangerous eye complications are due to diabetes. It is considered to be one of welfare's diseases. During war time, when people did not eat much and often people suffered hunger, diabetes almost disappeared. There is also alcohol's poisoning, which creates the so called after-effects of the optical nerve atrophy.

To conclude what has been said, a census may not be neglected. Today there are statistics, which give us society's image, population's health and at the same time a feeling for humanitarian duty is getting more and more reinforced, in order to help who has a handicap. But to do so it is important to know what necessities blinds have, people who in the past resigned to spend their lives being abbandoned and ignored.

Today the visually impaired is not anymore locked up in his institute, but participates at computer courses, some are employed in public offices, others are free laborers, others become successfull politicians, or famous through music, others are specialized in physiotherapy and so on.

A great percentage gets in touch with sports and may so express their qualities as great champions. The 1st Paralimpic Congress and Paralimpics of Barcelona (1992) have been a great sport success and have made an important point, that an impaired athlete is recognized overall for what he can do and for what he is, i.e. an athlete with outstanding qualities.

One of the main claims of the International Blinds Sports Association (IBSA) is that each person should be treated the same way. Each should have the same rights, freedom and priviledges.

If someone should be in some way impaired, it is not a reason to treat him less favorably, with prejudices, nor should the rights and freedom to get away from such prejudices and discriminations be taken away.

Nowadays it is quite difficult to advise someone with normal abilities on which sport to practise, therefore it is even harder to do when it comes to an impaired person, even though he surely benefits much more from physical activity.

People with visual impairement, because of their disability, tend to assume an attitude of hyperlordosis and protrusion of the abdomen, since they have lost their sense of orientation and are afraid to fall or to trip over objects.

Sport helps them to develop a sense of spatial orientation, hearing sensitivity, touch and muscle sensitivity, compensating so the absence of sight.

An old poetry says:

Judo has water's nature.

Water flows in order to reach

a balanced level.

It does not have its own form,

but it takes the one of the container which contains it.

It may not be tamed and penetrates everywhere.....

If this is true, it is a mistake to state that being visually impaired is an impedment to practise judo.

As a matter of fact a judoka never stares at opponent's eyes while competing, since he is concentrated in order to find the strength and the favorable position to attack or to defend himself from it.

Blind judokas do not have any difficulty to find out about these body sensations. Perceiving opponent's strength and action is what allows to chose the right move instead of another one.

Many years ago, judo experts blindfolded themselves during their technical performances, in order to show that eyesight does not play an overwhelming role while performing this sport. Old Japanese masters have always said, that while practising judo it is important to feel opponent's attack through the grip on the kimono.

Prof. Kano has summarized judo's aims by saying: Judo is the best way to give a value to body's physical and spiritual strength.

Through continuous physical exercise of attacks and defenses, body and spirit perfectioning may be obtained; furthermore, judo's spiritual essence will become part of you.

In this way you will be able to perfection yourself and you will give your contribution to improve humanity.

This is, in other words, what judo practice's aim is. Whoever intends to follow this way before all will have to permeate his soul with these teachings.

1. VISUAL CLASSIFICATION AND ATHLETIC SUITABILITY

1.1 Foreword

Who is the disabled? The disabled is a person vith an impairment, which can be more or less heavy and stable, therefore he is not a sick person, but someone who shows the results of a disease, which can in some cases be partially cured through therapy, physiotherapy and sport.

Impaired people who practise sports are divived according to their disability . There are six international organizations, which rule over competions, sanction categories, underlining athletes' functionality almost without considering disease's causes.

The International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) is one of these six international organizations, it is the one that takes care of blind or visually impaired athletes, those who have lost or partially lost eyesight, due to either congenital or acquired causes.

Visual impairment can be defined as a loss of eyesight, which admits different degrees. While blindness is defined as a total loss of eyesight, including light perception without projection. People having such impairment have a sensory disability and are therefore whole when it comes to their physical aspect.

1.2 Visual classification

There are different levels of visual impairment and each condition influences sight in a particular and distinct way. Being visually impaired does not necessarily mean a total loss of sight. Some people might distinguish the difference between light and dark. Others see as if there would be a big white curtain in front of them. Others will never see a complete figure, either only the upper or lower part, or only sideways, as if there would always be a big black dot in the center of their eyes. For others there is nothing else than a very small light dot. Others do not see anything at all. These are only few examples of visual impairment.

It is very important to understand up to what degree a person is visually impaired. Some might have fluctuating sight, while others might loose sight gradually, due to a degenerative disease. It is always better to ask all necessary information on the sight of such people. It may help in order to decide what teaching method to apply and what ideas or modifications are the most appropriate ones. It is good to keep in mind, that not always the visually impaired person is willing to talk freely about sight loss's causes.

Many people with weak sight see in a different way. Some see exploring the object, others by turning slowly their head in order to locate objects or people. Others turn their head in order to see with the end of their eye. Some people see better by not looking directly at the object.

Very often people who are partially sighted have the same or even more difficulties than blind ones, especially because they have to focus on what surrounds them. This might be due to different reasons, among which the difficulty to judge distances. Words which are used to indicate differences between one and the others are:

1. blind;

2. legally blind;

3. partially sighted;

4. 10/10 vision;

5. visually impaired

The term visually impaired is an all inclusive term, it refers to the full range of legal blindness from partially sighted to totally blind. Within the partially sighted range there are persons with low partial and high partial vision. The distinction between totally blind and partially sighted needs to be kept in mind as the needs of each person are very different.

Persons with a disability are usually comfortable with words used to describe daily living activities. People who are visually impaired see what you mean and are glad to see you.

Who is the legally blind? People who fall within the legally blind range are usually described as totally blind or partially sighted (low vision). Within the partially sighted category, people may be further described as high partials or low partials. About 80% classified as legally blind actually have some useable vision. The environment such person is in will determine the amount of support required. Some people might not need assistance while walking or sitting.

Support might be required for successfull participation in physical education however due to the dynamic nature of learning activities.

Individuals are legally blind if their field of vision is 20 degrees or less, or their visual acuity is 6/60 or less, in the best eye using the best possible correction.

Another division defines five visually impairment classes from 3/10th to total blindness. In order to define these classes two parameters have been used; central visual acuity and field of vision.

First class - partially sighted with inferior visus to 3/10th or superior or equal to 1/10th and with visual field between 60 and 20 grades;

second class - partially sighted with visus between 10/10th and 1/20th included or with visual field between 20 and 10 grades;

third class - partially sighted with visus between 1/20th and 1/50th included or with visual field inferior to 5 grades;

fourth class - visus inferior to 1/50th or with visual field inferior to 5 grades;

fifth class - total blindness with no possibility to perceive light.

From health's point of view being partially sighted creates more problems than being blind, not only because of the greater number but also because of the great variety of partial sight itself.

It is important to know that sight function is not only tied to visual acuity or visual field, it has different components:

- feeling of light;

- adaptation to light;

- contrast sensibility;

- chromatic sense;

- visual sensation (elementary answer of centers to visual stimulus);

- form perception;

- visual perception ( mental work on visual sensation, connected to information registered

within memory);

- visual field (difficult to be quantified in grade because there might be sectorial

reductions).

It is clear that all single troubles, which have an influence on visual bad functioning, need to be added to all these physiological bases of partially sighted people

Even though in sports there used to be different classifications according to blind associations, in March 1982 IBSA has sanctioned the following universal classification method:

B1 = from the non-existence of light perception in both eyes to some light perception, but with the inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction;

B2 = from the ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to a visual acuity of 2/60 and a vision field of less than five degrees;

B3 = a visual acuity from 2/60 to 6/60 and/or a vision field between five degrees and twenty degrees.

By using a classification of three categories, athletes are quite well represented, even though it is not to be considered as perfect and unchangeable, since there are always limit cases, which are hard to be classified.

It has been proved, that judo is one of the most convenient sports for integration, even though above mentioned classification exists, all athletes compete together (thing that does not happen within most other IBSA sports) and most of the times they practise at ease with athletes without visual impairment.

1.3 Athletic suitability

Sport's medicine is based on prevention, therefore there is the need to evaluate potential athletes' suitability for an activity involving competitions, which at the same time gives psycho/physical benefits, especially to disabled athletes, more than to normal ones.

The most important legislative result of the last years in Italy is that disabled athletes have been allowed to compete. Recognizing health's safeguard sanctions even more the value of disabled sport activities. Here below existing laws concerning the matter:

Italian Health Department

Decree dd 4th March 1993

Defining files for suitability concession concerning competitive practice of sports of the disabled.

The Health Minister

Considering the law dd 26th October 1971, Nr. 1099, Health defence of sport activities;

Considering the law dd 23rd December 1978, Nr. 833, Institution of National Health Service;

Considering Decree dd 18th February 1982, Norms for health defence of competitvie sport acitvities;

Considering the law dd 5th February 1992, Nr. 104, Legge Quadro for the assistance, social integration and rights of disabled people.

Considers the necessity, according to the Art. nr. 23 of the Law dd 5th February 1992, nr. 104, to define the files for suitability concession concerning competitive practice of sports:

Decrees

Art. 1

In order to defend health, those people who have a physical and/or psychological and/or neurosensorial handicap, who practise a competitive sport, must have a check-up beforehand in order to get suitability for the sport they pratise or intend to practise. Such control has to be periodically done each year or in a shorter period of time when required by the doctors. The qualification as athlete for those disabled who practise a sport is within the Italian Disabled Sports Federation's (FISD) responsability or of those institutions promoting sports, which are recognized by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).

Art. 2

The verification of suitability, in order to start different sport activities for disabled, is determined by doctors according to Art. 5, last comma, of the Decree dd 30th December 1979, Nr. 663, which has become law 33/80.

Art. 3

In order to recognize specific suitability for different sports, the interested person has to undergo health check-ups as per enclosure 1. The visiting doctor, however, has the right to require further specific health tests based on reasonable clinical doubts.

If the chosen sport activity is not considered in enclosure 1, it has to be assimilated with the one that presents most similarities, with the aim to procede with health check-ups to be done.

If the athlete practises several sports, he has to undergo only one physical check-up for suitability. The visit in this case will include all inquiries of the various sports he practises.

Art. 4

During health check-up as per Art.3, the athlete will have to present himself with a health certificate, which has been issued by a public health center or a conventioned one, and certifying the pathology which is responsbile for the handicap.

Art. 5

To those who are recognized as suitable, a certificate of suitability will be issued according to the model as per Art. 2, the validity of such certificate remains up to next periodical check-up. In order to be members of the FISD or of other institutions which are recognized by the CONI, it is absolutely necessary to have such certificate.

Art. 6

Concerning suitability of deaf and dumb people, the entire norm of the Decree dd 18th February 1982 is applied, with exclusion of hearing evaluation.

Art. 7

Escort athletes, who guide visually impaired ones, have to undergo check-ups which are foreseen according to the Decree dd 18th February 1982, concerning chosen sports by blind or partially sighted athletes.

Art. 8

If after health check-ups according to Art.3, there should be a judgement of non-suitability, temporary or definitive, to practise a specific sport, the negative outcome indicating the diagnosis on which the judgement has been based on (enclosure 3) will be comunicated to the interested athlete within 15 days, to the competent regional office and to the Regional Medical Commission, foreseen by the Decree dd 18th February 1982.

Only the negative outcome will be comunicated to the club to which the athlete belongs to. Through the negative judgement the interested person may within 30 days after reception of the comunication of non-suitability, propose a recourse to a.m. Regional Commission, which is composed by:

a specialized sports doctor, who is also the President;

a specialized doctor for interiors or similar subjects;

a specialized cardiologist;

a specialized orthopaedic surgeon;

a specialized doctor in legal medicine and insurances.

The commission may, according to the different cases to check, consult personnel who is specialized in the specific matter they are working on.

Art. 9

The following Decree has been published in the Official Paper of the Italian Republic.

Rome, 4th March 1993 The Minister: COSTA

ENCLOSURE 1

Health controls and their periodicity

Sport activities for disabled people are divided into two groups according to muscle and heart-breathing efforts:

slight - moderate; high

Slight - moderate effort activities (table A):

car races karting; table tennis;

boccia, bowling; shooting, archery;

fencing; yachting.

High effort activities (table B):

track; swimming, water-polo;

sub; handball, volleyball;

wheelchair basketball; modern pentathlon;

soccer, goalball, torball; alpine sky;

canoe, rowing; cross-country sky;

cycling, horseback riding; sledge;

judo, wrestling; powerlifting;

tennis.

Concerning sports of table A (slight-moderate) following check-ups are compulsory and are to be done each year (unless there are specific requirements from doctors):

1) Physical check-up, to be done according to explanations which are already contained in the Decree dd 18th February 1982, to which a specific eye check-up needs to be added in the case of blind or partially sighted people, with the aim to define visual acuity and field;

2) Electrocardiogram (ECG) without effort;

3) Urine test (*).

Besides a.m. check-ups following tests are compulsory:

for shooting: ear, nose and throat tests;

for car races and karting: periodical neurologic check-up and only during the first check-up also electroencephalogram, blood test and RH factor.

(*) In the case of people with medullary damage (tetraplegics, paraplegics, people with damaged spine and other pathologies such as neurologic bladder) the urine test has to necessarily be integrated by sediment test and azotemia and creatinimia tests.

Concerning sports listed in Table B (high effort) following tests are compulsory, to be done each year (unless there are specific requirements by doctors):

2) Electrocardiogram (ECG) with and without effort (*);

3) Spirometer;

4) Complete urine test (**);

5) XR of skeletric segments in amputies every two years and only if such segments are directly involved in sport movements.

Besides a.m. check-ups following tests are compulsory:

Sub: ear, nose and throat tests and electroencephalogram;

for those who practise: horseback riding, alpine sky, sledge, cycling, swimming, water-polo and however for all those with brain damage a periodical neurological test and at the first check-up electroencephalogram.

(*) The ECG with effort has to be done with continuous video checking during and after effort of at least one electrocardiographic derivation, using:

A) In subjects with use of lower members, the step test (3 minutes of time and step level according to height) or power machine (with increasing weights up to reaching a high cardiac frequency, which varies according to age);

B) In subjects with the only use of upper members, the ergometro a manovella or a rullo. In this case the test has to be done with increasing weights up to reaching a high cardiac frequency, which varies according to age.

In subjects above 35 years the test has to be done at the maximum, and for such reason it is necessary to use a cicloergometro or the ergometro a manovella or a rullo.

If there are real difficulties due to the handicap (lack of coordination while moving, severe member damage, ect), and it is impossible to do the ECG under effort according to a.m. way, any other physiological test may be used: if cardiac frequency's limit is not reached it will not be considered during suitability judgement.

(**) In subjects with medullar damage (tetraplegics, paraplegics, people with damaged spine and other pathologies such as neurologic bladder) the urine test has to be integrated by sediment test and azotemia and creatinimia tests.

Considerations.

The official recognition of suitability of disabled athletes in order to practise sports decrees officially that from a medical point of view disabled people may practise all forms of sports.

Suitability of disabled athletes has ended long discussions, in other words sport for disabled people is not and does not have to be considered only a social therapy, but has to be used in order to understand how some sport disciplines may develop without humiliating an athlete.

Some doctors did not favour sport activities for disabled, according to them sport was only usefull to socialize, therefore it was used to lock people with the same disability up in the same environment, without any stimulous. Even though on a national and international level (see Regional Championships, World Championships and Paralimpics) competition sports are more and more spread among people with a disability.

As a matter of fact, through activities, games and competitive sports disabled people certainly gain benefits both from a psychological and physical point of view.

1.4 Visual perception

From a research done on 50 athletes by the Spanish Institute for Visually Impaired (ONCE), the following conclusions have been drawn concerning most frequent causes for visual impairment:

While for some vision is a sensory process that must be completed at the level of the cortex, for others this second part is worth a distinction and is called visual perception, distinguishing thus between image (visual) and the processing of this image (visual perception).

In 1982 Frosting stated that visual perception is the ability to recognize and discriminate visual stimuli and to interpret them by association with earlier experiences (visual or otherwise). He asserts that visual perception has five basic faculties:

1. Visual/motor coordination - this is the ability to coordinate vision with body movement or parts of it;

2. Figure/background perception - this is the ability to differentiate:

a) the object that is the center of our attention;

b) what surrounds us;

c) the light source;

3. Perceptual constance - these are the invariable properties of an object despite the variability of its image on the retina of the eye;

4. Position in space - this is the relationship in space of an object with regard to the spectator;

5. Spacial relationship - this is the ability of an observer to receive the position of two or more objects in relation to him with regard of the ones to the others.

Therefore, visual perception is the ability to interpret what is seen, the skill at processing and comprehending all the information received through the sense of sight.

Both visual impairment and perception will have an influence on spatial and psychomotor development of visually impaired people.

Table n° 1

Visual Impairment Causes

CAUSE

Stargardt's disease

Congenital glaucoma

Athrophy of the optic nerve

Macular degeneration

Congenital cataracts

Progressive myopia

Retinitis pigmentosa

Detached retina

Persistance of the Hyaline membrane

Albinoism

Daltonism

Bechet's disease

Chorioretinitis

2. BODY ANALISYS

There is an important difference, which unfortunately is not always recognized, between oriental arts and common fights. The distinction does not only concern competence and technique; oriental arts were born as part of an entire educational system, which final aim was and is to completely change pupil's being.

Most of the times these roots are forgotten, underestimated or either completely abbandoned, even though spiritual dimension is the heart of all oriental arts.

2.1 Two cultures being compared

One of the main differences between western culture and the traditional oriental one is the attitude towards body.

In the western world there is a basic splitting between mind and body. According to the traditional Christian dogma body is something without any value, something to handle and to humiliate, so that the soul is freed from all compulsions.

The modern scientific point of view strengthens such splitting. Most important values are: mind, rational thinking and intellectual activities; the body is only the carrier of the mind; emotions exist only to confuse logical clearness and the body is only felt when it does not function well.

In eastern culture it is the opposite, all wide spread traditions affirm the existence of a basic unity. Body and mind, spirit and matter, male and female work together in harmony in universe. Purification and body's health in order to reach spirit are as important as pure thoughts.

Knowledge does not have a high value, if it is not felt as thought. As a matter of fact logical thoughts do not have an outstanding place among structure of things, they are even considered to be a hindrance during different kind of experiences. Most basic meditations concentrate only on simple body sensations.

These two totally different attitudes do also exist, of course on a lower level, within the person itself. It is of vital importance to find a solution to such splitting, in order to achieve physical and cultural health. And it is quite obvious that it is hard to start out on oriental arts, if this wound has not somehow been cured within our psyche.

In every myth, religion, in a big part of philosophy and even at the roots of scientific ideas, there is the great fundamental awareness of a twofold nature, which is within human conscience and within universe, on which it shows.

Such dualism has recently been underlined by a scientific discovery on human brain, the right side and the left side of the brain, which control the opposite sides of the body, have different functions:

the left side: deals with speach, concepts, rational aspects, experience;

the right side: deals with the non verbal, artistic and intuitive dimension

2.2. Analisys of the word body

We will here try to analyse the word body in order to find out what it really means. We can take for granted what we already know, but as for most things there are different ways to look at it.

We can look at it from the outside. This is the rational point of view. The body (also the own one) is considered an external object among other ones, which has a dimension, a weight, a form, a colour and moves. What exists within the body can be felt by touching from the outside, but to have a better view it is necessary to cut it, in order to find muscles, bones, organs and so on, including the brain (grey matter in the skull, weighing about one kilo and two hundred grams).

From this point of view, the body may be recognized as the external aspect of spirit or knowledge; facial expressions and positions of the body show states of mind and even form and dimensions of various parts of the body, as stated Alexander in the treaty on Bioenergetic and Technique.

When it comes to judo, this point of view underlines posture and speed of arms and legs, acuracy of the technique and strength, which is developped through movement.

From another point of view the body is felt instead of seen from the outside; but leaving the description here would not last, since not only our bodies, but also the ones of the others and so all bodies of all existing things, organic and inorganic ones can be felt.

People who massage others can feel tensions on the bodies and on those areas which need to be relaxed; this happens without looking, but through an interior intuitive sensation, which is the same as the one with which we feel our own body.

2.3 Posture and reflexes

We are all aware, including athletes, that reflexes are used while practising sports; their technical evolution is acquired after long and hard practice, being in harmony with natural biological laws.

The first advice, which is given to traditional Japanese wrestler's sumo is to put the chin on the neck.

Master Mifune (10th dan, who died in the 60's) said the same thing, that techniques do not work if the athletes do not control chin's right position.

The interpration of such statement is, that if the chin touches the neck, the tension of all muscles of the body and the arms and legs will increase, particularly those which are used to bend the body forward; this is one of the biological reflexes.

Another example is given with muscles' reflexes on the neck, which are quite important; a research has been done by watching a diver at normal speed and then in slow motion and it was amazing to see how well he has used neck's reflexed action while diving.

After having jumped forward, he returned on the back once he had gone under water; at the beginning the head was bent backward and then by taking the chin back, the diver balanced his body very well in order to turn it into a somersault. Divers commonly call this head work.

Neck's reflexed action takes place by using the head, which right after streches the body by helping rotation speed of the same.

After having done a research on head work while working on arm techniques seoi nage, it has been noted that the head is upward while the arms are streched and stiff and that the chin returns toward the neck when the arms are bent and soft. Neck's reflexed action is perfectly on line with arm and body movements.

A second example concerning reflexed action can be found if we consider archery. While the head is turned towards the shoulder, the arm next to the chin is streched and the other one is curved; this is due to the biological reflexed action.

For the same reason, while playing tennis the straight hand is better than the backhand, since this last movement is opposite to neck's natural reflex.

There is also internal ear's reflexed action, which besides all other functions has the task to keep the head straight (which means to have a balanced body).

If the head is bent, balance will fail according to neck's reflexed action principles and instability will get worse through hip and abdomen's reflexes.

It could happen that neck's reflex has the opposite effect instead of preventing head position's instable balance, but only up to a certain limit. If the movement goes beyond it, the reflex will help the body to completely loose its balance.

There is another interesting thing to note concerning internal ear's reflex . If we should throw a cat into the air, it would immediatly regain its balance and never fall on its back.

This movement has been watched on slow motion and it has been noted that the head of the cat is the first one to return into its initial position and neck's twisting, which is produced through the reflex, is the one that gives its balance and at the same time the cat stretches (or bends) its four legs.

These movements are not intentional, they are automatic because of a biological reflex. The cat is one of the most responding animals to such reflex, therefore it is often called devil.

Of course for human beings, things are not as easy as for animals, since our ear reflex function has degenerated.

When birds fly biological reflex becomes important. Human beings do not need such reflexed function, which can even become annoying and is known as air sickness.

Reflexed function is commonly used while practising sports, but it is different for every one and can be stimulated through a lot of practice.

2.4 Psychomotor ability's basic elements

It is difficult to reach definitions that cover all current thought on this matter and a universally accepted definition has still not been found. The most elementary form of defining psychomotor ability is to consider it one of the branches of psychology, referring to one of an individual's form of adaptation to the outside world: motor ability.

From this point of view in 1963 Stamback stated that psychomotor ability deals with the role of movement in general, psychological organization, establishing the connection between psychology and neurophysiology.

For Quiros and Schrager, while motor ability is basically the ability to generate movement (movement being understood to be any action that allows displacement from one site or space to another and the resulting effects), psychomotor ability is essentially movement education, or by movement, that procures a better use of psychic abilities. Of course, in order to achieve this goal, psychomotor ability appeals to appropriate behavioral, perceptual, postural development and learning.

In psychomotor ability, the nucleus is body's structure, which is defined as mental image of one's own body, at rest or in motion, thanks to which subjects situate themselves in the world. It is therefore a representation.

Body information is of partricular interest in psychomotor ability. Two notions are essential for this information: a perception of oneself and body's image.

A perception of oneself refers to the information on movements or position provided by nervous or sensory organs. On the other hand, body's image refers to the recording and storage of said information in the body, provided in part by the body itself and in part by environmental influences or pressures.

Involved in both concepts are: position, tone, behaviour, attitude, balance and coordination.

Visually impaired people might show particular behaviors such as: step irregularities, these might be too long or to short; feet dragging and so walking out of square, which means that heels tend to touch. Another interesting thing to note, is the position of the hands while walking. Most of the times the hands are forward at the same level of the face and fingers are bent. Or one hand is at the same level of the face and the other one of the belt, both palms toward the outside.

It may also be noted, that while standing a blind child is easily unbalanced towards the front, the back or the sides, changing his body weight from one foot to the other. This attitude is not due to a neurologic cause, but to blindness itself. This moving attitude is due to a sensory isolation or because of inadequate received environmental stimulations. Other shown attitudes could be agressivity towards oneself and the most frequent one is the one of the child pushing his fingers into his eyes.

Among blinds it is also easy to see habits and characteristic ways that show an unconscious protection, like for example a blind child remains in many occasions standing without moving because he is afraid of what surrounds him; this still-standing is one of the most common characteristics among blinds.

2.5 Alignment evaluation of the standing position

Some studies have been done concerning body alignment in a standing position, with following results:

Body alignment is of paramount importance in functional efficacy, and through specific exercises, it allows the prevention of chronic disabilities, that would end by limiting individuals' normal function.

Data obtained in the analysis and evaluation of body alignment in the standing position in visually impaired people reveals disturbances. These are more apparent in totally blind persons B1, while partially sighted people B2 and B3 have better body alignment. Through the obtained data it is interesting to analyze the most obvious disturbances:

1) anteroposterior balance is deviated forward in many cases, with a backward displacement of the center of gravity, which is normally found at the level of the second vertebra sacra;

2) lateral balance is found in a lesser number of cases, to be deviated to either the right or the left;

3) the head is in most cases tilted forward;

4) the thorax is asymmetric in 35% of totally blind athletes;

5) the level of the shoulders is at a different height in a good number of cases;

6) the spine presents important disturbances. The physiological curves of the spine (cervical, dorsal and lumbar) tend to be accentuated, increasing the dorsal curve of posterior convexity (kyphosis) and the lumber curve of posterior concavity (hyperlordosis). Kypholordosis is the combination of the two deviations and is normally associated with visually impaired persons. Lateral deviation of the spine (scoliosis) is also common, and is normally postural, but if it is allowed to evolve, it will become structural;

7) in a high percentage of cases, the pelvis is asymmetric, due to a shortening of one of the lower limbs. A characteristic feature that appears nearly simultaneously in the totally blind athletes is an anteverted pelvis;

8) the legs appear to show no important differences in their alignment with regard to the normal population; except as regards the position of the knees, which are flexed in a not insignificant percentage;

9) disturbances of the feet are notable, concretely among totally blind athletes, nearly 75% have flat and/or pronate feet. In partially blind athletes, disturbances have a more homogeneous distribution and we found flat, contracted, pronate and supinate feet. The incidence of these disturbances are obvious in both groups, which makes it necessary for physicians who are in contact with this population to devote special attention to examination of the feet in order to proceed with orthopedic correction.

Individuals with poor alignment frequently have certain muscles and muscle groups that are shortened. A primary causal factor could be an adaptive change in length due to a customary position or use of the muscle. Specific tests were used to study each muscle group, evaluating its amplitude of movement.

Disturbances in mobility are most frequently found in totally blind athletes and muscles most frequently found to be shortened were: spine extensors, flexors, adductors and external rotators of the hip and the knee flexors.

Table n° 2

Standing position alignment evaluation table

50 athletes evaluated = 20/B1 e 30/B2

POSITION		ALIGNMENT	B1	B2
anteroposterior		forward	12	10
balance		backward	00	3
		normal	8	17
lateral		left	4	5
balance		right	5	7
		no deviation	11	18
head		hanging	13	13
		tilted	4	2
thorax		no deviation	7	16
		symmetric	12	20
		asymmetric	8	10
shoulder		high (right/left)	9	12
level		same height	11	18
spine		kyphosis	7	7
		lordosis	9	9
		scoliosi	7	12
		normal	6	15
pelvis		symmetric	11	20
		asymmetric	9	10
		forward	12	9
		backward	00	00
	legs	genu valgus	5	7
		genu varus	4	6
		hyperextention	2	3
		flexion	7	9
		normal alignment	6	13
retroversion	feet	flat	10	8
inferior limbs		contracted	00	5
		pronation	7	6
		supination	2	5
	toes	normal	5	12
		hallux valgus	5	6
		hammer toes	4	5

Evaluation concerning frequently shortened muscles

50 evaluated athletes = 20/B1 e 30/B2

			B1	B2
Spine extensors		shortened muscles	8	7
		normal mobility	12	23
Shoulder abductors		shortened muscles	6	8
and internal rotators		normal mobility	14	22
	flexors	shortened muscles	11	11
		normal mobility	9	19
	abductors	shortened muscles	7	9
hips		normal mobility	13	21
	adductors	shortened muscles	9	11
		normal mobility	11	19
	external rotators	shortened muscles	11	10
		normal mobility	9	20
	flexors	shortened muscles	10	11
		normal mobility	10	19
knee
	extensors	shortened muscles	8	10
		normal mobility	12	20
ankle plantar flexors		shortened muscles	7	8
		normal mobility	13	22

2.6 Balance and coordination analysis

The study has been done analyzing balance and alignment in a seated position. A chair with a deep and wide seat was used, allowing the hips and knees to be bent at 90 degrees without pressure behind the knees. Possible forward assymmetries were watched for (head, shoulders, trunk, pelvis). In this position, disturbances in both forward/backward and left/right alignment were found.

Another test done was the change from a seated position to a standing one and vice versa. Balance, coordination of movement (head, trunk, lower limbs, placement of the feet and use of the arms) were analyzed.

In this test the following disturbances were found:

in totally blind athletes - balance, coordination and anomalous placement of the feet and help with the hands;

partial visual impairment - these alterations were rare.

2.7 Walking evaluation

In normal walking, the head and trunk are vertical, while the arms swing freely with the movement of the legs; the rythm and length of the steps are uniform and the body oscillates vertically with each step.

When the heel is placed on the ground, the foot forms a right angle with the leg. The knee is extended but not locked and may be slightly bent when the weight of the body is displaced forward during the support phase, while the trunk remains in a vertical position. When the push is given, the foot is placed in strong plantar flexion with a hyperextension of the metatarsophalangeal joints.

In the swing phase, the foot is clearly separated from the ground with good alignment. The rythm of movement remains invariable.

This study evaluated balance, trunk position, arm swing, length of the step, rythm of the step and placement of the feet.

The disturbances found affected totally blind athletes to a greater extent than the partially blind ones. In the former, balance is fair, the trunk position deviates backward, arm swing is alterated in a number of cases, the length of the step is usually shortened or uneven, the rythm of the step is not uniform and the placement of the feet is anomalous in almost all of the cases.

These disturbances are less pronounced in partially blind athletes, as in the totally blind ones, whose blindness was acquired. In the latter, although the walk was normal before total vision loss, it became altered, just as did their static posture.

Walking evaluation

		B1	B2
balance	good	4	15
	fair	12	11
	poor	4	2
trunk position	forward	0	4
	backward	12	9
	normal	8	17
arm swing	normal	10	23
	altered	10	7
step length	shortened	7	5
	lengthened	0	0
	uneven	6	7
	normal	7	17
step rate	normal	12	23
	altered	8	7
feet position	normal	5	16
	altered	15	14

2.8 Conclusions

Body alignment in visually impaired athletes is altered to a greater or lesser extent, affecting functional efficacy of the impaired people.

Visually impaired persons with poor alignment have certain muscles and muscle groups shortened. Balance and coordination are affected and the walk has certain pecularities.

Disturbances in alignment, mobility, balance, coordination and walking are more obvious in congenitally blind persons than in those with acquired or partial blindness.

Follow-up studies of these athletes through periodic check-ups show that sport clearly improves all these disturbances.

Sport involves a wide basic training and continuous and harmonious development of the cardiovascular system, muscle strength, coordination, balance and joint mobility.

3. PATHOLOGY

3.1 Ophthalmology

Participating at any kind of sport involves a certain risk for the eyes (even in absence of any kind of impairment), even though there are conditions where the eye is weaker from an anatomic point of view and therefore quite more vulnerable and exposed to complications due to the already existing pathology. Of course there cannot be any absolut and permanent contra-indication to practising sports, even though each has its different biomechanic stresses.

When there are partially sighted athletes, some ophthalmologist just order to make use of lenses, they only take the sensorial organ into consideration, forgetting the mind, which selections, perceives and sees. It is however quite obvious that any kind of rational treatment of visual impairment needs first of all to take the mental aspect into consideration and only then the visual one.

Among psychological aspects which stop the mind from interpretation, there are some which are strictly connected to the perceptive and visual process.

The perceptive capacity depends upon quantity, kind and availability of passed experiences. However these experiences remain only in our memory, therefore it is right to say that perception depends upon memory.

Imagination is closely connected to memory, it is the power to combine memories in new ways, so that it is possible to build new mind structures which differ from all passed concrete experiences. It is known from a very long time, that perception and sight depend widely upon passed experiences.

The main aspect which concerns memory, connected to sight and perception, is that is does not work well when under effort, for example, many might have experienced not remembering the name of a friend and this even though they have tried really hard. In such cases it is much better to forget trying and let the mind get into an alert passivity condition. The name will then probably pop out by itself, since memory works a lot better when the mind is in a dynamic resting condition.

The habit to relax in order to better remember exists in many cases, even when there are bad mental and physical tension habits, connected to other activities such as sight.

Partially sighted people are mentally and physically so stressed, that for them it is very hard to relax, even when they remember to do it. Therefore it is very difficult for them to recall anything in their mind.

However it is the ophthalmologist who decides which are specific risks involved when pratising one sport or another.

It is spontaneous to affirm that there are no contra-indications to practise judo, but only if certain expedients are taken care of, according to eventual pathology. It is obvious that when there is a vascular pathology, a pulmonary, a renal, an articulatory or an emathological one, the practice of such discipline and of any other sport will generally not be reccomended. The same may be said when there are infectious diseases, surgeries, fractures and so on.

There are only very fiew judo books for visually impaired people who want to practise judo; usually the authors state the following eye pathology classification with traumatic origin:

Corneal injuries due to a: 1. long use of lenses;

2. scratches;

Eyelid and conjunctiva injuries due to: 1. bruises;

2. ecchymosis;

Eyeball injuries due to: 1. direct contact with the eye (ex.:with elbow);

Retina coming off due to: 1. fragile retina after accident.

In his book The eye and sport the writer J.P. Chevaleraud underlines:

- pupil's static and dynamic anomalies due to sympathic cervical nerve damage, coming from continuous small traumas of the cervical column;

- ecceptional and specific accidents due to long term chokes where there could be hemoragies under the conjunctiva or under the retina.

These injuries are due to cephalic vein hyperpression and can frequently occur in starters and usually become worse, when it comes to high level athletes.

It is always important to pay attention and to talk to an ophthalmologist who is aware of judo's problems; this in order to avoid contra-indications, because of a lack of knowledge.

It seems, that those who have eyeball fragility may not practise judo. Here below the conclusions on the subject discussed during the medical seminar, which took place in 1986 at Toulouse:

Contra-Indication Table

1. - at crystalline's level

A) under-dislocated crystalline

B) crystalline's dislocation (Marfan's Syndrome)

2. - at retina's level

A) degenerated-evolved peripheral damage

B) strong evolved myopia above 12 diopters

3. - at sclerotic's level

A) buftalmo

B) cheratocono

C) a year after eyeball surgery

D) fistula surgery on the eyes and other with open eye-lid

(ex.: cataract extraction) in the first 6 months after surgery

E) sclero-malacia

F) congenite glaucoma

G) eyeball cancer

Dr. Lambro di Ramonville has introduced two evaluation sheets:

1. evaluation of the ophthalmological observations according to practised sport;

2. ophthalmological check according to necessities of practised sport.

From the ophthalmological point of view it is important not to under-evaluate the advantages of a better perfusion of the whole organism, due to cardio-vascular and breathing modifications coming from sport practice. Another point which has not to be under-evaluated is the protection from the degenerating processes coming from sedentarity, unfortunately a hidden danger for the population due to the machine and mass-media society, but even a greater one for all visually impaired people.

In conclusion, we want to say that sport's promotion among visually impaired people should not be stopped by prejudices and threats of hypothetic eye damages, which could worsen, but also be stimulated, since there is a better therapeutic approach.

3.2 Occupational disease

Occupational disease comes from a series of shocks, which occur during sport practice, being sport motion and therefore implying violent contacts with the external world or abnormal internal stimulations. Of course this concept becomes more interesting, when talking about sports which involve combats, in most cases there is a direct contact between both athletes.

There has been and still is a discussion on wether it is possible to talk about chronic occupational diseases, typical injuries related to a specific movement or technique in a sport, therefore such name.

When we talk about these kind of injuries which are related to judo, we may affirm that they are more due to wrong performing of attack and defensive techniques, rather than to typical movements of such sport.

For example, when a technique is performed the right way it is not shocking by itself, but it will become so if wrongly performed or if the opponent will resist to it. The same may be said of the fall, if it is performed the right way it will never provoke any damage, it will though if wrongly performed by ones own fault or by opponent's one.

Judo needs to remain a physical activity and its teachers need to be informed on the medical and psychological problems of the athletes performing it, in order to handle eventual problems and the contra-indications given by the physicians.

4. JUDO'S BENEFITS

4.1 Sport's benefits

Sport develops sense for spatial orientation, it corrects the way of standing and thereafter walking, hearing sensibility, touch and muscle sensibility, which compensate lack of sight.

Visually impaired people may practise almost any sport, using necessary security measures. Sometimes it is necessary to modify only small things, in other cases it will be enough if spectators remain silent.

All this may be obtained in four different moments:

A) basic formation activity, play-time, free from specific technical and competition interests;

B) action to guide the disabled in order to develop his qualities related to remaining faculties;

C) use of achieved psychological and physical qualities and of technical abilities;

D) starting competitive activity through a specific growing engagement in a specific way.

4.2 Judo and the visually impaired

Judo practice of visually impaired people has a continuous evolution. At the beginning, at the Paralimpics of Seoul (Korea) in 1988 only 9 nations with a total of 37athletes participated. At the second Paralimpics (Barcelona 1992) 16 nations from five continents with a total of 52 athletes participated.

Paralimpics World and European Championships participants

per sight class

Paralimpics World European Championships

	1988	1992	1990	1995	1987	1989	1991	1993	1995
B1	19	26	20	20	8	13	17	16	19
B2	9	26	12	14	5	7	16	12	20
B3	9	20	6	15	3	5	12	13	17
TOT	37	52	38	49	16	25	45	41	56

Participants per weight category

Year	60	65	71	78	86	+ 86	95	+ 95	Tot
1987	2	3	0	5	4	2	0	0	16
1988	7	12	8	7	10	5	0	0	49
1989	6	11	10	9	6	0	9	6	57
1990	9	10	12	12	9	0	7	2	61
1991	0	17	16	16	13	0	9	5	76
1992	9	8	11	9	10	0	7	6	60
1993	4	9	5	8	7	0	4	4	41
1995	6	7	8	7	7	0	7	7	49

Note: European Championships take place in uneven years; all nations may enter two athletes in the same weight category.

While at Paralimpics and World Championships they may enter only one per weight category.

The question is, why is there such interest for a sport, which is wrongly called martial art? May judo help integration of visually impaired people? What do coaches and doctors think about it? What future is there for this sport?

There surely is a great number of coaches and doctors who may ask these questions and we will try to give answers, without thinking to deposit absolute truth, but we will try to express experiences of coaches of different nations, who have dedicated their time to the matter.

Judo includes a great quantity of elements such as push and traction power, balance, direction shifts, throws, holding-techniques and so on. Its practice will need a detailed study of these elements according to participants' behaviour .

When reaching highest levels, the strategy used on attacking techniques and applied with perfect timing seems not to involve any strength whatsoever. It is necessary to add following principles to the one just stated:

1) - best use of energy; maximum effectiveness with minimum effort;

2) - help, prosperity and mutual improvement, which are fixed goals;

3) - the judo way and technique, which consists of giving softly away to better win.

Such techniques do not only involve the physical level but also the mental and philosophical one of the person. Even though basic exercises in order to have a perfect control over its own body are the most important ones. Judo helps to develop strength, resistance, sense of balance and orientation, breathing and body circulation, independence in movements and it also develops physical capacity for better adaptation to every day's life.

4.3 Educational judo

What do we mean when we talk about health? The U.N.' sanitary commission gave the following definition in 1946: Health means total physical, mental and social wealth, it does not consist only of a lack of diseases or infirmity.

In 1966, a main Italian scholar of the matter, Seppilli, the main voice in this field, affirmed: Health is a condition of harmonic functional and psychological development of the person, dynamically integrated in its natural and social environment, therefore health education is part of education which focuses on health and its problems.

On this matter Giovanni Gentile affirmed the following: Every exercise, where spirit tends to bend the body to its aesthetic or moral goals, is educational to true body. The body is according to how we make it. The more spirit we put into it, the more it becomes ours. Therefore physical education, which is close to intellectual and moral education, belongs to the spiritual educational system. Well oriented instruction is not only physically but also morally educational.

In human body there is a typical pleasure for movement, which is expressed through dancing and sports. If movement does not have a specific aim, if it is inspired by aesthetic impulses, it is separated from action getting closer to art. Judo as physical education is close to the limit between art and action.

Basic principles of judo are ethics, respect of rules and of the opponent, therefore when considering only its competitive aspect, we would neglect the spirit on which this discipline is based on.

Judo is an art which does not elevate only the body, but especially moral and spiritual characteristics of the person, helping outstandingly psycho-motion development of the person and therefore its education.

As a matter of fact, when we talk about education we mean at the same time development of ones motion and psyche.

This is the reason why a superficial analysis of judo would not make any sense, the technical educational aspect needs always to be considered.

Physical exercise is important in the process of a technique. Furthermore the main key to art is the conscious increase of self-control through patient tolerance of pain and tiredness.

The main goal when learning judo is spirit's philosophical development (mind and soul). Prof. Kano thought of a modern application of this concept and said: everyone belongs to a group, a nation and has to work in peace with others of other groups and nations for wealth of society. There has to be a relation, a meeting of minds, which asks for constant effort. Therefore everyone has to first develop its own working relation in order to reach common wealth. Benefits that will come, will not only be materialistic-economic ones, but rather, once the goal is reached, there will be a general moral and mental benefit.

To conclude: use your energy in a virtual way.

Judo has been built on this theory and its teaching method tends towards it.

The second goal of judo is physical development. Without a body, highest thoughts or noble actions may not reach their full realisation. The physical factor is very important in throws nage waza., controls katame waza and in conventional figures kata. Best results will be achieved when including exercises of the three above mentioned approaches to art.

The third goal is self-defense's development. Unexpected events are fundamental factors in ones life. Through experience it is possible to learn prevention of unexpected factors, and even if they occur, through daily judo practice everyone may learn to overcome them. To summarize, the three goals are: spiritual development, good physical health and self-defense.

Basics of judo are these, together with the constant search for goodness and the principle that sweetness may overcome brutal power.

In our modern daily life altruism is quite important, so that all societies and nations may take part at mutual wellfare ideals.

Therefore it is necessary to look at following tables, in order to at least have an idea of educational aspects, that are intended to be reached through judo practice.

A detailed analisys shows that practising this sport, if tought by qualified teachers and destined to children, teen-agers and youngsters, allows to reach set goals.

Children's educational technical table

concerned people	necessity	aims	contents	activity
		body knowledge	ability to express oneself spontaneously	mutual respect
children 6/9 years	well beloved climate
		breathing knowledge	language and logical development	body work-out
	social experiences
		head role's notion		situations's formulation
they answer in personalized ways to environmental offered experiences		motion's rythm notion	capacity to adapt to features' surrounding space	observation's organization
	concreteness	body weight's use	ability to carry out an activity
they are unable to think logically/in an abstract way		practice judo with not against the mate	initial discovery of oneself as entity	learning processes
	possibility to express oneself	motion knowledge	offer and accept help	repetitions which tend to define certain answers
they will be spontaneously oriented and with surrounding's initiative		getting used to participate in order to find a solution to a given situation		exchanging techniques which allows to make the learning point
		throwing techniques
		control techniques
		refereeing
		working notions within a small group	underline personal abilities

Teen-agers' pedagogical and traditional approach

	teaching = training

formation		training
	pedagogy
situations - problems		models - solutions
creativity		conditioning
possible solutions to choose		solutions with shown efficacy
variety		uniformation
automatisms of personal answers - flexibility		automatisms standard - stiffness
open model - efficacy in adaptation ability		closed modell - stereotype not well adapted
	efficacy/efficiency

Youngster's personality feature table

personality features	low grades	high grades
intrinsic wish to succeed	passivity, no resolution, no motivation	wish to succeed through varrying out and self determination
extrinsic wish to succeed	not ambitious - no stimulation	wish to succeed through access to social status
psychological endurance	intolerance - interest's dispersion	endurance - perseverance determination - obstinate
fast - dynamic	slow - moderate - tired	energic - spontaneous fast move
competitivity	no success	ability to overcome - affirmed
activity control	controlled - thought over	impulsice - thoughtless unforseable
acceptance of risk	security - reserved	daring - bold - spontaneous
emotional control	sensible - pessimistic	emotionally stable - euphoric
psychological resistance	low resistance, depending upon surroundings	not touched by bad luck - stress
introverted/extroverted	introverted- meditative	extroverted - expressive
dominion	subjection - lack of confidence	dominant - persuadent leadership attitude
aggressive	tolerant - passive	aggressive - fighting spirit
sociable	shy - reserved - selfsufficient	sociable - looking for contacts social activities
cooperation	autonomous - diffident - critical egocentric	cooperates - altruist
condescending	sincere- attentive - not very conforming - authoritarian	condescending - conforming not paying attention independent
wish to socialize	sincere- detached - objective	wants to leave a good impression necessity to be approuved

4.4. Integration

What does integration mean? It does not only mean for the disabled athlete to just take part at social life, but to participate as first actor.

Sport is one of the means of social acting for visually impaired people; it is a moment in life where they can show their personal level. This is what judo practice virtually allows.

The two main obstacles to integration are the following:

1) Athletes' attitude - visually impaired people need to understand that sport activities require individual sacrifice. It is not enough to be satisfied with mediocre results, there are higher goals to be reached in order to be integrated in the able bodied world. The first thing to do is to take care of oneself and then to compare oneself to the others. It is not important to be better than someone else, but to be better than yesterday.

It is important to lead a battle against static tendencies of a closed group, as is the visually impaired people one, being a static attitude against sport's spirit, which is dynamic and competitive. It is certainly necessary to make organisations better and to find more resorses. It is also important to always adapt to new techniques and to follow as much as possible organisations of able bodied sport federations;

2) Social barriers - existing sport clubs should allow blinds to make use of their structures without excluding them. Very often the coach thinks of the blind as a physical disabled person and therefore tends to isolate him instead of allowing him to join the group.

The coach practically forgets that the blind is a sensorial disabled person and therefore with no physical problem and able to do whatever he asks for. In the specific case it is the coach that needs to be prepared, in order to give right advice to the athlete.

Blinds practising sports should get more attention from mass medias. One of athletes' stimulous is that their efforts are publicly recognized, but unfortunately in our society a Paralimpic champion is an unknown, there are no mutual rights among human beings.

The athlete has not to be abbandoned when starting the activity, because of the enormous physical and technical problems he will encounter, he will loose his motivation. For him to be able to participate is a satisfaction and a physical and psychological benefit.

There are two previous phases to integration:

A - a greater development of competitions that are specifically meant for visually impaired people, in order to allow them to measure themselves on the same level. In this way it is possible to reach a higher technical level and a higher competitive tone. It is not to be forgotten, that there is already an integration within the group, since all three sight classes participate at the same competition, which is not so for most other sports;

B - organizing competitions which are both meant for visually impaired people and not, during the same day but on two different mats tatami, so that there is a contact between the two and the public and so that the public may see that even blinds can participate at competitive sports.

Complete integration will be reached once all visually impaired athletes (B1, B2 and B3) may participate at the same national championships of the able bodied ones. In some countries only B2 and B3 athletes may participate at the same competions as the able bodied ones, due to security reasons.

In this sport athletes do not need a guide, since they lead each others through the grips and move in a great space without obstacles.

In Italy as in some other nations, some slight changes in the examination program in order to get the black belt have been approved, so that visually impaired people may take part at the exam.

International Judo Federation's rules, with only some slight changes, are followed during international competitions (tournaments, European Championships, World Championships and Paralimpics). The referees are the same as those for regular competitions.

5. REACHING SET GOALS

In order to center aims it is necessary to handle following points:

- motor ability

- psychology

- sociality

5.1 Motor ability

One of the main subjects that is studied when refering to visually impaired people is the characteristic structure of their psychomotor ability.

One thing that appears rather soon, is that their handicap, even though they are intact when talking about their physical structure, hinders them quiet relevantly in the development of psychomotor elements.

If someone refers to body structure, left or right side, balance, he refers to psychomotor ability, which is quiet different in an able bodied person when compared to a visually impaired one.

The problems that these people have are due to their impossibility to do in the same quantity and way motion experiences as normal people do. This is where it is possible to introduce the specific subject of judo.

Judo is a wide discipline, it allows to take many different positions, each one creating new motion experiences, which can then be used in further phases in the future. This is the reason why we may talk about judo as a technique to learn psychomotor ability.

It is certainly not an exageration to give judo such a great place in the learning process.

Being unable to see oneself, being unable to compare oneself allows the visually impaired person to build an analytical representation of each single body movement, which muscular sensations activate global answers allowing a first differentiation between oneself and the external world.

Once motion centers mature, the blind person as the able bodied one gains advantageous positions, which allow him to explore the world right next to him through motion and therefore structures in a more specific way his body.

Imitation plays an important role especially when structuring the image of himself. However in order to learn it is not so important to perform a gesture perfectly, but rather to apprehend the right motion behaviour. To summarize, the adaptation of judo teaching has to allow:

- on short terms - to acquire basic motion; stimulation of individual potential; development of sensations.

- on long terms - use and increase of potentials; perfectioning motor ability; to become conscious of the body (space/time); development of motion abilities.

5.2 Psychology

In order to diminish influence of lacks, which are determined by the disability itself, it is important to become independent and to be motivated:

1. - Independence - judo allows a visually impaired person to take initiatives without risking anything; he learns to handle everything by himself, without needing any assistance. This helps him also to become more self-confident in his daily tasks, to handle risks and especially to appreciate its values. In the gym it will be easy for him to acquire the notion of time/space, reaching ease in his movements.

Going to the gym allows him also to get out of his usual environment, to be away from usual structures and usual activities (such as schools, colleges, institutes,);

2. - Motivation - judo is attractive because it allows him to compete with someone in his same conditions or with a seing person; he can participate at real competitions, such as European Championships, World Championships, Paralimpics, he can also present himself at the exams in order to advance in his judo degree and qualification.

All this qualities are a contribution to make him more familiar especially with his physical capacities and to find a balance.

Exercizes and situations which he has to handle are appropriate in order to obtain his participation. It is important that he is aware of the aims (make everything interesting, motivate), to give a significate to the work to be done, to teach through activities, so that he becomes aware of the fact that his sensorial and motor intelligence is enhanced; make him understand ties between sensations, perceptions and effective actions. Make the lesson more interesting by changing; make him feel the pleasure and joy of movement; teach him to conquer himself; overcome anguishes, apprehensions.

This is a way how goals may be reached:

- on short terms - allow him to get to know everyone; allow and stimulate expression; favour exchanges, key points, relations and contacts;

- on long terms - find his place in the group; be himself, stimulate initiative.

We think that judo allows to reach these goals, having many different situations, rules and opportunities and being a sport discipline which allows all these opportunities.

Opposing situations, the language within the discipline (technical terms) and the outfit kimono are elements which stimulate those who pratise judo.

5.3 Sociality

The blind person suffers from isolation and laziness due to society's life style.

Becoming part of a sport's group helps him to get out of his specialized school, to meet other people, to compete on the same level with others. Every one is out there to help him, however it is the task of the teacher to know how to incourage him. His duty is to offer him an efficacious structure in order to allow him:

- on short terms - meet people, create new friendships, get out of the institute, fight against isolation, learn to respect the others and to socialize.

- on long terms - find a place in a group, learn rules and apply them, go towards initiatives,

look for independence.

It is not to be forgotten that one of FISD's aims is to help him on his way, getting over one of the highest moral/educational goals of sport laws.

In order to reach set goals it will be necessary:

1) To continue judo's promotion for blinds with the contribution of competent people;

2) organize national championships, hold meetings with national teachers, prepare athletes technically in order to sustain exams, which are recognized by National Federations. The aim of all this is to gain more participants;

3) explain to physical education teachers which judo's benefits are and create specialized groups with pedagogical or other kind of support;

4) organize international meetings advertising them on newspapers and television .

6. HISTORICAL ORIGINS

6.1 Origins of the Italian Disabled Sports Federation

Sport is a basic element in each person's life, disabled or able bodied, it is the mean that allows us to understand deepest and most important life values. Disabled people, more than able bodied ones, need sports in order to have a leading element in their lives. However this concept is growing only slowly and when we look back we realize that progresses and improvements of the disabled are reached through sports. The organizations that were the first to deal with disabled sports are: INAIL (Industrial Accident National Assistance Institute), ONIG, FSSI (Deaf/Dumb Italian Sports Federation).

Visually impaired people's sport practice started already in the '30s in the institutes for disabled people.

1956 - it is the most important date concerning disabled sport practice. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) recognizes Paraplegic's Games. The Italian Maglio (Director of the Paraplegic Center of the INAIL) was the first to promote sport activities such as rehabilitating therapy for the disabled and the first edition of Summer Paralimpics Games (Rome 1960).

1969 - the Visually Impaired Sports Group is founded at Bolzano.

1974 - the ANSPI is founded (Italian National Sport Association for Paraplegics) and has an important role in the organization of competitions of different disciplines. It is the only Italian Federation, that is recognized on International level and is afiliated to the ISMGF (International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation) and ISOD (International Sport Organization for the Disabled).

1975 - Modena: discussions between Visually Impaired Groups and CSI (Italian Sports Center) started.

1976 - the FISM (Italian Mentally Deficient Sports Federation) starts its activity along with the ANSPI.

1978 - Modena: a commission is created between the CSI and the UIC (Italian Blind Union) with the specific task to promote sport among blinds and partially sighted people.

1979 - The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) recognizes ANSPI.

1980 - The FISHA is founded (Italian Handicaped Sports Federation) with the aim to unify all federations dealing with disabled sports. The FSSI and FICS remain out of the FISHA and continue to work autonomously. Modena: the FICS (Italian Blind Sports Federation) is officially started (with headquarter in Milan) with the specific aims to associate, organize and promote sport activities of the visually impaired. The President is Mr. Bruno Meschiari.

Piacenza: the First National Congress takes place.

1981 - Salsomaggiore: the second FICS National Congress takes place.

Rome (17th July): an agreement is signed between FICS, FISHA and FSSI and recognized by the General Secretary of the CONI forseeing the unification in a single federation, the so called FISD (Italian Disabled Sports Federation).

Even though each federation maintained its autonomy, it gave the opportunity to the disabled to participate at the work of the National Congress of the CONI as adhering Federation.

Goeteborf (14th-20th August): the Track and Swimming World Championshps took place.

1983 - Rome: a FICS representation is constituted.

Tirrenia: a Special Congress takes place in order to approve the new statute.

1984 - Innsbruck (Austria): FICS participates at Winter Paralimpics with 6 athletes.

1985 - Rome (4th-14th April): the first International Referee Clinic takes place for torball, swimming and track.

Rome (9/14th September): European Championships of torball, swimming and track take place with 24 participating nations.

1987 - (30th April) FISHA is recognized as Main Federation by the CONI National Council and represents there the FSSI and FICS.

Paris (4/14th July): International Games for blinds, mentals, amputies and paraplegics take place. The first European Judo Championship and first International Tournament take place; Italy does not participate but sends Mr. B. Carmeni as observer. He is invited to referee and becomes part of the IBSA Judo Subcommittee.

1988 - Innsbruck (Austria 17/24th January): Winter Paralimpics take place.

Besançon (France 6/7th February): the 2nd International Judo Tournament takes place. Italy participates with one athlete.

Padova (Italy 25th April): 1st Italian National Judo Championships.

Seoul (Korea 14/21st October): 8th Paralimpics take place. For the first time judo is admitted and Italy participates with one athlete, Walter Monti, who wins a silver medal.

1989 - Formia (Italy 1/2nd June): the 3rd IBSA International Congress takes place. Mr. Filippo Dragotto becomes Technical Officer. Mr. Bruno Carmeni becomes Chairman of the Judo Subcommittee for the olympic four-yearly period 1988/92.

The FILPJ (Italian Judo Federation) President, Mr. Matteo Pellicone, interested at the problems of disabled judokas, promotes the integration program, signing an agreement with the FISD. The FILPJ is the first National Federation that starts such a strong cooperation.

Manchester (England 24th-30th October): 2nd European Championship. Italy wins a silver and a bronze medal.

1990 - 11th November: the FISD is constituted as the only representant of disabled sports within the CONI. FISD's President is Mr. Antonio Vernole, the Vice Presidents are Mr. Auronzo Caprilia for the Blind Section, Mr. Renzo Conti for the Paraplegic Section and Mr. Alessandro Palazzotti for Physical/Mental section.

About 38 sport activities are included and each having an autonomous organization within the federation.

Assen (Netherlands) - the first Judo World Championship takes place. Italy wins 2 bronze medals.

1991 - the FILPJ invites the technical Director of FISD's Judo sector to hold a national refereeing clinic.

Sassari (Italy 12th October): 3rd European Judo Championship. Italy wins a gold, a silver and 2 bronze medals.

1992 - The EJU (European Judo Union) invites, upon request of Mr. Klaus Schulze, EJU's Vice-President, the Chairman of IBSA's Judo Subcommittee, Mr. Bruno Carmeni to hold a meeting on the IBSA refereeing rules. The EJU interested in the problems of blind judokas, starts a good cooperation and helps IBSA judo.

Barcelona (Spain 31st August - 3rd September): 9th Paralimpic Games. Italy wins 3 bronze medals with judo. For the first time the referees belongs to the IJF (International Judo Federation) and have the qualification of Level A International Referees.

1993 - Valance (France12/13th June): 4th European Judo Championship. Italy wins 2 bronze medals.

S. Josè (Costa Rica December): 4th International IBSA Congress. Mr. Carmeni is confirmed as Chairman of the IBSA Judo Subcommittee for 1992-96.

1994 - The President of the FILPJ, Mr. Matteo Pellicone, constitutes a study commissions on the disabled and names Mr. Bruno Carmeni chairman of it.

The first National Census on disabled judokas is started.

1995 - The first National Courses for judo coaches is organized with the cooperation between FISD and FILPJK. The course if for coaches/teachers, who already work with disabled athetes. 17 teachers are specialized during this course.

Colorado Springs (USA 14/17th January): 2nd Judo World Championship. Italy wins one silver medal.

Valladolid (Spain 16th-18th November): 5th European Male Championships. Italy wins one bronze medal.

1st European Female Championships. Italy wins one bronze medal.

Sport activities' table within FISD's sectors

		F.I.C.S.	F.I.S.HA.	F.S.S.I.	S.O.I.
n°	Sport	blinds (B1, B2, B3)	tetra paraplegics	deaf/dumb	amputies, les autres mental disabled
01	Athletics	yes	yes	yes	yes
02	Underwater act.	no	no	yes	no
03	Badminton	no	no	yes	no
04	Basket	no	yes	no	no
05	Pool	no	no	yes	no
06	Boccia	no	yes	yes	no
07	Bowling	no	no	yes	no
08	Soccer	yes	yes	five	no
09	Canoe	no	yes	no	no
10	Rowing	yes	no	no	no
11	Cicling	tandem	no	yes	yes
12	Equestrian	no	yes	no	no
13	Gymnastics	no	yes	yes	no
14	Goalball	yes	no	no	no
15	Judo	yes	no	yes	yes
16	Kayak	no	yes	yes	no
17	Karate	yes	no	yes	no
18	Wrestling	yes	no	yes	no
19	Swimming	yes	yes	yes	yes
20	Handball	no	no	yes	no
21	Water-Polo	no	no	yes	no
22	Tambourine ball	no	no	yes	no
23	Volleyball	no	no	yes	no
24	Fishing	no	no	yes	no
25	Chess	yes	no	yes	no
26	Fencing	no	yes	no	no
27	Show down	yes	no	no	no
28	Power lifting	yes	yes	no	no
29	Winter Sports	yes	yes	yes	yes
30	Surf	no	no	yes	no
31	Tennis	no	yes	yes	no
32	Table tennis	yes	yes	yes	yes
33	Shooting	yes	no	no	no
34	Archery	yes	yes	no	no
35	Toarball	yes	no	no	no
36	Triathlon	no	no	yes	no
37	Diving	no	no	yes	no
38	Yachting	yes	yes	no	no

6.2 1st. Judokas' National Census 1994/1995 FILPJK/FISD

Judokas table according to disability

	CITTA'	PROV.			ATLETI
	CITY	PROV.			ATHLETES
			PSICH	FISIC	DOWN	CIECH	PS/FIS	SORDI
			PSYC.	PHYS	DOWN	BLIND	PS/PHY	DEAF
1)	S.R. Cimena	Torino	0	0	0	1	0	0
2)	Papanice	Crotone	1	0	0	0	0	0
3)	Erice Casa S.	Trapani	0	1	1	0	0	1
4)	Genova	Genova	32	0	3	0	5	0
5)	Velletri	Roma	2	1	3	1	0	0
6)	Città Castello	Perugia	0	0	0	1	0	0
7)	Messina	Messina	0	0	1	0	0	0
8)	Tarcento	Udine	0	1	0	0	0	0
9)	Valdagno	Vicenza	1	0	1	1	0	0
10)	Pirri	Cagliari	0	0	1	0	0	0
11)	Castello G.	Treviso	0	0	0	1	0	0
12)	Bolzano	Bolzano	0	0	0	2	0	0
13)	Mestre	Venezia	0	0	0	1	0	0
14)	Palermo	Palermo	0	0	0	1	0	0
15)	Trieste	Trieste	0	0	0	3	0	0
16)	Brescia	Brescia	0	0	0	2	0	0
17)	Bergamo	Bergamo	0	0	0	4	0	0
18)	Bologna	Bologna	0	0	0	1	0	0
19)	R. Emilia	R. Emilia	0	0	0	1	0	0
20)	Parma	Parma	0	0	0	2	0	0
21)	Bassano G.	Vicenza	0	0	0	1	0	0
22)	Torino	Torino	0	0	0	1	0	0
23)	Brandizzo	Torino	0	0	0	1	0	0
24)	Prata	Pordenone	5	0	2	0	0	0
25)	P. Corese	Rieti	0	0	1	0	0	0
26)	Ravenna	Ravenna	11	0	5	0	0	0
27)	Verona	Verona	0	0	0	2	0	0
28)	T. Venosa	Potenza	10	0	0	0	0	0
29)	T. Venosa	Potenza	9	0	1	0	0	0
30)	Carmagnola	Torino	1	0	0	0	0	0
31)	Ostuni	Brindisi	0	1	0	0	0	0
32)	Taglio di Pò	Rovigo	0	1	0	0	0	0
33)	Mergozzo	Novara	0	0	1	0	0	0
34)	Bergamo	Bergamo	2	1	10	0	0	0
35)	Torino	Torino	13	0	0	0	2	0
		TOTALS	87	6	30	27	7	1

Table of athletes on census

											ATLETA ATHLETE			GRADO GRADE		PRATICA PRACTICE
					FISD		FILPJK
	B1	B2	B3	Tot	si ye	no no		si ye	no no	non tess. no af filiat.	+ gio vane youn gest	+ an ziano oldest	+ eleva to highest		inferio re lowest		+ gio vane youn gest	+ an ziano oldest

donne women	1	0	0	1	1	0		0	1	0	1964	1964	blu		blu		1993	1993
uomini men	16	6	4	26	22	5		11	16	5	1990	1950	bianca		3° dan		1994	1969

GRADO DI CINTURA DELLE ATLETE CENSITE

Judo Grade (belt colour) of athletes on census

Disabilità Disability	Bia Whi	Gia Yel	Ara Ora	Ver Gre	Blu Blu	Mar Bro	1°dan Black	Tot Tot
Psichici Psychol.	9	15	4	0	2	0	0	30
Down Down	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	5
Ciechi Blind	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Fisici Physical	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Psico/fis. Psyc/phy	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
TOT TOT	14	17	6	0	3	0	1	41

GRADO DI CINTURA DEGLI ATLETI CENSITI

Judo Grade (belt colour) of athletes on census

Disabilità Disability	Bia Whi	Gia Yel	Ara Ora	Ver Gre	Blu Blu	Mar Bro	1°dan Black	2°dan Black	3°dan Black	Tot Tot
Psichici Psychol.	22	22	7	2	3	1	0	0	0	57
Down Down	1	11	4	2	1	3	2	1	0	25
Ciechi Blind	2	2	4	2	1	6	6	2	1	26
Fisici Physical	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Psico/fis. Psyc/phy	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	5
TOT TOT	27	36	16	6	5	11	11	3	1	116

6.3 The International Blind Sport Association (I.B.S.A.)

1981 - Paris: IBSA with FICS's (Italian Blind Sports Federation) help is founded.

1984 - Innsbruck (Austria): Winter Paralimpics take place.

1985 - Rome (4/14th April): the 1st International Course for torball, swimming and track referees takes place.

Rome (9/14th September): the European Torball, Swimming and Track Championship takes place. 22 nations participate.

1987 - Paris (4/14th July): the 1st International Games for blinds, mentals, amputies, paraplegics take place and so the 1st European Judo Championship (France, Great Britain and Netherlands); furthermore the 1st International Judo Tournament takes place (France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Korea, USA, Brasil, Sweden).

1988 - Innsbruck (Austria - 17/24th January) : the Winter Paralimpics take place.

Besançon (France - 6/7th February): the 2nd International Judo Tournament takes place. 4 nations participate.

Seoul (Korea - 14/21st October): the 8th Summer Paralimpics take place and so the 1st Judo Paralimpics at which 9 nations participated with 33 athletes.

1989 - Manchester (G.B. - 28th October): the 2nd European Judo Championship takes place (6 nations participate with 30 athletes) and so the 3rd International Judo Tournament (7 Nations with 23 athletes).

1990 - St. Etienne (France - July): the World Championships of some sport disciplines take place and so some International Tournaments among which the 4th Judo Tournament (6 nations with 23 athletes).

Assen (Netherlands- 15/23rd July): the World Championship for disabled take place. For the first time judo is admitted (11 nations with 38 athletes).

1991 Sassari (Italy - 13th October): 3rd European Championships (7nations with 45 athletes).

1992 - Barcelona (Spain - 31st August/3drf September): the 9th Summer Paralimpics take place (Judo: 11 nations with 52 athletes).

1993 - Valance (France - 16th June): 4th European Championships (8 nations with 41 athletes)

1995 - Colorado Springs (USA - 14/17th January): the 2nd Judo World Championship takes place (10 nations with 49 athletes).

Valladolid (Spain - 16/18th November): 5th European Male Championships (9 nations with 53 athletes). 1st European Female Championships (4 nations with 7 athletes). Male Team Championship (8 nations).

6.4 The Paralimpic Family

The history of Paralimpics, from the 1st edition up to today, is the proof of the long burocratic, idelogic and structural problems there were, that disabled sports had to face and to solve.

Paralimpics have gained an important role in the international sports panorama after several time. The participation of more nations and participants, the organizing machine that is moved show how big this event has become.

1960 - Rome: 1st experimental edition of Paralimpic Games. Only paraplegic athletes participate and the competitions take place after the Olympic Games edition.

This first edition was mainly used to make understand that disabled sports could not remain an isolate event. It has to be studied, understood and promoted as much as possible, through each nation's capillary difusion. Sport activities need to be open to all disabled people.

1964 - Paralimpic Games Tokyo (Japan); only paraplegic athletes participate.

1968 - Paralimpic Games Tel Aviv (Israel); only paraplegic athletes participate.

1972 - Paralimpic Games Heidelberg (Germany); only paraplegic athletes participate.

1976 - Paralimpic Games Toronto (Canada); some other kind of disabled are involved.

1980 - Paralimpic Games Arhnem (Russia); a further progress is reached by allowing the participation of some categories of people with brain damage.

1984 - 7th edition of Paralimpic Games New York (USA) and Stoke Mandeville (Great Britain).

1988 - Paralimpic Games Seoul (Korea); confirm disabled sports' progresses. These Paralimpics are not only a social event, but especially a high level sports one.

1992 - Paralimpic Games Barcelona (Spain); 94 nations with 4000 athletes participate. For the first time the medals are made of the same metals as the ones used at the Olympic Games.

From 31st August to 3rd September the 1st Paralimpic Congress took place in Barcelona; from the acts of the congress the Proceedings book has been issued from which an article has been taken to show Paralimpics' evolution through the years with the testimony of Fleming who says:

Seoul's 1988 Paralimpics have represented an enormous event, concerning the participation of athletes, referees, leader teams and organizors of the event itself and especially concerning public opinion. Difficulties, which seemed black clouds over the finantial aspect of this country, disappeared the first competition day, leaving their place to the sun which reflexed the hope to improve the organization and realisation of next Games.

6.5 History of Paralimpic Games

Year	Summer Paralimpics	Summer Olympics	Winter Paralimpics	Winter Olympics
1960	Roma	Roma		Squaw Valley
1964	Tokyo	Tokyo		Innsbruck
1968	Tel Aviv	Messico		Grenoble
1972	Heidelberg	Monaco		Sapporo
1976	Toronto	Montreal	Ornsfodvik	Innsbruck
1980	Arhnem	Mosca	Geilo	Lake Placid
1984	New York	Los Angeles	Innsbruck	Sarajevo
1988	Seul	Seul	Innsbruck	Calgary
1992	Barcelona	Barcelona	Tignes	Albertville
1994			Lillehammer	Lillehammer
1996	Atlanta	Atlanta

Summer Paralimpics Medals

Year	Place	Gol	Sil	Bro	Tot
1960	Roma	32	32	25	89
1964	Tokyo	18	16	19	63
1968	Tel Aviv	11	14	20	45
1972	Heildeberg	13	9	7	29
1976	Toronto	2	5	11	18
1980	Arhnem	8	3	9	20
1984	New York	8	20	16	44
1988	Seul	17	15	27	59
1992	Barcelona	10	7	18	35

Note: 1988 - judo starts as Paralimpic sport. Walter Monti wins the silver medal in the weight category over

kg.86.

1992 - The Italian Team has 5 athletes, 3 win a bronze medal:

kg. 65 Albertini Davide - kg. 78 Ardit Matteo - oltre kg. 95 Gatscher Franz.

6.6 Judo's origins

Today's international image of Japan is Toyota, Honda, Sony, but also judo.

Japanese capitalism spread has taken place because of employees' attitude towards work. Their constance and efficiency explain widely Japanese industry's high level.

Very often it has been attributed to a paternalistic version of the feudal ideology: it is partially true, but also a superficial consideration. Such phenomena is thought to be based on a concept and social action's practice, which roots are to be found in deep collective psyche. There is surely a trace of the feudal period, but with some modifications.

The high productivity of the Japanese industry may not be explained with just an economical structure, nor with just an ideology, but with a group of social practices, which are society's typical features as a whole.

A worker who gets into a big society remains there is whole life, being there a long time means to get promotion and a higher wage: from that day every aspect of his life goes under working relations. Hierarchical relations within the company are also extended to private life. Vacations, in the European way, do not exist.

From westener's point of view such a system seems suffocating. But Japanese workers are used to it, or better they do not feel such relations as company's intrusion into their private lives, but simply as being totally part of a group.

From a psychological point of view, the working force is not separated from the person. The system is based on the fact, that the working activity is within a relation of belonging to a group, that allows the worker to perform his activity reducing so contradictions.

Now, such attitude towards action comes from social models, which have been started in the feudal period, which for Japan means a recent past (the feudal period went on until 1867).

The last one of the Edo Dynasty meant 260 years of peace and come back, where the warrior class dominated a hierarchical society, which was stifly regulated.

The dominant model, the warrior one, which was connected to martial arts, to sword's symbolism and death got then within society and has explicitly influenced the entire cultural production of that time.

Judo appears at Japanese industrialisation's beginning, taking some elements out of the tradition (the practice of it is a method to entirely form a human being).

Being conceived as a pedagogy, judo expresses its aims in a codified way, that clearly shows in what way it continues the past and in what ways not. It is therefore a summary of trends which were spread in that time's society, which at the same time informs us on the ideology and social relations when capitalism in Japan was starting out.

It has already been said, how Prof. Kano, creating with judo flexibility's way, has been inspired by the notion of do, which came from warriors' culture, in order to propose a formation corresponding to new social conditions in Japan. This while judo continues its practice and technical action concept, which started during the feudal period, where technique and the one performing it were one.

These pre-capitalistic technical and action models have been reproduced up to nowadays, in everyday's life. They are currently transmitted through martial arts and through the group of traditional arts, but they have also influenced all new activities, which have been introduced in Japan. There is however an unquestionable gap between these models and current production methods.

Talking again about Do, means to consider a long path towards perfection, where there is an engagement and thanks to constant study of a discipline it is possible to go towards a state of mind, that allows to express human faculties in all arts, taking into account, that once a certain deepness has been reached all arts join again together. The notion of Do was based on a universal order, to follow such path meant to get into harmony with universe's order.

Prof. Kano had to cope with a universe, which limits became narrow and order had tottered at capitalistic industrialisation's beginning. When feudal society used to be stable it gave everyone a place according to his family situation. Prof. Kano instead was moving in a society with ambitious but at the same time uncertain prospects.

Willing to fix a new structure, he looked into tradition and tied honour to the idea of path, in other words a search to find conformity with universe. The principle he tried to revive within judo was the one of universal order, which is proved to be valuable through jujutsu's efficacy. As a matter of fact, he who discovers this tradition again is able to express such a vital energy he did not even know to have and which allows him to win once faced with strength.

The moving about, which has been done by Prof. Kano, leads towards a new objective process, through which he esplicitly proposes a method of universal vocation to the Japanese, who are going for the modern world. But the gap with tradition appears entirely, when it is refered to warrior's path during the Edo period.

A warrior exists socially because of his position within the family, which is fixed according to the relationship with the Lord. One of the main features of Japanese feudalism during the Edo period consists in excluding plurality of independent ties; a warrior has and can only have one Lord and however important the latter is, the tie is exclusive; warrior's devotion is absolute and for his entire life.

The act of voluntary death, being a concrete and extreme expression of how warrior's life ought to be, reaches its entire social meaning only when ordered or approved by the Lord, to whom the warrior is devoted. to.

There are examples of famous collective suicides of the members of an entire family, due to defeat or dishonour of the head of such family.

Warrior's path represents a cristalization of world's concept and warrior's value system. Codification and rites are pushed to the extreme, but their expression and transmission usually go through body and not through speech.

Precise gestures, which are learned through repetition in childhood, express continuously mutual relationships within the hierarchical ties' chain. Also death becomes present through formal gestures' repetition.

Each act's achievement becomes consistent thanks to gestures' precision, which is required; in each moment of his life, while sleeping or awake, the warrior has to assume a convenient position. The border line which westeners have for a long time traced between body and soul here totally disappears.

In each act and social relationship the physical and moral person is always present in its wholeness. Intellectual work may not be separated from the body. Therefore handwriting is thought, position and breathing, mastering of gesture. The throw that has guided the paintbrush is a mean for senses; to read means to take of words from writing and to pick up what is beyond them.

Starting with this kind of engagement, where tension towards perfection took one limits further and further, Prof. Kano will clearly explain the notion of how to use ones vital energy the best way, going toward work's division, which was taking place at that time. He works in complete wholeness, which is represented by the path, an may not be separated from the person which it belongs to, a break through an analitical research method.

Within Prof. Kano's school during moral lessons and those about life rules, the ideology and practice, that the founder wanted to come through was affirmed in the most explicit way. The school, which was for youngster from high school age up to university ones had the aim to form mankind.

Prof. Kano stated on the essence of his moral course as follows:

1. Study with total engagement giving an aim to your life;

2. Look forward to a great future success without being troubled by everyday's life;

3. Work by trusting yourself and keep in mind that the strength that is within you may help your nation's progress;

4. Think over Japan's position within the international field and you will become future columns of the nation.

In the last two points Prof. Kano expresses the ideology which was dominant during that period. The new power, which came from a movement that was born within the warrior class in order to answer to threats that were coming from western powers, was willing to reinvest in Japan's image, which was represented by the emperor and the nation, the potential of submission and devotion which was inherited from old feudal ties.

Prof. Kano's school is an excellent example of how such ideology may be combined with voluntary service and asceticism within the formation of future nation and company leaders. More than societies' heads, the key persons of the wonderful Japanese industrial start were those leaders, who had studied and therefore learned to assimilate and develop certain aspects of western production models in ideological forms and action models, which were close to tradition.

To come over whatever difficulty, to get used to control oneself, work and tiredness, to give a contribution to others with courage: this is what was required from those students who were supposed to built modern Japan.

All life rules at school turn around the relationship between master and disciple, requiring a complete engagement of the student in order to follow chosen path.

Rules appear to be a formalisation of the two said principles within the moral course. They bring back to the idea of oneself's perfection, which used to be a basic element within traditional path's search. The first step was the ability to control oneself during action, in other words a perfect practical acquisition of a technique.

A day, while Prof. Kano was demonstrating judo to others who practised martial arts with a disciple, one of the assistants shouted: kami waza (literally: waza = technique, kami = God). Such expression is used within Japanese language in order to appoint a technique, that seems perfect or that has reached a top. The fact to be able to associate two words such as God and technique seems to be important in the Japanese concept concerning technical man.

The border line is between technique's objective concept and the one where it is impossible to separate the technique from the man who performs it. The word ju jutsu corresponds to the objective technical action, a word that appeared at last century's end in order to translate westeners' notion and that is used to show technique within industrial production.

The word waza, which is older, means technique within art's field. In such meaning, man is present within the technique. Technique is not a mean to reach an aim, that has been thought elsewhere; the aim is not distinguished from the technique, man creates technique and technique creates man.

The technique waza is tied to man. Thought and its expression through body are the same and there is no subordination between them. The process itself becomes an aim.

Conscience of thinking and acting are tied and remain stuck to gesture, i.e. to body when meaning the entire term. The tool is just an extension of the body.

Realising what is of main importance comes through in a moment of intuition, when body and spirit are one. There is no logical thought, which is limited by the way of realization. For example, the handworker who builds a sword has the time to think, to calculate while using the hammer, but while tempering or while the blade is being finished an huge attention is required.

The handworker has to ceize the moment, he is one with the object. In the same way, while painting or working on a sculpture, while writing or in pottery there is a precise irreversible moment where the performer becomes one with the object. During such moment there is a particular way of breathing. Efforts that are done tend to unify thought and action, they exist as a unity. The divine technique kami waza can only come from a perfect fusion or unity.

For the Japanese perfection is human. Such idea of man's perfection is basically tied to technique within art's field. In each traditional Japanese art, we may find this kind of way; in a flower composition, in the tea ceremony, in a small garden, in a painting or in handwriting, and so on ..

During the highest perfection man realizes universe's breathing rythm.

During fighting art, he reaches through fighting techniques a harmony between himself and universe's energy (ki in Japanese). To have free access to such energy means to reach the highest fighting art level and to go beyond ones personal evolution.

Westeners' concept of technique instead tends to put it under art and science. Technique appears to be a mean. The relationship between the field of ideas (those coming from reason, science) and the one of technique (realising process, body function) is not immediate or usual anymore, but is the object of a mediation that continuously needs to be build.

Prof. Kano wanted to found through judo a global formation of mankind in conformity with universe.

The technique he conceived and performed according to the traditional model was accepted as being the complete realisation of what he was as a man. But he lived during the introduction in Japan of westeners' working process and in his effort to be explicit and to transmit, pedagogy's structure and objectivity became clearer.

Therefore he distinguishes three parts within judo:

1) physical education;

2) fighting method;

3) moral formation.

Judo will soon reach a great success, being a fighting method, which is inscribed in a group of codified rules.

The analytical tendency of Prof. Kano and judo's differentiation from other traditional martial arts underline its success. Judo's activity, which was total, is being modified and allows partial practice next to main activities of the working system that is being developped.

Martial arts' transformation within the capitalistic way of life has allowed to find in Japanese society a welcoming that has up to nowadays not stopped to spread. This fighting sport has so reached international competitions.

But appearances have not to decept us. In the eastern world the practice of such activities is within continuity of traditional martial arts. In Japan the word judo continues to bring through the idea of path (do), to dedicate time to judo or kendo is not as practising soccer or basketball. Martial arts' social image encloses the idea of cultural continuity. To wear a kimono and to tie the belt as it is supposed to be is already full of meaning.

In order to penetrate judo's significance within all gyms spread throughout the world it is necessary to understand its philosophical origins and even before that the historical ones, which have allowed its birth and evolution.

In old Japanese chronicles it is said about many different fighting methods without arms, which have been conceived and applied by the Japanese during the long feudal period and some of these became important training aspects for warriors.

By definition, a fighting method without arms represents a sistematic and ingenious way to use the body in order to obtain the same strategic results as if using arms.

The question concerning the chronological relationship between fighting methods with arms and without (which method was the first one used by human beings in order to solve a violent conflict) is insignificant when related to our knowledge of basic human instincts. It seems that both methods exist at the same time, when considering historical documents relating to fighting methods and that one may be added to the other or one may subsitute the other, according to necessity, place and circumstances.

The observation that human body could be used in a skillful way as a weapon and that mastering its elements and funtions could help to win an opponent with violence and at the same time help to defend oneself, must have been made when mankind started to analize fighting problems, since we find evidence of the existance of fighting methods without weapons in the oldest documents of almost every nation.

In Japan such methods are found under several names. However all of them had common functional features, which are intrinsic in the concept of fighting without arms. For example, they were based on the use of human body, accordingly trained, conditioned and reinforced, as main fighting device.

All of them required a general functional body use having the aim to defeat the opponent and avoiding so to be defeated.

These functional methods consist in using the body as a weapon, in order to throw an opponent, immobilize or strangle him, to dislocate his junctions or to hit him and at the same time in a defensive way, in order to avoid becoming the target of opponent's attack.

6.7 Definition of Bujutsu

The word bujutsu is used in Japanese martial arts' doctrine to represent all those specialisations of general fighting arts., which are practised by professional warriors and by those members of other social classes, who used to practise any other individual fighting art.

It is important to underline, that the word bujutsu is related to practical, technical and strategical aspects of these arts, without forgetting that its ideogram means technique. In order to better understand it the following division may be done:

Major martial arts = all those arts which were performed by warriors on a professional basis, such as archery, lance, sword, horsemanship and swimming with the armour, etc;

Minor martial arts = all those arts which were performed by members of other social classes. They were usually considered equally traditional and strategically important, such as the war fan, the art of using a stick, etc;

Side fighting arts = all those specialisations which do not correspond to above mentioned arts.

The fire weapon, fortification and deployment sciences have not been considered, being related to war's art and group fights, rather than to the individual ones.

6.8 Jujutsu's birth

Among subsidiary fighting methods without weapons ancient bujutsu's chronists write about jujitsu.

While jujitsu is specifically the technique of a particular fighting way, judo is rather the philosophy on which such technique is based on.

According to a legend, jujitsu has been discovered by someone who looked at the snow falling on trees. The rigid and strong branches broke after a while the snow accumulated on them, while the thinner and flexible ones gave up throwing off the accumulated snow without breaking nor bending.

A Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said: when man is born he is tender and weak; when he dies he is rigid and strong... stiffness and strength come along with death; tenderness and weakness come along with life.

Jujitsu is based on the two wu wei principles, immediate follow up of attack and defense.

The wu wei application to jujitsu may be illustrated by looking at a wodden stick which turns around its gravity center. If someone hits it sideways, either from one side or the other, the stick will swing or will not be touched, the only way to make it loose its balance is to hit it directly in the center.

Lets imagine a wodden stick which may move as it pleases, able therefore to move its center away from a force which is going to hit it. At each hit, it will only move its center away from the direction from which the hit is coming, in such way its weakness will become a strength.

When we consider human body, we know that gravity center is little above the waist close to the sternum; any attack which is above this point may be avoided by bending oneself, while a side attack may be avoided by making a small step out of the hitting line and turning around onself to let the hit go by.

Human body (not as the wodden stick has to have one side touching the ground; therefore an attack which goes under the gravity center will have success, unless both feet are well placed on the ground and the gravity center is well balanced above them (not to much forward nor backward).

In such position, the legs are slightly bent at knee hight in order to sustain a number of hits, and a jujitsu expert will maintain such position as long as possible, moving his feet at the same distance from one side to the other (feet perpendicular to shoulders) and lifting them never more than a few millimeter from the ground.

The attack is performed by driving the opponent untill his balance is lost; this happens in two ways:

1) - he will move his feet in a wrong way, so that his body will not evenly be balanced on them and in this case it will be easy to throw him on the ground hitting one of his ankles sideways;

2) - he will abbandon his balanced position in order to attack. In this case it will be enough to move around ones gravity center out of attacking force's direction, which not finding any resistance will go over itself. Then, either by pulling the part of the body with which he has attacked in the same direction or by pushing another part of the body to the opposite side of the gravity center, it is possible to overcome him like a tree who falls.

The more one uses his force to overcome a jujitsu expert, the more he will be exposed to his hits. It is like hitting a weak door with maximum strength: it will suddenly open and make you fall down.

The more you fight, the stronger you hit, the easier he will escape you, he is so well balanced, that in reality you move him away with your own strength.

In order to talk about the second principle (immediate follow up of attack and defense), it is necessary to understand, that in jujitsu there cannot be success if there is even the slightest break between one movement and the other. If someone stops a fraction of a second to think about a counter-attack, the opponent has enough time to regain balance: the only way to defeat him is to cede to his attack as he does.

If giving up is done to late, he will find enough resistance which will last to stop his attack from over the wanted point; once he finds something he may fight against, it will give him a possibility to win.

The main principle of jujitsu is that there should never be something to fight against; the skilled fighter has to be fleeting as is zen's truth.; he has to become a Koan (an enigma which fleets away the more someone tries to solve it), he has to be as water which fleets away from those who try to sqeeze it between their fingers. Water never stops to cede, as soon as you close your hand it flows away, not because of its own power, but using the pressure it receives.

In jujitsu the two fighters move together at the same pace as if they were one; attack and defence are one movement, there is no effort, nor resistance, nor hesitation, until there is a sudden heavy fall, as if one of the two has been thrown to the ground with an enormous force.

M° Suzuki has said about this: even if a slightest break is left between two actions, the space of a hair, it is an interruption.

That means, that the contact between a fact and the answer of the mind should not be interrupted by talkative thought, because: when you clap your hands, the sound is heard immediatly without there being a thinking moment. The sound does not take time to think. There is no in-between, one movement follows the other without being interrupted by a conscient thought.

If you are frightened and start thinking about what to do when you see, that your opponent will hit you with all his strength, you give him time, in other words a good occasion for the mortal blow. Make sure your defense follows attack without one single interrupting moment and there will not even be two separate movements, which may be called attack and defence.

Your immediate action will be the unavoidable defeat of your opponent. It is like a boat which slips smoothly down the falls: in zen's philosophy it is very important to have a mental attitude which does not know hesitation, interruptions, in-between moments.

To think of this as speed would be wrong; what is trying to be illustrated is the idea of immediate uninterrupted movement action of vital energy.

Each time that you allow intervention of something which is not vitally related to what is going on, you may be sure to loose your position. Of course this does not mean to do things without accuracy or as fast as you can; if you have such desire, its only presence would represent an interruption.

6.9 Is judo a martial art?

The wide general use of the qualification martial by many western writers, when talking about fighting arts, might mislead. For example, we might wrongly think, that a warrior, the typical martial man, is the only one who created these arts or the only one practising them.

What is the difference between martial art and sport?

Martial = etymologically related to Mars (Roman war god). Such idea could also lead us to qualify fighting specialisations as war arts and therefore to think of them as related to battle fields with many fighting men rather than to individual combats.

In ancient times, in eastern societies, there were eight war practices such as jujitsu from which judo comes from, kendo, karate, lance, kyudo, running and riding. All of them had an aim within martial arts: war. If we consider running and judo techniques from this point of view we may not talk about them as just sports.

Sport = by definition it is an amusement, a way to move . It may be practised with technical skill and with competitive spirit in order to awake ardour and therefore interest.

The divergent point between martial art and sport is that in the first case technique is used in a real fight and follows an ideal, which has been taken away because belonging to feudalism. While in the second, sport, democratic ideals are enhanced. The idea of sport exists when physical activity includes the idea of competition.

Herbert gave the following definition to sport: Sport is every exercise or physical activity which has as principle the realisation of a form and where the performance is essentially based on the idea of fighting

against a defined element: a distance, time, an hinderniss, a material difficulty, a danger, an animal, an opponent and by extension oneself.

This idea about competition, which may be within a team or individual, shows that if every animal species have a usefull physical activity and that superior species have playing activities, only mankind practises sports. For men playing activity is related to childhood, while sport is related to youth.

Games and sports show his personality, but are also usefull to his formation. This is the reason why the English Harnold has made an education system saying: sport is the school where personality is tempered, where one learns to suffer and to dominate suffering.

Lets compare some sports such as: soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, baseball, which are different from boxing and fencing (competition sports). The first ones are real hobbies, while the second ones have been developped from a real fight. Running, swimming and javelin have not only been born because of everyday's necessities but also because of their actions in survival's struggle. It is quite abvious to distinguish them from judo techniques, but the latter rewied not as a war practice but as a sport changes entirely the comparison with above mentioned activities.

The great educational value of judo consists in the fact, that it teaches an ideal of body and spirit's existance; it teaches the path in order to overcome obstacles of everyday's life, besides teaching to live with loyalty.

Through judo M° Kano wanted to develop physical education, meant to train and reinforce body, in order to reach spirituality through it. The contribution of sport's physical education is fundamental in order to reach its own completest realisation and the affirmation of the being.

Why, then, is the tendency among teachers who teach these fighting arts and disciplines to use the adjective martial in order to qualify these methods? An answer might be found when considering the importance given by the Japanese to military tradition in the history of their country.

Such importance is based on the fact that we refer to one of the oldest and longest ties between a nation and such kind of reality. As Lafcadio Hearn said: almost all authentic Japanese history is included in one unique great episode: the rise and fall of military power.

7. BEHAVIOR'S ORIGINS

7.1 General rules

Very few know that the four sides in a dojo gym have a traditional importance.

It is presumed that the word dojo comes from Buddhism and indicates the place where Buddhists, after the purifying ceremony, trained their spirit and body.

CD - honour's side kamiza = all pictures of founders and benefactors are put on this side. The traditional ceremony wants that each judoka, who enters the dojo, bows to the kamiza.

If there are technical demonstrations all personages will be on this side.

BD - superior side joseki = it is the side for all teachers who will be aligned according to their grade, on the right side of the well-deserving master, comes the master, then the trainer and then the regional coach. The kamiza is to the left of this side.

AB - inferior side shimoza = this side is to the right of joseki's one and all higher grades are positioned there, starting from the highest who is in charge of the salute.

AC - inferior side shimoseki = all lower grades are here positioned for the salute and also during training breaks, this side is in front of joseki.

7.2 The ritual

The word rei is commonly translated with salute. In reality its significance is quite deeper and is not only used when practising judo or other eastern arts in general.

The word rei, from the Chinese li, means: etiquette, ritual, courtesy, kindness, good education, rectitude; and by extension: ritual behavioral code.

The Greek word ethos means behavior, custom, in other words moral ethic, how to behave, how to act, what may be done and what not, what is right and what is wrong.

Confucius's followers assert that conforming ones life to a rigid etiquette, man may be able to raise himself and to acquire a noble soul. To give a norm to a gesture is a self-discipline exercise. Man has to learn to respect human hierarchies through a behavioral code coming from a ritual. Courtesy and soul's kindness are etiquette's essence.

In ancient Japan etiquette's rules were codified and taught within schools; the most known since the Kamakura period were two:

1) the school of Ise, which was to be found around Kyoto and mainly taught to nobels of the imperial court;

2) the school of Ogasawa, spread in the region between Tokyo and Kamakura, usually followed by samurais. Its main aims could be resumed as follows: etiquette's final goal is to cultivate soul in such a way, that when just calmly sitting down not even the roughest man may outrage your person.

That means in other words, that through assiduous exercise of correct manners, everyone has to introduce in each and every part and function of his body such a perfect order, so that he may reach such harmony with himself and the external world, that mastering of his soul over his body is evidently expressed.

The French word bienséance (good manners) assumes so a new and deep significance, etimologically meaning well seated. This word is well adapted to the Japanese concept of the sitting man on a mat with a perfect straight back and a prominent belly, spreading around him a sense of peace of mind and composure.

If it is true that grace means strength's economy, it follows as a logical consequence that an assiduous practice of behavior which is inspired by grace determines a reserve and accumulation of strength.

Therefore correct attitude has its strength in a static phase. Courtesy and behavioral education has been found to be common features of Japanese people by all travelers.

However courtesy would simply be a modest virtue, if it would only be determined by the worry to offend good taste, it should on the other hand represent care's expression inspired by sympathy towards others' sensibility.

In our society it is a dutiful consideration and therefore a respect of conventions and social positions, which in Japan were not determined by economical differences, but by distinctions and recognitions deriving from real merits.

We may assert that courtesy in its highest expression is tolerant and kind, does not carry envy with it, does not boast and is not boasted, is shown with dignity, does not pursue its own profits, may not be easily offended, does not take into acount what is not noble.

Being a virtue, which mainly was convenient to warriors, it has therefore been considered above its specific merits. The natural consequence is, that in life there are many imitations and copies of it.

When courtesy has been promoted to social relations condition's rank, a complicated etiquette system automatically followed, with the aim to teach youngsters correct social behavior; and so it happened.

The way someone had to bow when getting closer to the others, the way to walk and to sit, all these things were taught and learned with meticulous accuracy.

What has been here above explained may be resumed in a sentence:

Judo's practice starts and ends with the salute.

7.3 The sitting position

In Zen's pratice different positions may be used and the follower himself will find out which is the one that suits him best through various experimentations. Two of these positions belong also to judo's practice:

1- on the knees = where legs are bent backwards;

2- sitting = where legs are crossed.

In the first position the person is kneeling, sitting on his heels and his body weight is both on heels and knees.

It is an effective style, especially for starters who want to learn how to stress the lower part of the belly. Once taking this position, by pushing the waist forward, the abdomen will adequatly be stressed.

In the second position it will be necessary to pay attention not to fall into a postural position where the waist tends to bend backwards. The waist has to be pushed forward; such position is perfectly symmetrical and it will favour relaxing the upper part of the body (in Zen's philosophy it is called the Birmanian modified style).

In above mentioned positions body's stable base is a triangle formed by buttocks and knees.; therefore it is important to find a position where the knees are well placed on the mat tatami in order to support body's weight.

The pelvis remains firm and the trunk makes a 90° angle above it, without leaning sideways; the trunk remains straight because of waist muscles' position.

These muscle are very important for body's position; they are spread on a wide zone, some go deeply into the body, while the upper parts are extended in the upper part of the back.

In these postures above mentioned muscles will hold the trunk straight and only they are particularly stressed. It is important, within limits of possibility, that the body is maintained perfectly straight.

When looking at someone, it should be possible to mark a line that goes from the front to the coccige, passing the nose, the chin, the throat and the navel.

Any deviation from these references on the vertical line, should accurately be corrected, not only in the sitting position but also during usual posture.

After having one of above mentioned positions it will be good to check waist and abdomen's positioning.

The essential movement is to push the waist forward; in such way the abdomen will be pushed forward while the buttocks will fall backwards. Such movement may be obtained by pushing pelvis' upper part forward.

The importance of pushing the abdomen forward maintaining the trunk straight is widely recognized, body's weight will necessary be concentrated in belly's lower part, therefore the zone below the navel will be stress's center; such zone is called tandem (the word indicates the entire lower part of the belly). It will be sufficient to realise once body's weight is concentrated within the tandem that the position and the state of mind are as relaxed as possible.

Once getting into such position, called za zen, the lower part of the belly will tend to enlarge due to the combined action of the waist pushed forward and the body weight lowered into this part. When looking at this position sideways the spine will slightly be curved.

Also head and neck's position are important. It is better to bend the face a little downward, the forhead a little forward and the chin slightly curving inwards. However if the practicing person prefers it, because of his physical constitution, he may just straighten up his head and his neck. The whole body should be held as still as possible.

Finally it is also important to lower chest and shoulders., in order to relieve shoulder, neck and stomach opening's tension.

Hands should be placed on the knees nuckles forward and breath deeply; such hand position will easily help to find out how chest and shoulders will be lowered. The backward movement of the buttocks also has the effect to pull some shoulder muscles downwards and helps to relieve chest and shoulder's tension.

7.4. Self discipline

It is very easy, that someone who does not know anything about judo might fail to see the importance and meaning of self discipline, which is within its techniques and culture.

Even if the techniques are quite understandable, the observer cannot understand the reason why it is so usefull to undergo so much hard work: why should someone want to repeat so many times preestablished movements or concentrate on spirit performance's research?

Why cope with such sacrifices and in the meantime not worry about controlling certain impulses, which according to the observer, should be subject to a rigid discipline?

In this field it is quite easy to have misunderstandings, especially when the observer belongs to a nation where no special teaching is being made concerning self discipline techniques and gets in touch with people who belong to a culture where there is a great belief in those techniques.

In Italy, without talking about the entire western world, the tradition of self discipline techniques is not well developped; each person after having taken into account its own possibilities, will learn self discipline if necessary in order to reach its set goals: succes will depend upon personal ambition and conscience.

Therefore, for example, someone might follow a very strict lifestyle in order to become part of an athletic team; someone else might renounce to amusement in order to have time to dedicate to music or to have success in business; a third might stay away from evil and superficiality in order to obbey his conscience. In other words, there is no autonomous subject such as self dicipline, meant to be a technical training to learn in the same way as arithmetics.

In Japan a youngster who wants to pass school exams must know self discipline techniques (such as judo and others), independently from other subjects.

According to the modern concept, it is possible to divide judo self discipline's technical research into two groups:

1) in the first group participants should acquire a certain capacity, which develops physical strength, a better fighting attitude, psycho-motor abilities, competition tactics, techniques adapted to competition situations, to reach victory with special skilled movements, ect;

2) in the second group, there should be something more such as knowledge, research or wisdom.

These two groups are well separated and reached results are different within human's psyche; rational bases are different and from the practical point of view forms are different.

Who wants to have success with sports or other hobbies is subject to discipline and during his trainings, as someone who dedicates time to a game, he will not have the impression to do any sacrifice. Of course training is strict, but it is absolutely necessary. Only by training ones spirit it will be possible to reach self-control.

Those forms, which were mentioned in the first group and which are aimed to acquire technical ability, are all based on a presupposition that it is possible to improve the way to behave in life through them.

Who for the first time gets in touch with judo, where self discipline and control are required, will feel at the beginning intolerance and restlessness, but will at the end learn to love his activity... or may stop it.

It is almost obvious that at the very beginning of his judoistic experience, not being used to face necessities connected to practice, the pupil will rather get rid of self discipline that is within judo. In such cases the teacher will probably tell him following things: where do you think to get by behaving like this? If you renounce and do not try to overcome yourself you will inevitably feel depressed. And if this will happen, and it will certainly happen, being a natural consequence, I am not willing to defend you from the others. A little training of the spirit is indispensable in order to taste life.

Self discipline helps to get rid of body's rust; as Japanese say make of a man a bright and sharp sword.

Besides above mentioned self discipline forms, which help to behave the right way according to circumstances, there are others which give wisdom.

8. BREATHING

8.1 Esoteric - hexoteric

Science concerning breathing, as many other sciences, has two distinct aspects:

1. esoteric, internal = from the greek word esoterikos internal, secret;

2. hexoteric, external = from the greek word exoterikos external, but also popular, profane,

vulgar.

Air contains energy and universal life, which we receive through our lungs and each of our cells. Therefore life depends exclusively upon the breathing act. A corect use of it is necessary in order to have perfect vitality and to avoid diseases.

It is not only possible to reach perfect physical wealth through it, but also to master body, its reactions and stimulus, an intelligent control of it lengthens our life and our resistance.

It is possible to reach interior thought freedom, which allows a better and a peacefuller life; a wider vision of existential problems; a discovery of new spiritual values; while bad breathing favours vitality reduction and all infection processes.

Man used to breath according to nature when he was in his natural state, but has then been subject to negative influence of our society. One of its results may be seen in the narrow chests that most men have nowadays, in their rapid decadence, in the enormous increase of lung diseases. Man has acquired bad walking habits and so in everything that involves body work; in such way he lost correct and natural breathing.

He has paid a very high price for his civilization and irony of fate wants that the so called savage, who has never met civilized man and his habits, still breathes in a natural way.

Even though there are some discrepancies between easteners and westeners concerning theory and terminology's details, one main principle is accepted by both: life depends only upon the breathing act.

Easterners go beyond this assertion saying, that by breathing correctly someone may not only increase physical benefits but also mental abilities; happiness; self control and last but not least spiritual progress.

In every time they have always taught to their followers, that within air there is a substance or a life principle, which generates each activity.

Such principle has been named in different ways in different philosophies and has its origin in the word prana, which in Sanskrit means absolute energy.

The Jew Genesis' writer talked about neschemet ruach chayima (neschemet= normal air breathing, chayim= life, ruach = life spirit), which translated means breathing of life spirit.

The child breathes deeply, holds the breath a moment and then breathes it out with a cry: this is how life starts. The elder sighs, stops breathing and this is how life ends.

Man may be living for a while without eating or drinking, but without breathing his existance will last only a few moments.

Not only superior species have based their lifes on this act, but also the lower ones, such as plants, exist because of air.

When we talk about suspended breath, or almost suspended, we usually mean a particular calm way of breathing.

It has been discovered, that thoughts within ones mind may be controlled by breath. Control and thought inhibition come from opposite tensions between abdomen muscles and diaphragm.

The za zen experience drawa the conclusion, that maintaining a tension between breathing abdomen muscles, it is possible to control what is happening in the mind.

Most of the people blow air with energy into their abdomen without knowing it, by holding their breath, when they try to resist to a biting chill, when they endure pain or when they try to repress disappointment or anger.

Besides this, abdomen muscles may be considered the general director of muscles' movements within the body; as a matter of fact when you do hard manual work, like lifting weights or hitting with a club, it is impossible to move other muscles without moving the abdomen ones. Even when you just move a hand or lift a foot these muscles are stressed.

If you scribble on a piece of paper or try to thread a needle, you will feel tension which develops in your diaphragm. Without breathing muscles' cooperation it is impossible to move any part of the body, to pay attention to anything or to start any kind of action.

It is important to examine elementary facts concerning breathing physiology. To start with it is necessary to talk about air volumes, which may be introduced or expelled by the lungs.

In the lower part of the diagramm there is a line which is close to the 1200 ml. level , that corresponds to the so called remaining lung volume, meaning, that when all outbreathing muscles are totally contracted about 1200 ml. air remains in the lungs and may not be expelled.

The reason why this happens is because no muscle contraction may completely deflate all alveolus and air channels. It is also specifically the reason why in the kneeling za zen position, we may expell as much air as possible and therefore remain without breathing for a considerable period of time.

The ascending and descending curve between levels 2300 and 2800 ml. show regular breathing. Lungs' volume increases from 2300 to 2800 ml. when we inhale and decreases to 2300 ml. while expelling.

Air's afflux and discharge of every breath is known as tide's width (flowing air) and is usually equal to about 500 cm3 of air, which correponds to lung's content in passive conditions.

Normal slow breathing is almost completely performed by inhaling muscles, therefore the passive volume corresponds to lungs' volume at the end of normal breathing. The horizontal line at level 2300 cm3 is called breathing horizon.

When all expiration's muscles are contracted as hard as possible, it is possible to expell out of the lungs another 1100 cm3 at the end of a normal expiration. This air, which may only be expelled by an effort, is called reserve breathing volume.

The diagramm shows the air volume which is inhaled and expelled from lungs during breathing. The curved line shows inhaling and expiration while practising za zen:

capacità vitale = vital capacity

capacità polmonare totale = total lung capacity

orizzonte della respirazione = breathing horizon

massimo volume della respirazione = max. breathing volume

volume di marea = tide volume

volume di riserva = reserve volume

volume residuo = remaining volume

Deep inhaling, when all or almost all reserve breathing volume is pushed out, is usually followed by a number of normal breathing cycles (Guyton, Function of the human body).

8.2 Four methods

Breathing has been classified into four general methods, which are:

1. high - 2. medium - 3. low - 4. complete

1. high breathing = is called the collar-bone one. Who breathes in this way will lift his ribs, his collar- bones and his shoulders, contracting at the same time the abdomen, which will push the diaphragm up; the upper part of the chest and lungs are therefore mainly used, being the smallest ones, only a very small air quantity will be inhaled.

Only by studying chest's anatomy it will be easy to find out that this way of breathing is one of the worst known ones: a maximum effort is required to reach a very low benefit; it is the most common one in western world.

2. medium breathing = is called the chest one. Even though it is a better way of breathing as the previous one, it is still an inferior one, since the external intercostal muscles and the neck ones are combined in order to lift the chest cavity's frontal part, the ribs are therefore pushed forward faster than before and the pleural cavity deepness is increased.

3. low breathing = is called the abdomen, deep or diaphragmatic one. It is a better way of breathing as the previous two, since it uses a bigger air quantity; it is the reason why it has been considered to be as the completest known way of breathing.

Main inhaling means are the diaphragm, the external intercostal muscles and a quantity of small neck muscles. The inhaling muscles produce, by double action, a pleural cavity widening. First, because it allows swelling of the lower abdomen, the diaphragm lower movement is favoured and so the lowering of the pleural cavity.

4. complete breathing = it is a way which contains all positive aspects of the three previous ones, without picking the negative ones. Each single part of the breathing apparatus is used, each part of the lungs, air particle and each breathing muscles; all this by using very low energy in order to have maximum benefit. The chest reaches its normal limits, each organ follows its appropriate natural function.

We usually breath 15 to 20 times a minute, in a very superficial way, because we use only one sixth of our lung capacity. A deep, complete breath does not reach only the chest and diaphragm, but also the intestine. In this case the breathing rythm is reduced from 5 to 10 times a minute (deep and calm).

While practising judo it is recommended to use the third method, since in the chest one the chest is lifted and the upper limbs are so relaxed, moving tension to the upper part, not allowing the right internal tension in the lower part of the abdomen.

The abdomen method on the other hand lowers the cavity and increases pressure in the lower part of the belly. While practising judo it is necessary to keep tension-pressure as long as possible in the lower part of the abdomen, producing both mental and physical stability.

Main muscles, which are used to breath out are the abdomen ones, while the minor ones are the internal intercostal muscles; the abdomen ones cause out breathing in two ways:

A) lowering chest cavity by reducing its volume;

B) pushing abdomen muscles againts the diaphragm reducing so chest cavity's length.

The internal intercostal muscles favour only slightly breathing out, lowering ribs and reducing chest cavity's deepness.

There is however an important difference between the normal out breathing and while practising judo. In the latter case the chest cavity needs to remain as still as possible. Inhaling is done by expanding the inferior abdomen, while breathing out is done through abdomen muscles' contraction. In normal abdomen breathing, abdomen muscles are contracted; bowels are pressed up, pushing on the diaphragm, which expels the air out of the lungs.

While practising judo, free contraction of abdomen muscles and their pushing movement towards the top are opposed by the diaphragm, which causes breath's suspension or reduction.

How to oppose abdomen's muscles contraction with the diaphragm might seem complicated. In reality it is quite simple: you just need to hold your breath. When you breath out slowly, the diaphragm will necessarily remain down and at the same time you control abdomen muscles' pushing towards the top.

Being opposed to the diaphragm, contraction is increased. This is what is meant by saying to strongly blow air into the tandem.

The result of such movement is what seems to be the aim of spiritual power. When there is an even balance between the opposition of the diaphragm and abdomen's muscles, both being contracted, breath will tend to stop.

There might be a slight loss of breath from the lungs, due to natural body pressure. If you want you may stop it, but it is not advised to do so, because it would cause an unpleasant pressure on the chest.

In Judo Taisen Roku, also considered judo's bibble by many, it has been said:

breathing needs to be combined with a good position... inhaling and breathing out have to be felt as if they would happen below the belly botton, called hara.

There are also precise advices which are given concerning abdomen's breathing during combats. Such instructions, which are based on old jujitsu schools methods, from which judo derives, are found in Itto's school, who advises: attack your opponent according to how he breathes and take your best chance.

Some old Masters advise to breath when attack, counter-attak or defense's action start and also recommend to deeply breath out.

Such advice concerns of course a combat moment which goes by and during which all body energies (physical, mental and functional) are unified in a dynamic fusion.

9. TECHNICAL PROGRESSION

9.1 Gymnastics

During last years, almost in every sport, physical strength has been enhanced, while technical preparation might be neglected. To strengthen ones body certainly is important, but articular elasticity has not to be forgotten, being its consequence body's nimbleness.

This concept had already been expressed by Master Mataemon (1600). He used to say that muscles' excessive development and to much faith in muscles' strength would give stiffness and slowness, which are usually associated to an armour or to old age and death. He used to enhance agility as being life's main visible feature.

In order to have a more elastic body, to increase body's strength and speed, to avoid dislocations, it is necessary to perform appropriate exercises. As a matter of fact, while practising judo, the entire body is subject to hard work, therefore in order to be technically effective it is necessary to develop those parts of the body, which are mainly used in throwing and holding techniques.

Gymnastics may be divided into two main categories:

1- auxiliary exercises: which have the aim to increase body's elasticity and physical strength. They may be divided into two undergroups: throwing techniques and holding techniques. These may be performed freely or with equipment;

2- preparation exercises: which have the aim to prepare the body for judo movements; being this sport performed on a mat tatami, it will be necessary to adapt them accordingly, by performing in a standing position, on the back and on the belly. It is always important to keep in mind that falls are also a perfect training exercise.

9.2 Body movements

There are two ways to walk on the mat tatami: the normal walk shintai and moving rotating tai sabaki.

- the normal walk Shintai = while practising judo it is not possible to walk as if being on the street, lift and then rest the foot, but one has to slip on the mat both in the natural way called ayumi ashi and with following steps called tsugi ashi (as if one foot dispelled the other).

To come forward or backward is not simply a body movement; it is a technique which allows either attack or defense. While moving around it is important not to lose ones natural balance. When both feet are close together or unified, or crossed, balance will totally be lost and it will be easy to be thrown. Therefore it is important to make steps, which are never to short nor to long, so that it is possible to change quickly ones position maintaining stability. However it is better to make short steps rather than long ones, without lifting ones feet, slipping with the entire sole. Of course body weight will have to be evenly balanced on both legs. However these advices do not have to compromise technical evolution.

- circualr movements Tai sabaki = it is a way to move the body circularly. As in the first case, this way of walking may be used while attacking or defending oneself, therefore it will be necessary not to exceed in the movement.

It is better to have soft movements, so that the opponent may not understand what attack intentions we have, this is the reason why it is important to slip on the mat, avoiding long or short movements.

9.3 Grips

During most competitions visually impaired athletes need a guide, or a sound to which to refer to or a time and so on. In this discipline the athlete may perform alone according to his character and temperament.

The athletes establish a contact through the hand grip on opponent's kimono. There is a great variety of grips according to height, body weight, strength, opponent's fighting way.

It is evident that grips are technically fundamental, but in every moment they need to be relaxed and not stiff, in order to function as earphones and to receive as much information as possible from the contact with the other athlete.

Grips have a double function:

1. active: transfer to opponent's body an impulse which is connected to the throw. The right arm will have the task to convey opponent's body weight, while the left one will accentuate moving action, with a precise directional character;

2. passive: stop impetus and opponent's movement which will perform a throw. The right arm will receive information concerning the direction of opponent's body movement, while the left one will receive information concerning lack of balance's direction.

Of course it will be necessary to study a way to change grips continuously, according to opportunities, trying to use energy the best possible way according to competition's tactic.

One basic principle of this sport is that judo is born from grips.

9.4 Balance

Sacripanti wrote in his book Biomeccanica del judo about balance, giving the following definition to human body's balance: physical condition of stable balance is defined as the state of a rigid body on a horizontal surface, to which a horizontal force may be applied provoking only a lift to human body's center of gravity. In the case of the latter, only when laying flat on a horizontal surface such characteristic is achieved. While the standing position has an unstable oscillating balance, due to muscles' contraction which counter balance gravity force acting on the body, these muscles are not constant being subject to a game of forces of the position muscles.

This is what helps us to understand, that balance is a complex movement pattern, being the result of different aquisitions, which mature during psychomotor development.

Judo practice among visually impaired people is quite young; some athletes still do not have complete control over their static and dynamic balance, being subject to the unknown which surrounds them.

In order to be structured, balance though needs an underlying security, without which it might otherwise not be reached.

Besides sight and self confidence, there are other important factors to its organization:

1. touch through the grip on the kimono one may feel opponent's attack preparation; pressure of the feet on the ground, being judo practiced barefoot;

2. information sense information coming from different parts of the body: avoid, contrast, anticipate, counter attack;

3. resting surface the smaller it is the harder it will be to maintain balance;

4. touching points stability is proportional to their number;

5. center of gravity its height conditions balance's state.

Gaining balance is therefore fundamental for a visually impaired person, so that he may well control his movements. Very often he might lose it, therefore it is important to teach how to control its procedure.

It is a clarifying way on how technical moving features of judo may appropriately solve visually impaired people's problems by gaining a good balance.

A negative factor, which needs to be corrected, may be found in partially visually impaired athletes, such as the ones belonging to the B2 class. Being able to slightly see with one eye or both, they tend to turn their heads in order to peek on opponent's action.

Such head side movement, even if only slight, will make him move his body weight more on one leg than on the other, therefore he will have a physical lack of compensation. The consequence is that one side of his body will be weaker than the other, therefore he is tactically vulnerable. A B1 athlete will not have such problem. After years of practice he will find his right position, he will be free in his movements and will not have any problems with his balance.

In other words, a B1 judoka may not only compete with B2 and B3 ones, but is even advantaged. In order to show evidence of what has been said here below are some results of international competitions, which clearly show that B1 athletes have always received medals and in some cases they even won more medals than the other two classes.

Medals according to sight class

Paralimpics World Championships

1988 1992 1990 1995

	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro
B1	1	4	5	3	4	6	2	0	9	2	1	7
B2	1	2	2	2	1	7	3	5	2	1	5	3
B3	4	0	5	2	2	1	2	2	1	4	2	5

European Championships

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995

	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro	gol	sil	bro
B1	0	0	0	2	3	6	2	1	7	2	1	8	2	1	7
B2	0	0	0	2	4	2	1	3	5	3	4	2	3	1	4
B3	0	0	0	3	0	2	4	3	2	2	2	4	2	5	3

City	Nat.	Year	B1	B2	B3	Tot
Parigi	FRA	1987	08	05	03	16
Manchester	GBR	1989	13	12	05	30
Sassari	ITA	1991	17	16	12	45
Valence	FRA	1993	16	12	13	41
Valladolid	ESP	1995	19	20	17	56
	TOT		73	65	50	188

Concerning dynamic balance of the couple of athletes, it may be seen that they have a stable balance due to tension, traction and a reaction game, even though each athlete by himself might might have an unstable position. Therefore it may be deduced, that in order to have a correct analysis of a competition it will be necessary to consider the two as being one: the biodynamic group of athletes' couple.

9.5 Falls

There is no sport in which a method of how to fall is taught. For example when playing soccer both the voluntary or non voluntary fall is not studied, it just happens; while skying falling is not foreseen as being part of the teaching method and so on.

While practising judo, falling techniques are taught in order to reduce to a minimum athlete's impact, both when he falls spontaneously and after a throw.

While working on it, it is basically important to study theorically and practically the best way to absorb with ones body the impact on the ground, in order to avoid physical damages. Being scared to fall creates athlete's psychological and physical stiffness, which often do not allow him to reach set goals.

Without having a good knowledge of falls, the athlete will always be afraid of throws; therefore his body movements will lack of natural flexibility; he will move around heavily and will always be unconsciously in a defensive position. On the other hand, the one who really handles these techniques will move with decision, with physical and articulation flexibility, allowing fast technical progresses.

It is very important for the visually impaired person to fall the right way, since his insecurities due to his blindness cause him even more difficulties. Learning the right and secure position will help him not to have any more or less dangerous accident and from which he could suffer under a psychological point of view, inhibiting him so during judo practice and so during everyday's life.

Some say that the blind athlete might add anxiety to his life due to falls, since he does not see where he falls. But if we analyse the principle, it is the same for a seeing athlete, who when he falls backwards does not see where he falls. Therefore it may be affirmed, that the fall itself is blind.

At the time being athletes specialize in falling techniques, both sideways or in front, in order to avoid during competitions to be classicaly thrown on the back, which would determine opponent's victory.

Falls are a very good exercise for physical agility, but also to reinforce ones body and especially kidneys, both to defend oneself from opponent's attacks and to throw him.

Many years ago the Japanese humanistic sciences faculty has done a study in order to understand to what proportion the impact of the body is reduced in a fall. If it depends upon body weight and if there is a difference between the impact of an expert and the one of a beginner.

A device to mesure distortions and an oscillograph have been used, in order to do such experiment. The aim of the distorsion device is to measure oscillographic vibrations. It is made with a generator, an oscillator and two amplifiers (one measures distorsions, the other produces necessary energy for the oscillograph).

Six judokas have been chosen, one had a twenty five years judoistic experience (6th dan), all others had only a one year experience. It was necessary to control the height and speed of the falls for each one and in order to reduce possible errors, the starting point has been determined and so the number of steps up to the point where the body had to jump, the jumping point itself and the position of the hands.

Once these six judokas had repeated their falls, so that one half of their backs would fall within the registration field of the oscillograph, the results of three falls of each were registered.

The body impact of the expert (6th dan) was the same in all three registered falls, efficacy was constant but not maximum. This probably because of his preparation and his yearly experience. The beginners, due to their lack of practice, depended much more upon variations from one fall to the other, therefore giving less good results. Furthermore, by using a planimeter, in order to measure the relation between fall's speed and impact, it has been observed that beginners' results were badly registered, due to their own lack of stability. This did not happen in the case of the 6th dan.

Besides few cases, as according to the here below table, the impact to which the person is subject is equal to about 60% of his body weight. Falls have eliminated about 40% of the impact, to which the person would have been subject to. Of course it is not a lot, but best registered results show that it is possible to reduce impact to a certain minimum and that falls are usefull when there is movement coordination.

Scientific research table on falls ukemi

ath	age	years of practice	kg.	impact kg. -1	relation imp/kg.	impact kg. -2	relation imp/kg.	impact kg. -3	relation imp/kg.	approx. minimum
A	41	25	89,5	55,0	61,34%	55,0	61,34%	55,0	61,34%	61,34%
B	22	1	60,5	33,0	54,54%	13,5	22,71%	50,5	22,71%	60%
C	21	1	72,5	5,5	17,69%	57,5	79,63%	76,5	79,63%	40%
D	21	1	78,5	56,0	70,83%	50,5	63,88%	34,0	63,88%	60%
E	22	1	75,0	46,0	61,74%	49,5	66,07%	20,0	66,07%	55%
F	21	1	66,0	25,5	38,33%	57,0	86,66%	51,5	86,66%	70%

It is clear that these kind of experiments are quite usefull and have to be studied more, evaluating a greater number of judokas with more modern technical devices. Only in this way it will be possible to find out how much the impact may be reduced with the falls, how judoka's weight and experience play a determining role in falls' efficacy, allowing so to have a usefull study for those coaches, who will teach falls to visually impaired people.

9.6 Throwing techniques

The composition of throwing techniques includes elementary actions, such as: body movement shintai, preparation tsukuri and lack of balance kuzushi.

Technical action may be defined as a group of movements, which allow to reach sport performance, using combined effects of external and internal forces, which act on the athlete, the right way.

Throwing techniques table

arm techniques te waza	hip techniques *koshi* *waza*	leg techniques *ashi* *waza*
seoi nage	o goshi	de ashi barai
ippon seoi nage	uki goshi	okuri ashi barai
eri seoi nage	tsuri komi goshi	harai tsuri komi ashi
kata te seoi nage	harai goshi	sasae tsuri komi ashi
morote seoi nage	koshi guruma	o soto gari
sukui nage	hane goshi	o uchi gari
kanseki otoshi	ushiro goshi	ko uchi gari
tai otoshi	utsuri goshi	hiza guruma
obi otoshi		ashi guruma
sumi otoshi		o guruma
uki otoshi		o soto guruma
kata guruma		ko soto gake
te guruma		uchi mata
		o soto otoshi

Movement group's structure that determines a technique is produced by its elements, tied one to the other, in order to give a contribution to the action generating in this way the system and its properties. Main features of technique are self-assurance, lightness and movement economy, without superfluous muscles tension.

While practising judo, technique has the task to solve complex movements, according to changing competition conditions and the athlete will have to have a great variety of technical actions, which are tied to an adaptation capacity and imagination. Due to complexity of the athlete, it is important to consider kinetic, dynamic and intellectual aspects of technique's structure.

In order to perfection a technique, it is important to built the right movement system, of course the technical and sport ability of the athlete will depend upon such system, which will be modified and continuously improved during practice thanks to exercises.

The Japanese throwing techniques' classification is the go kyo.

In 1882 Master Jigoro Kano founded his first judo kodokan gym and thirteen years later, in 1895, along with a group of high graded masters of the old jujitsu school and their best followers he established the first modern judo method (which has been called by this name by him in order to distinguish it from the other jujitsu schools), dividing it into five go principles kyo. About thirty eight throwing techniques were included. Such technical progression has been based on the long jujitsu experience and years of study at the Kodokan.

In 1920, Master Kano founded the jujitsu school, unifying all existing Japanese schools.

It was at this point that he decided to establish a new teaching method and in order to bring the revision through he was helped by his disciples.

In this revision some new techniques are to be found and so some have been moved from one principle to the other, others have been eliminated. All this to allow an easier interpretation with a gradual and logic progression. Each group kyo included eight techniques with a total of fourty movements and sixteen more techniques, which were classified as not fundamental.

In 1982 the higher grades of todays Kodokan have thought to radically change the technical progression, classifying techniques according to the part of the body that determines the throw. Such classification has been done, since in our days some of the techniques are not expressed during competitions. Such recent classification includes fourty seven techniques; we may notice that some of them, which were eliminated in 1895, have been restored.

The original progression forsees that each movement is the preparation for the following throw and is the combination or the counter technique to the movement which follows or precedes it. Therefore its classification is a basic element to its technical study.

There are many other reasons which have brought to such drafting, among which that beginners do not perform pushing techniques. As a matter of fact, in the first technique, the advanced foot sweep de ashi barai, the fall happens by slipping on the mat tatami. In the second, the knee wheel hiza guruma, turning on ones foot, and then in the propping drawing ankle throw sasae tsuri komi ashi by blocking opponent's ankle, then turning around ones hip floating hip uki goshi and finally by reaping backwards major outer reaping o soto gari.

Besides these schematic technical relations it is impossible to illustrate the entire pedagogical value of the go kyo, it would take several books to do it. However we may explain why the founder has prefered the advanced foot sweep de ashi barai as the first technique.

He explained that in order to perform a correct de ashi barai, it will be necessary to move ones body the right way tai sabaki, to use the entire leg for reaping, without neglecting necessary timing for the throw. These explanations may also be found in all other throws.

Force may not be used in order to be successfull in advancing opponent's foot. In such way beginners are forced to respect judo's bases and in the meantime the principles which move ones body and ones force. Therefore the fall will not be violent and the body will slip along ones length on the mat tatami. Who may already know this technique will use it in order to train on falls.

Each time someone wants to establish a method, a teaching progression, he will come back to the go kyo.

It is necessary to underline that the first technical progression teaching method has exclusively been established for westeners by the M° Kawaishi (1899-1969).

Such system, which has taken the name of the master himself, must not lead to think that there are two types of judo, since the system itself is based on the original classification of Prof. Kano. The only existing difference is that techniques are taught considering westeners' lifestyle, which is quite different from the Japanese one.

The author of such progression has said: Each nation has habits and lifestyles which are different from the others and Japan is not an exception, since there there is a great ethic social difference compared to other nations. Judo was born refering to their way of thinking and behaviour. To think that it is possible to transfer such oriental practice as it is to Europe and to let it grow and prosper following Japanese principles without adapting them to westeners' mentality, is a great mistake.

I have had the opportunity to visit different nations and found out that judo which is tought is not adequate to this mentality. Of course it is not judo itself that is wrong, nor is it fault of those who transmit it, but it is the teaching method which is not appropriate.

This is the reason why I have conceived a method to be destined to Europeans. Its aim is to aknowledge people with original Japanese judo, by leaving out at the beginning some techniques, which are considered to be dangerous for westeners, being performed with the true original old jujitsu spirit.

During throwing techniques the notion of the one who undergoes the action uke is very important, so that the one who acts tori does not fight against his pair, but along with him tries to perform the required exercise. At the beginning it is quite difficult to understand this idea, also because most beginners stiffen when thinking about the fall that will follow. It will also be very important to pratise each technique on both sides, right and left.

In technical progression there is a group of techniques, where the one who acts goes on the ground in order to throw his opponent sutemi waza.

There are two similar words within judo: uke mi and sute mi.

uke = receives, mi = body; by extension to receive the body, to deaden the impact, protect ones body from impact to the ground. It is a passive action;

sute = let go, mi = body; by extension to voluntarily go on the ground to throw the opponent. It is an active action.

Sutemi has a great importance, as a matter of fact many shools share this technique. Master Kano defined within judo the critical point between those techniques which are performed while standing tachi waza and those where someone goes voluntarily on the ground to throw the opponent sutemi waza.

For example seoi otoshi, a technique where one knee will be put on the ground in order to be performed, remains within the group of techniques which are performed while standing tachi waza. While those movements which are used to finish the throw on the ground maki komi , by leaning the back on the ground ma sutemi or slightly sideways yoko sutemi, are classified as sutemi waza. This action does not have to create difficulties nor fear, anxiety nor tension. It is important to leave ones body go naturally, without any personal worries.

The birth of sutemi waza is due to the necessity to get out of a difficult situation, such as being blocked in a small space, not having the possibility to go backwards or to intentionally get close to the opponent.

It is not to be forgotten, that during Prof. Kano's period dojos were made of few tatamis, close to the walls; competitions used to take place on a lifted area, without definition of the competition area. It has also to be remembered, that until the '70's the competition area was determined by a red band, only few centimeters thick. The red danger zone being one meter wide has been introduced only furhter on.

The instantaneous movement speed is the success key of the sutemi. If someone does not have a discreet technical knowledge and physical ability while falling, it will always be possible to have an accident while performing.

Everything that has been said is a recomendation to those who already have a certain judo experience.

Sutemi waza table

Going on the back *ma sutemi waza*	Going on the side *yoko sutemi waza*
tomoe nage	yoko otoshi
sumi gaeshi	yoko gake
ura nage	yoko guruma
tawara gaeshi	yoko wakare
hiki komi gaeshi	uki waza
	tani otoshi
	soto maki komi
	uchi mata maki komi
	hane maki komi
	daki wakare

When a sutemi technique is performed, independently to which group it belongs to, there are four falling directions of the one who is thrown:

A - Frontal: pulling above oneself the opponent, he will be thrown into a normal fall forwards.

The typical technique is tomoe nage;

B - Sideways: pulling the opponent on one side he will be thrown sideways.

The typical technique is yoko otoshi;

C - Forward diagonally: pulling the opponent diagonally forward, but above oneself, he will be

thrown forward to the right (or left). The typical technique is uki waza;

D - Backward diagonally: pulling the opponent diagonally backward, he will be thrown

backwards or diagonally. The typical technique is tani otoshi.

9.7 Techniques on the ground

Techniques' table on the ground

Holding techniques *osae komi waza*	Choking Techniques *shime waza*	Armlocks *kansetsu waza*
hon gesa gatame	juji jime	ude garami
ushiro gesa gatame	morote jime	ude hishigi gatame
kata gatame	kata te jime	ude hishigi juji gatame
makura gesa gatame	okuri eri jime	ude hishigi hiza gatame
yoko shiho gatame	kata ha jime	waki gatame
kami shiho gatame	hadaka jime	hara gatame
tate shiho gatame	sode guruma jime	sankaku gatame
kuzure kami shiho gatame	sankaku jime
kuzure kami shiho gatame	ashi gatame jime

A. Holding techniques osae waza

Only through holding techniques' study it is possible to learn the notion of contact, being a main condition of techniques on the ground. Therefore the constant efficacy, that allows to use afterwards, according to circumstances, various systems in order to get free from one or the other holding technique and to pass from one to the other and so to choking techniques and armlocks.

Holding techniques generally have to be interpreted as immediate holds after different ways to bring the opponent towards the ground of which here below four principles:

1. the performer obtains only an advantage after a throw (therefore technique is not done with efficacy), he uses throw's strength in order to continue his work on the ground;

2. upon opponent's attack, the performer counter-attacks and brings him to the ground;

3. the performer makes a mistake while attacking, the opponent tries to bring him to the ground. The first follows him and then attacks again.

4. the opponent makes a mistake while attacking, the executor brings him to the ground.

Holding techniques are also fundamental, in order to follow attacks on the ground or overturnings.

To explain holding techniques, we have to imagine human body as an axis (to be more exact we need to consider the trunk excluding upper and lower limbs).

Corners 1 and 2 are the shoulders, while 3 and 4 are the hips. When a corner of this axis is lifted, it will be necessary to move body's weight towards that corner, in order to get it back to the ground. It is therefore necessary to nullify opponent's strength, but in such a way that the pressure is not too heavy or too concentrated. This could create a lack of balance, which could swiftly be used by the opponent to get free.

A concrete way to avoid corner lifting, without losing its control, is to weigh on lifted corner with an attentive change in the holding technique; everything needs to be done with a continuous control of main supporting points. In this way it is possible to reduce to a minimum opportunities that the opponent frees himself, forcing him to find new supporting points.

While supporting points move around, the performer has to make sure that his weight is well placed on his opponent, in order to tire him, but without ever loosing contact and making him feel his weight on chest cavity's upper part.

The aim of supporting points is to gain them over the opponent, adhere to him as a sucker. In order to do so, body's entire surface (chin, forehead, ears, skull's upper part, neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, limbs' internal and external parts, toes and fingers' endings, abdomen always swollen) will have to be used and has a determining role in order to maintain contact and balance.

Generally when talking about control techniques there are two pressure zones:

1. at pelvis'and hips' level (and not on the soft part of the abdomen);

2. on chest cavity's stiff part (precisely on the sternal zone).

Besides these pressure zones, it will be necessary to know how to place oneself on the opponent, put chest cavity's central part on his sternum, rationally orientate free parts of the body in order to create a counter-weight. The latter is obtained by moving free parts of the body away from opponent's gravity center or by holding him as close as possible to the tatami. The abdomen has an important role (it has to be swollen and attached to the mat or opponent).

Lower limbs are also important, since they stop opponent's transversal reactions. Legs always need to be spread (toes towards the ground), in order to ensure a very good stability.

To recapitulate, in order to obtain perfect holding it is necessary to:

1. ensure good contact;

2. create precise supporting points;

3. have a good body balance;

There are several classification methods of holding techniques among which:

1. Prof. Kano's classification

A) shoulder holding, opponent ones;

B) hip holding.

Such classification considers only the effect upon the opponent, without taking performer's position into account. Following such criteria Prof. Kano has decided what follows:

1) - shoulder controlling techniques kesa gatame;

2) - controlling techniques with four holding points shiho gatame.

2. Prof. Oda's classification

It is quite easy and allows to consider all controlling technique possibilities, whatever the starting point (to start out with between opponent's legs) or arriving point is (behind, sideways).

He foresees the following study:

A) holding techniques where performer's legs are spread;

B) holding techniques where the performer is kneeling.

3. Prof. Kawaishi's classification

Foresees eleven controlling techniques starting with the first holding technique hon gesa gatame. It combines the ones with the others starting at first by going towards the head of the one who undergoes the technique, and at second (by switching the holding points around in a judicious and alternate manner) by returning to a sideway holding technique and then by going over the opponent ending up in a sideway controlling technique.

It is an excellent way to give learners a good knowledge of the techniques, giving them an idea of joining techniques together while fighting. By doing so the method has acquired a mnemonic technical content rather than a real technical-practical one.

Further on, he studied the possibility to add new positions (which he has conceived) with old techniques, in order to have less fast and more secure combinations; so starting from a right sideway holding technique (a variation of hon gesa gatame) one follows the same path by turning around the opponent (going backwards, sideways, on top and then sideways again). This simple and elegant system, being usefull at the beginning, became unfortunately difficult to study further on.

As a matter of fact when a learner wants to know all variations of a controlling technique, he needs to try several times the combination follow up, thing that is always difficult to remember. Even though it is limited to two rounds this classification is not complete and therefore not sufficient.

4. Pure and mixed technique's classification

A) Pure controlling techniques (where only performer's body holds the one of who undergoes the technique);

B) Mixed controlling techniques, combined with choking techniques and armlocks.

The idea was to teach holding techniques, which are used while fighting, turning around the opponent only after having taken into account all possible situations starting from a specific position. Starting from performer's sideway position, the idea was to give a value to frequency and security to above mentioned positions, which offers also a great variety of resorces.

Starting from this position a sternal holding positions' study shiho gatame is done, afterwards one of the costal ones kesa gatame on the right and left side, during which the contact with the opponent will be with the right (or left) flank. From this position one goes behind the opponent and at last on top of him, describing in such way all techniques he found, while going for these positions.

Ways to free oneself: once opponent's value has been established , the best way to free oneself is without any doubt an overturn; it is obtained by turning towards the opponent or towards the opposite side and lifting one hips in order to go into a bridge position. For a good judoka it is a necessary exercise. It allows to concentrate ones power within a point, so that the opponent has difficulties in opposing himself.

Table of typical positions

activ positions	passiv positions
rolled up on the loins	on the belly
rolled up on th back	low four-footed position
rolled up in the sitting position	high four-footed position
rolled up while kneeling	on the knees
rolled up on the flank	with one lifted knee
half rolled up
open guard

The performer has to show his experience by neutralising opponent's attacks, in order to reach final victory. If one has the right guarde position he may allow himself to make rapid hooks, reaching victory in few seconds or by creating difficulties to the opponent even though he is on top of the performer.

Here are some principles, that allow to have deeper insight into the guard position:

1. to have a great mobility and speed in order to always face opponent's attacks;

2. never kneel nor show the back to the opponent only in extreme cases;

3. to oppose to the opponent an energic defensive line being stable;

4. while the opponent is attacking decrease as much as possible body surfaces that touch the ground;

5. open spaces to the opponent in order to trap him;

6. leg's action is much more important than the arm ones.

Hooks: some rules to follow in order to perform leg hooks:

1. avoid wrong leg positioning, they either have to be (both) between or outside opponent's ones;

2. always control the opponent with legs in the fundamental position;

3. try to hook the leg as fast as possible;

4. always control opponent's arm action:

-allow only one arm around the neck;

-allow only one hand around the belt at hips level;

5. avoid to hold his whole body weight on the chest;

6. should the attack fail, try to turn him around;

7. if he tries to hold you, get free by slightly pushing with both arms and legs.

B. Choking techniques shime waza

The name which is given to various chokings is very often due to the funtion of main body, arms and legs' action or according to collar's position, which allows choke's performing.

Choking action shime waza has to be immediate, clear and precise and assured by radial or cubital arm's position (according to the case).

Choking techniques may be classified as follows:

1. blood - due to the compression of the carotid or the jugulars, also called drowned's syncope. The person has low blood pressure and is soft. The eye is closed and if you lift the eye-lid the eye is turned upside down, the pupil becomes bigger and the face whiter. Heart and lung movements are imperceptible.

The person has no defense and seems to be asleep. The blood pressure is so low that it is hard to keep the person in a seated upright position.

This kind of fainting is often performed, through a choking technique, which is maintained at medium pressure from a few seconds to over twelve.

2. nervous - centered on the carotids and belonging to the classical type of the drowned. The person is contracted, has high blood pressure and is rigid. He moves, makes harsh noises, foams at the mouth and his lips are swollen and blue. The tongue, which is turned over, provokes heavy breathing. He has spasmodic contractions, which may be seen because the chest vibrates due to the diaphragm movement. The eye-lid is half open, the eye stares and the pupil becomes bigger.

If one let go before the person has fainted, he will keep shaking and the pupil remains big. He is awake and can speak, but if the action is continued for a few seconds the person faints and has convulsions.

The two explained chocking techniques provoke heart and circulation stop.

3. breathing - acting on the wind pipe. Usually it may not be called a real breathing choking technique. As a matter of fact one would have to have an enormous power in order to succeed in this action, because the one who undergoes the technique defends himself with arms and legs, and very often takes a lot of efficacy away from the action. The wind pipe or larynx opening is only half way closed and therefore allowing a superficial air flow, which is enough to fight against asphyxia. In other words, the hold which is precisely done on the wind pipe, becomes rapidly painfull and therefore the one who undergoes it gives up.

However the possibility to choke someone may not be excluded. During a fight, the chest of the one who attacks and the kimono may completely obstruct air ways of who is being held or has no defense. This loss of consciousness may rapidly happen, if the person continues trying to find a way to get free.

4. Mixed - all chokes which can either be blood or nervous ones belong to this group. There are some considerations to be done on the effect of these chokes.

Having the intention to find a choking technique which is secure, precise and immediate, the phisiological process of nervous chokes has been studied, being those the most spectacular and less questionable ones. However experts say that a choke is always vascular and very often nervous. The importance of the nervous factor explains the almost sudden loss of consciousness, practically it is only necessary to reach a side compression of the carotids.

The compression is to be done:

1. with direct hand contact;

2. with the forearm;

3. through means of the neck;

4. with judogi's collar.

In every side choking techniques the adherence has to be perfectly placed on the nape, while the maximum pressure has to be on the carotids and jugulars below the lower jaw. In order to avoid that the opponent frees himself, it will be necessary to neutralize his leg action.

Table of possible choking techniques

way	mechanic action	psychologic action	practical results for performers
front hold	compression:	soffocation	give up for:
back	wind pipe		pain: wind pipe, back bone
	back bone		dyspnoea: asphyxia, pain
	cervical		faint: possible but
			unlikely.
side hold	compression:	cerebral aneamic	give up:
	venes		pain
	arteries		dyspnoea:asphyxia, emotions
	nervous		fainting because afraid
			to be choked
combination of processes

C. Armlocks kansetsu waza

An arm or a leg undergoes a lock once one of its articulations (shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee and ankle) goes beyond its natural limit due to the effect of an abnornal force applied to it.

Within technical judo, which is practised nowadays and the competition one it has been established that the only locks which are allowed are the armlocks exclusively on the elbow articulation. They may be started and concluded while standing only if performed in a determined and controlled way or they may be started while standing and concluded on the ground (elbow hyper-extension with the armpit waki gatame is forbidden).

All other locks on any body articulations are forbidden, since it is thought that they may provoke severe body damage; it is however important to know them for a series of reasons, such as a judoistic culture, a knowledge of the old jujitsu techniques, a knowledge of various possible accidents, that may be provoked through ingorance, lack of attention or bad action control.

Four conditions are generally necessary in order to obtain a good technical result :

1. block farest opponent's articular surface;

2. place oneself very close to the articulation;

3. choose the farest point from ones supporting position to apply the force;

4. through the lock create a control over the nearest articular surface.

Hyper-extensions have to be performed by controling extremities and by going out of the articulation.

In order to avoid damage, it is sufficient to exactly know the way and the attitude of normal articulation's movements. It is good to realise, that going beyond articulation's natural movement the armlock will be effective.

Judoka's fair play has to consider particular elasticity of each single person. Some athletes have very rigid articulations, others are so flexible, that it is almost necessary to dislocate their articulations for them to feel armlock's effectiveness.

Armlocks' range which are performed from the upper position is wider because:

1. there are more sides from which to attack from. The performer may be sideways, behind, on top of the opponent. In the last position the performer can also be bent in a high or low position or on his knees;

2. it is easier to fake, to do sumersaults, to move, to turn around the knees or feet; all this without interrupting contact.

All these actions comply the opponent to undergo a series of grips, that allow to determine judo's creative value and surely also the ability of a judoka, who is specialized in ground work. Such value is not only recognised because of grips' variety, but also because of balance, movement's smoothness, the art of creating new clever combinations.

It is also important to remember, that working on the ground needs a lot of patience and perseverance and is a good device to form ones character.

Elbows articulation allows a normal flexion/extension of about 140 degrees; it slightly goes sideways during the flexion and has great rotating movements inwards (a little less outwards).

Here the possibilities to perform an armlock:

1. to the extension, by hyper-extension or by torsion (especially outwards);

2. during flexion going too much sideways.

Once a necessary and sufficient part of the articulation is locked, the opponent can hardly free himself. It is then necessary to proceed with method and paying attention to find articulation's forcing going in the opposite direction than the natural one. The opponent will always respect and be grateful for that and sometimes even admire the performer for his perfect, but not painful control.

Most of the times blocking and positioning are performed in a way that the armlock is immediatly effective from the very beginning, without there being an apparent forced movement of the articulation. Sometimes it will be necessary to wait until one has gained his final position in order to obtain the lock.

Once it is obtained one may look for lock's power in different ways, so that the opponent surrenders because of the pain, which is provoked by nerve, tendon or ligament's compression or traction. There is no combination which is not allowed, however always with the condition, that rules' spirit is respected.

9.8 Technical practice

During technical training there are four teaching phases, that will allow technique's use while competing:

Knowledge phase - The coach will have to teach the standard technique to the athlete. At the very beginning by performing it himself on him, in order to show him, allowing him to feel body's positions with his hands (shoulders, hips, leg bending and so on), the ones of the one performing it related to those who is undergoing it.

In those techniques where there is no body contact between the two, for example the advanced foot sweep de ashi barai, the coach will have the athlete standing on his feet and will then perform required steps for the execution, this in order to teach him final sweep's rythm. Then he will perform the same steps by touching with his toes athlete's ones.

Experimental phase - the athlete has to transform movement's image into his body movement through practical experimentation. The coach will have to use the fragment method (the entire movement has to be split in small movement fragments), then the unifying one (the group of simple movements which are needed in order to perform a technique with a smooth and continuous movement). Everything is done in order to correct mistakes, which exist during performance.

Stabilizing phase - the main aim of this phase is to reach movement automatism, articulation mobility, power development, speed and general resistance. It has to be reached by using the repetition method uchi komi and the variation one. The coach will have to pay attention to have the right combination of both, in order to avoid stereotype movement structures' development, which is typical within the repetition method.

Strategical phase - The coach has to focus on adaptation within competition situations, stimulating athlete's creativity. Fundamental training methods in order to develop tactical abilities are based on performed mistake study, reconstruction of particular situations.

Here below three training programing principles belonging to the minimum knowledge which has to be taught:

1. specific quality; 2. continuity; 3. progression.

1. Specific quality: a constant phenomenon while training is organism's adaptation to the type of effort it undergoes. Such physical adaptation is selective, in other words the organism adapts itself only to the effort it undergoes; for. ex.: a 100m. runner who follows marathon runner's training will see how his performance as a sprinter will drastically fall. Such principle reminds the coach of the importance to prepare his athletes for the type of effort they will undergo the competition day, taking of course into consideration combats' duration, number, intensity and recovery times.

Physical preparation has to take ones organism towards efforts which are different from those that judo produces. The psychological usefullness of this activity will allow some physical progress and a general one, which will then have to be transfered to judo itself. For. ex.: a first progress on the resistance while running long distances will not immediatly be used to improve athletes' behavior while training for combats; the judoka is not a long distance runner and such long and regular work will progressively have to leave its place to more intense and intermittent efforts.

2. Continuity: Organism's adaptation phenomenons to efforts can only be reached if the effort type is repeated with a certain frequency. There are two principles to be underlined:

A) practice's regularity = most coaches recognize that three practices a week is the minimum required in order to obtain real progresses: if training is frequently interrupted it is not effective;

B) knowledge's persistence = the most general rule is that training efforts' duration should be proportional to performed work duration.

Fast progress disappears if not followed by training: in order to improve resistance and strength's quality a great amount of work is necessary. Such long term investment is needed, since it conditions youngsters' training ability.

3. Progression: it is reknown that an athlete cannot be at his best more than two or three times each season.; improving his physical condition will progressively take him to his best condition. There are two essential rules to consider:

A) preparation to reach maximum effort needs first of all exercises with different intensity and duration (work mass has to be adapted to athlete's progress);

B) in order to be usefull exercises have to be intense in order to provoke athlete's tiredness. It is by using muscles' energy reserves that starting potentials may be improved. The difficulty for the coach lies in choosing the exercise follow-up; the frequency; the intensity; the duration; how many repetitions, the recovery time.

9.9 Basic techniques' demonstration

The exact translation of the word kata is: way, model, type. It gives a structure to many Japanese disciplines with a common feature: search. The general short definition of kata could be identified within a sequence of codified and formal gestures, based on the spirit that is oriented towards the realization of the word do.

The notion of do is not only common within traditional martial arts, such as archery kyu do, Japanese sword ken do, energy's union aiki do, hitting with blank hands karate do, and so on, but also in everyday's art, such as laying out flowers ka do, hand-writing sho do and so on.

The idea, that each and every art, once a certain deepness is reached, unifies on the same spiritual level, is typical within Japanese culture. The level that may be reached through each single art is considered to be indispensable in order to reach a situation, where ones personal ability is not only tied to a single field, but is extended in a universal way.

The notion of do is therefore within Japanese culture a direct path to a spiritual state within human faculties in different artistic fields; it may be reached by deepening each single discipline. It also carries a moral aspect along: in order to follow the path, it will be necessary to conform to those principles that rule universe and society.

Any perfectioning process in whatever discipline is that to realize ones entire personality in harmony with human and natural world.

The word do is usually translated with way, path, discipline and so on, but none of these words covers its entire cultural meaning.

In western culture there is no word that allows to entirely picture the meaning of do's concept. It is not only an abstract idea, but rather a moral one or a way to live; it is therefore a historical social product full of habits and different ancient religions.

In Japanese martial arts, which have been introduced in western countries with the word of bu do, the notion of do remains on phenomenon's surface, such as an abstract idea, usually deformed by rational elaborations, while its body practice develops as a social sport and violence's practice.

In Japan, even though there is a recent sport trend, such notion remains tied to the practice of those martial arts, which are related to distinct methods in order to obtain: concentration, physical and psychological strength, specificic social rules, behavioral models, relations between teachers and pupils, between older and younger pupils, courtesy expressions ect.

The same notion of do is transmitted and known within the European image and practice of Japanese martial arts, but due to the differences of the European cultural system, the content of this notion is not comunicated. There is rather a tendency to mistify it, that very often covers poorness of those body technique's aspects, which are controlled and that go along with the switch of authoritarian relationship's way between master and pupil.

Judo is also physical culture. When taking such notion as a starting point, it is possible to conceive after long years of study kata's study.

According to founder's principle, the kata is to be integrated within judo practice and he expresses this idea clearly when he stated:

Following physical education principles, we usually observe at first a moderate movement and then a stronger one and in the same way first a symmetric and then an asymmetric one.

The conclusion that may be drawn is, that between the three practice methods, randori, shiai and kata, only the kata may satisfy requirements of moderation and symmetry.

It is also true that it is necessary to know fundamental techniques in order to have a correct kata performance.

Most Japanese Masters agree when saying that: such exercise called kata is a result, therefore judo's practice does not start with it. A beginner starts by practicing at first falls and then techniques, throwing and controlling ones (while standing and on the ground) and only after a longer period of time he may start with kata's study. In Japan the pupil is not required to perform judo with perfect movements, he will have to do so only once he has learned a certain number of throwing and controlling techniques while standing or on the ground, and he will have to apply, combine and classify them into principles.

This teaching kind is usually taught during special clinics, where all interpretation, execution, application and demontration forms of the chosen kata are explained with following aims:

1. development of basic judo techniques;

2. learned technique's harmonic development;

3. mental control;

4. mechanical movement preparation within demonstration;

5. judo's spirit and principle development;

6. preserve self-defense values in order to show judo's origins;

7. a good practice opportunity at any age;

8. preserving judo's traditional simbolic values.

Kata's principle and aim - once the notion of do has been explained we may see that in all above mentioned disciplines, while trying to perform a kata in a perfect way, one tries to synchronize formal gesture techniques with his spiritual state.

A judo kata is the demonstration of an interdependent fundamental form of attack and defense. In its execution three basic judo principles have to be followed:

1. the best energy use seryoku zenyo: maximum efficacy with a minimum effort;

2. help, prosperity and mutual improvement, which are jita kyoei aims; kata is a group work, which enhances personal perfectioning and educational demonstration's values;

3. judo's way and technique consists in giving up with flexibility in order to better win.

Ritual movements which follow up in a strict progression are the results of long term experiences and deep considerations of the elder and better masters.

All grips, positions, every slightest detail have been selectioned, perfectioned and classified, in order to reach a final perfect form: the most beautiful one and the better representing aesthetic and judo's spirit.

Katas have other two merits: to have preserved and transmited jujitsu' techniques' ancient tradition, especially after a time where it became quite unpopular in Japan, because of its abuse and to have given its contribution to great part of judo's creation and development.

Jujitsu's katas used to be style exercises, their practice used to be a religious one, however always mistic. It underlined gesture and showed that the performer mastered everything perfectly, combat's spiritual and then technical aspect. Spiritual and mental assimilation has to preceed detailed knowledge of each technique.

Necessity to codify katas - considering judo's growth and technical progress, Prof. Kano felt in 1887 the necessity to fix the way of various katas.

At the beginning he codified five of them, the essential ones, according to natural law and harmony ju. Afterwards he codified further five, that expressed strength go.

By unifying those of harmony ju and those of strength go, he codified the koshiki no kata, which gathers all principles of old jujitsu's schools.

Insisting on kata's execution has the aim to clear judo's principles from a theoric and methodic point of view. Here below his own thought on the matter:

there is the tendency to ignore katas since randori is much more attractive as a sport, it is taught in order to cultivate ones body with harmony, but it may not be avoided that certain parts of the body work more than others. While the kata is practised according to specific movements and therefores might become boring.

At the time being it is possible to group them according to their aim:

1. free practice: throwing techniques, holding techniques, choking techniques and armlocks:

nage no kata - katame no kata;

2. extreme decision research within combat and self-defense:

kime no kata - goshin jutsu - goshin ho;

3. physical education practice:

seryoku zenyo kokumin taiku - ju no kata;

4. theoric and historic principle research:

itsutsu no kata - koshiki no kata.

But there are many other kata's, which are not anymore practised such as:

1. counter-attack kata nage no ura no kata - many years after Prof. Kano's death, some masters have given their interpretations with the aim to preserve tradition; for example there is the counter-attack demonstration called go no sen no kata, which is different from the one M. Kyuzo Mifune has conceived (most famous 10th dan of judo's world history) and which he called nage no ura no kata;

2. the attack kata shobu no kata - made of ten techniques that study war combat;

3. strength and hitting kata go no kata - made of ten techniques that study push and physical strength. It is violent and contracted (a kind of Japanese savate), nowadays it is usually practised within Japanese karate gyms.

9.10 Programming

The exercise that comes closest to competition is called randori combat training, it is the exercise that allows best preparation. Its importance in programming is closely connected to athletes' level; it is almost the exclusive high level exercise.

It is important to remember that it is a necessary summarizing activity, it favors athletes' attitude towards risks and therefore behaviors which are oriented towards movement and attack; there has to be a peacefull atmosphere among the group in order to have successfull training and to allow overcoming fall's drama. Organizing the work impedes athletes to always follow the same technical program, endurance and intensity. Everyone has to be aware of one or more technical themes, which he will develop in a particular way during practice. For ex.: practice with a lefty, combination with a backward attack, working up after a short combat pause and so on; it is important that everyone knows about what is going to happen during practice. Pauses' quantity, nature and duration need to be known, so that everyone can handle his strength and efforts, can adhere to a project, that the general knowledge concerning training laws allows him to understand.

However the coach proposes a picture where each athlete can invest according to his motivation and its training level at the time being. It is better to propose a progression , so that everybody is oriented towards different energy sources. There a four training systems that are proposed, based on randori's duration, intensity, number of repetitions, nature and duration of pauses:

-long and continuous work = its total duration exceeds enormously competition's one. Randori's time is longer or equal to combats one. There are only short pauses between repetitions (about a minute). It is the typical work at the beginning of the season. For ex., a training at the end of the first six weeks: 4x4 minutes - 5 minutes pause - 3x4 minutes. This allows athletes to handle their efforts in time.

One has to pay attention to those athletes working without breathing. It is important to teach them how to breath, insisting particularly on the importance of exhaling times. It will therefore be necessary to stick as much as possible to competition's rythm (frequent attacks) and to introduce some exercises called muscle quality exercises, which will maintain muscles' explosive quality.

-work on competition's duration = number of randoris and its duration based on competition's model: ex., 6 randoris of 3 minutes each. The intensity will vary as the nature and duration of pauses; lengthened pauses (heart frequency almost at resting values) will favor such an intense work ,that it will be close to maximum fixed duration. Maintaining a non intense activity accelerates recovery phenomenons.

-work changing duration = such training is destined to get athletes used to different kinds of efforts. According to durations, repetitions and pauses' choices, work will be differently oriented. In case of short pauses it usually is oriented towards training of aerobic processes ( since a follow up of efforts will not allow to maintain high intensity), while with long pauses, it will be oriented towards anaerobic processes (a complete or partial recovery allows high intensity efforts).

9.11 Learning hierarchy

Aims find their efficacy in a project, which requires an ordered structure. Human enterprise requires coherence within stimulated initiatives in order to reach its objectives. Therefore could it be thinkable that even education has to define its order and unity criterias?

Mr. Spranger says that education itself is systematic otherwise it would be in the hands of its educator, which would be destiny. Such affirmation has been made in 1957, when first taxonomies were spread, the so called means in order to analyse educational objectives with which it seemed easy and possible to give unity and systematicity to education. But taxonomies promised more than they offered and maybe even promise something that they may not offer.

The word itself is not used the right way. It includes two concepts, such as classification and to set a hierarchy. Therefore it postulates a condition that is given as certain but needs to be verified, in order to define wether it is possible or not to classify and connect hierarchic relations and various educational objectives.

The idea of hierarchy is justified when we intend to distinguish the value of the Being from existing, but becomes less comprehensible when within existing or worse within the Being one tends to define grades and levels.

If the philosopher distinguishes values, if he classifies them because of his analisys or because he wants a system, a hierarchy is still not justified, unless he wants to motivate an option or a choice, otherwise the idea of unity that underlines value would get lost.

A. Bloom's classification

It is the most spread classification (1956). It may be applied to all ages and has six hierarchic levels, where each is the presupposition of the previous and the base of the following one. It has the aim to identify parameters on which verification action should be based on; it would be wrong instead to figure out criterias in order to program the teaching process.

According to hierarchic order the levels are:

1st level

Conventions' knowledge

2nd level

Comprehension

3rd level

Application

language

words or symbols

ability to translate a gesture by

changing its form but not its

structure

ability to use aquired elements

in concrete situations

tendencies

processes' development

ability to explain or

condense a certain message

classifications

grades, techniques

ability to catch phenomena's

inclination line; indicate

consequences

criterias

programs, evaluations

methods

principle and theories, history

4th level

Analisys

5th level

Siynthesis

6th level

Evaluation

Ability to identify elements

and relations. Recognize

principles and apply them

ability to organize a

group of elements.

Produce a comunication

Ability to produce judgements on

quality's and quantity's level.

Logic coherence with other models

B. Guilford's classification

The classification of intellectual factors was born as an attempt to classify intellectual abilities through complex static and mathematic operations; through factors' analisys as a technical mean, it has been tried to reduce measures, which were found through the application of many and various tests, to a series of single independent limited factors (those which are below various specific abilities required by single tests). The result achieved is presented in terms of a model which structures intellect.

Such model has very few homogeneous elements with Bloom and Gagné's taxonomies: it does not have a unique dimension, nor a hierarchy, it is not a result of an empiric procedure in order to normalize educational situations, it does not only have one meaning from the methodological point of view.

It is articulated on several knowledge dimensions (three), it does not tend to identify a stiff sequence of events, but rather to analyse mental processes' articulations, it finds its origin in psychological problems and is realized within measurement of mental processes, it may be used in different ways also in the educational field. The three dimensions are:

1st - Operations

The kind of acted process

2nd - Contents

Verbal processes

3rd - Products

specific actions' results with

specific contents

knowledge

recognition - comprehension

curing

concrete movements and their forms

unity

memory

remembering what has been learned

symbolic

conventional signs

classes

converging thought

convinced right answers

semantic

verbal expressions

relations

divergent thought

behavioral

sociality's basic elements

systems

original solutions' production

transformations

evaluation

judgement according to exactness

implications

C. Gagné's classification

The base of such classification is the need to connect objectives' choice to a concrete hypothesis tied to different learning types. The typology is not connected to quality (it does not discuss various theoric interpretations), but to a teaching medium ( it tends first of all to underline specific conditions, which allow to realize each learning).

In this case we do have a hierarchic model and it might more be used in order to clarify concrete conditions (internal and external to the subject) and to realise a particular educational action, rather than as a general system to develop knowledge. Once it has been defined that the objective is set at a certian level, it will be necessary to evaluate in what way objectives of lower levels have been learned. If they have not been learned, it will be possible to start specific learning processes.

Specific learning processes' table

Learning of gestures	study and knowledge phase	1. falls ukemi 2. techniques waza
Learning of connections stimulus/answer	reaction to stimulus	1. countertechniques kaeshi 2. grappling techniques ne waza
Verbal association	learning of technical language	techniques' association to their names refering also to general terminology
Joining together		connection of each techniques to the previous and following one
Learning of discriminations	division of techniques and more specific distinction into well determined groups	1. sweeps barai 2. reapings gari 3. blockings sasae
Learning of concepts	general basic concepts which include many techniques	1. group kesa 2. group shiho
Learning of rules		1. refereeing rules 2. rules to live together 3. respect of others and oneself
*Solving* problem	creation of personal answers from the whole

1. learning of gestures = the reaction to certain gestures is automatic and emotional (without awareness nor control); for example while refereeing there is an emotional reaction to action's sight.

Condition: close presence ot two stimulus, the one that gives the gesture (advantage) and the one that produces the effect (action);

2. learning of connections stimulus-answer = voluntary and specific answers to particular stimulus are acquired; one learns to correctly pronounce a Japanese word when there is a model.

Condition: the exercise has to be gradual and needs to be connected to an action;

3. verbal association = learn how to translate a word into another language (ex.: salute = rei).

Condition: a chain is built between the first (salute) and the last (rei), generally also a codifying connection is inserted as a mediation between the two (the idea of salute which sends to rei);

4. joining together = several connections' stimulus/answer sequences are learned; learning various fall types.

Condition: each ring of the chain has to already be acquired and presented in proximity of following exercise;

5. learning of discriminations = one learns to give different answer to apparently homogeneous stimulus; distinguish different technical actions.

Condition: presence of specific chains that allow to recognize stimulus (sweep, reap, block);

6. learning of concepts = it is the reverse operation of the previous one, since it tends to give a common answer to apparently different stimulus; recognize same quality of different techniques (arm techniques, great attitude ones and so on).

Condition: a great variety of experimental exercises;

7. learning of rules = concept chains are carried out starting so principles.

Condition: concept learning, realize a combination;

8. solving problem = a group of movements, which solve new type problems is studied; finding a new attack opportunity.

Condition: essential principles have been learned (lack of balance, control, moving about), one trains in order to coordinate them.

10. THE TEACHER

In order to teach judo to disabled athletes, is it better to be a teacher with a high technical level, who therefore could easily adapt to necessary precautions thanks to his common sense, or is it better to be a specialized teacher and to have an average technical level, i.e. brown belt?

Specialized teachers with an average technical degree have admited that they remained very quickly without technical arguments and were therefore forced to go towards other sport activities. Such fact is not bad in itself, but it does not allow to acceed to a higher technical level, such as creating a team, that will compete on an international level. Each nation has habits and ways of life that are different among them, and Japan, who his judo's homeland, is not an exception.

In far east there is a great difference in ethics and society, when compared to other nations and judo was born from their way of thinking and behaving.

To take this kind of oriental practice as it is moving it over and hoping to let it grow, following Japanese teaching principles, without adapting them to westerns' mentality is a big mistake, that limits the teacher to being just a coach or a technician.

10.1 Teacher's qualification

The qualifications that allow to become part of technical teacher's book and established by the Italian Wrestling, Powerlifting, Judo and Karate Federation (FILPJK) are:

COACH = sport's technician who has the task to train athletes in their specific activity; in other words prepare them for a competition. In Japan there is an equivalent called judo shugyosha (composed by judo and shugyo = study, learning judo), as a matter of fact the coach is a competitor who transmits through practice technique's sensation and prepares the athlete with physical exercises to compete. All Physical Education Teachers who have an ISEF diploma and having the black belt 1st dan directly get such qualification.

TEACHER = from the latin word instructore (who has the task to teach a discipline). According to rules he has to have the black belt 2nd dan in order to acceed to such qualification.

It may be said that in Japan there is the judoka (the suffix -ka means: job or profession), who has the task to teach judo as a discipline. Judoka is he who at least has the black belt 4th dan.

MASTER = from the latin word magister. In our case it is: a person who by teaching stands out within a discipline, being therefore able to teach it to others. Or: a person who has to educate and teach youngsters; who guides, teaches; gives the example.

The oriental equivalent is the sensei (literally born before), the only difference is that in Italy one has to at least have the black belt 3rd dan in order to have such qualification, while in Japan the red and white belt 6th dan is required.

The first question one has right away in mind is the following: is the nowadays master really someone who stands out in judo, in order to teach it to others, with educational principles, being a guide and an example? Maybe it is about time to change such qualification with the one of professor after having the red and white belt 6th dan, which is much more realistic and is already done in many western nations.

10.2 Teacher's qualities

Once technical knowledge is put aside we may say that he has to be:

an educationalist - recently, especially in Italy, the use of the expression educational sciences is used to mean those studies which used to be covered by the word pedagogy. But traditional pedagogy's transformation process, partly based on philosophy and on common sense, in something that has a scientific base is a process that is going on for more than few decades. It is possible to learn what is scientific, but it is not possible to teach what is innate and proves educationalist's personality. One is born as an educationalist. It is however hard to become one, but it is always possible to improve to better teach. Technical degree and qualification do not represent a pedagogic guarantee, nor a professional conscience. It is known that judo itself is an educationalist school, but this is not enough for a teacher who has such qualifcation;

an organizer - it is known that the teacher is not only the one who perfectly knows the technique, it is especially the one who is able to explain techniques and to bring them to everyones level. Pupils will always be the mirror of the one who has prepared them.

a moral model - false morality or puritaneism are not meant here, but judo's spirit. To have such morality, means that judo becomes life rule. To accept adversity and to try to overcome it. Defeit will not be anything else than a learning process.

Within judo, elasticity's art, there always is constant reaction. There never has to be immobilisation, even though the word immobilize is part of judo. To be motionless does not mean to have a lack of life, but means to have the highest level of motion around a center which is still. Only in this way mind may reach the highest level of promptness, always paying attention to direct ones attention where ever it is necessary;

the demonstration - is surely highly important from an educationalist point of view. A good teacher has to be a good demonstrator, since the best example may be given by demonstration. He always has to remember, that his pupils will imitate him. He will not only have to show what he knows or better likes, but also all other movements, with the aim to avoid lacks within his teaching material.

The teacher who will not have had a personal experience will lack something essential and which may not be substituted. He will have to be conscious, that a teacher has to, especially when teaching youngster, be an educationalist, a life master, since he teaches a discipline (judo) with specific educational aims. He has to be interested in pupils entire development and not only in the technical one.

The base of his educational activity has to be a profound love for youngsters, his vocation has to be the will to transfer his life experience to the child, not only as a technician but as a human being. Such human contribution in times such as ours, where the attention is more for superficial elements rather than for interior ones, and where youngsters receive a great number of stresses from many different parts of the external world, is fundamental for his development, in order to create a well balanced personality.

It is well known, that young people have to face any kind of problem and difficulty in every moment of their lives; the teacher has to prepare them to face these dangers, allowing them to enlarge their interior horizons. Nowadays a great part of education is based on technical aspects. He has therefore to consider judo as a main mean in order to act, with a friendly and comprehensive presence for the person, who is in front of him and for the healthy growth of the child or youngster.

The educationalist does not have to impose his personality by overwhelming pupils' ones, but he has to try to transmit them responsability's sense and self-determination.

10.3 Education's philosophy

Judo's philosophical base allows, especially when teaching children, to have a high respect for the person, since the need to help him is more felt, when the task that one has includes a relationship with a person, who is to be formed and completely trusts his master.

Teachers are getting more and more aware of their educational task. It is said about the need to know better about some child problems, since the number of children practising such sport continuously increases.

Being conscious of the influence their example has on the children, has brought some masters to go deeper into psychological and pedagogical knowledge and to analyse their behavior within the gym.

Considering these elements, many teachers will have asked the following question: how to teach? The style within judo's practice and high level skills are evident within body's development. It is necessary to have a well balanced teaching method, including ground techniques and throwing ones, right and left sided movements. Teaching limiting oneself to techniques, which have personally been modified and not according to rules impedes progressive art's learning and the result of physical harmony. Through appropriate teaching it will be possible to have benefices such as an increase of muscles' mass, agility, energy, resistance, flexibility and control with a corresponding technical ability increase.

Practice produces benefices on lungs and heart, on muscles and agility; ground techniques increase flexibility. In other words this kind of teaching is necessary to increase each single fundamental ability within judo. Furhtermore such sport's teaching aim is body's development according to rational principles.

Very often within judo's practice a high level of introspection is achieved, due to its competitive nature, as a result of a personal research and effort. Courtesy, composure, self-control and the desire to succeed are important elements within self-knowledge's process. This requires a typical behavior within the dojo (gym where judo is practiced), when one wants to reach personal benefices.

Throwing the opponent, working on the tatami and relative psychological activity produces tension and emotion's excitement; such effects have to be controlled and overwhelmed. Further on group's practice may create a sincere atmosphere, where activity is carried out by mutual assistance, rules' obedience and respect's sense. The result is appropriate judo teaching and socialising features' development.

What teachers have to reach is to build a rational teaching method, with pedagogical proceedings, allowing everyone to be able to learn, obtaining always better results. Traditionally what is required from a teacher is that he knows what he has to teach; of course it is not that easy!

Socrate says that: the real master, more than teaching what he knows, helps to find what maybe he does not clearly know.

There could be more quotations, but they could hardly be considered as clear and determined as: the educationalist is a being in fieri who develops according to his own rules, which are necessary to be known and that may differently be explained according to each person.

Rousseau was the first who stated such issue: begin to better study your pupils; because you certainly do not know them at all.

Who teaches has not only to know techniques, pupil's psychology, teaching methods, but also the society within which he works, not to continue it but to improve it. Therefore, even though it is summarising we will accept following diagramm:

	EDUCATIONALIST'S COMPETENCES



pupil's knowledge		society's knowledge


	*EDUCATIONALIST*


methods' knowledge		subject's knowledge

10.4 The teacher and his method

Even though it is a new feature within physical education, it is thought that judo's teaching has the necessity to consider a deep renewal and that the teacher has to become aware on one side of his pedagogical relationship and on the other of the necessity to uptade his role change.

Children and youngster's judo practice is not very old. At the beginning, when children and youngsters started to crowd the dojo the teacher used to have the Master cult. By doing exactly the same what has happened to him: while teaching he has started the same relationship between master and pupil as the one when he used to be a pupil. This kind of approach was not typical of judo teaching, it was and is the traditional pedagogic way.

Such pedagogy is based on the cult of the Master and Authority, it has the aim to teach pupils habits according to social environmental necessities and a sum of knowledge, which is more based on quantity rather than on quality.

It is the conditioning method which is based on a program, that one has to pursue, following an order which is the same for everybody. The teacher, center of each relationship, is the only one who has the Knowledge and Authority, symbolically he may never fail.

Judo combat may easily be used in this kind of hyerarchic relationship. The teacher has a high level, his fame is based on the myth of the man who tries out within proposed activity. Eventually, being aware or not, using his physical ability and technique he finds out the levels: he plans his pupil.

Going on, when the pupil grows and becomes stronger, power relationship's image remains, even if a direct confrontation usually does not anymore take place.

The teacher proposes a technical model, a solution to a problem before outlining it, a closed motion action which has the aim of reproduction. The pupil has only to work on repetition, in order to learn a mechanic and automatic gesture so that it becomes effective.

This kind of relationship with most pupils is still widely spread within the dojo:

1) - It is self-assuring and gives the teacher security through the repetition aspect, therefore there are no unforseen events;

2) - It is gratifying, since the teacher is worshiped and feels his power;

3) - It puts pupils in a position of dependence within the relationship and of receiving knowledge in a passive manner;

4) - According to the program that is proposed, from the beginning up to the first year, it gives more satisfaction in technical results rather than in other pedagogic forms.

It is quite obvious that many teacher of the sixties, that used to teach in such way, have never modified their method, even though their pupils have become younger and younger.

From a study that has been made with children of 6/9 years, it has been found out that this way of teaching has a lot more to do with taming rather than with forming. It is at this point that the problem of what role the teacher of a physical discipline has to play according to his pupils comes up.

From 6 to 12 years - The judo teacher is body's educator, he participates in children body's structure development. The solutions of the problems concerning sides, becoming aware of attitudes, reinforcement of spine's muscles system, learning the notion of rythm, the knowledge of opponent's body messages, observing others, is the first aim of the teacher who uses judo as a mean to form a child, both concerning his physical activity and his way of being with others. It essentially is the role of an educator, who behaves the same way with all children.

From 13 to 15 years - During this period teacher's role starts to modify and will progressively take into account details and choices of each single personality, in order to weigh his attitude to everyone.

The chancy exploration of techniques becomes now learning techniques in a precise way with the aim to build ones personal judo.

The personality, the attitudes, opinions of the teacher have for the judoka of this age a specific importance. For the teen-ager the teacher becomes an identification support. The importance of the identification role in someone else in the construction of teen-ager's I does not have to be shown anymore.

The identification concept comes therefore close to the imitation one and goes beyond it, since it means afterwards to suit other's behavior. It is quite obvious that the judo teacher participates at the multiple identification system, which is the puzzle of teen-ager's personality, becoming an adult.

Through this group of choices and rejections the youngster aims to coherence, unity and his personal autonomy.

For his 13/15 year old pupils, the teacher sees his educator role stopping on this identification phenomenon. At the same time his role of coach starts, becoming at the beginning the available technician.

This availability means that he is not slave of an unchangeable program, but instead that he bases his method on a system that allows learning precise techniques, that correspond to judoka's start and possibilities, belonging to this disturbed period of growth.

His aim is not to worry about the immediate effective result, but to start out as a coach who prepares the young judoka to competition choices.

From the physical point of view he starts a systematic work-out to reinforce muscles, to maintain articulation's agility and to acquire resistance's capacity.

Technically he answers precise questions, very often up-dated ones that the teen-ager asks. In order to do so, he has to know about and be close to competition's technical evolution.

Psychologically, he starts out his pupils to the knowledge of Oneself in a competition situation, to comprehend the training he is starting. During all this period the teacher remains an educator, but at the same time prepares his role as a coach.

From 16 to 20/25 years and over - The teacher is progressivly and almost totally a sport's coach. Such role consists in proposing to the judokas:

1 - means to acquire high levelled physical value;

2 - a range of effective techniques taking into judo competition's evolution and particularity of everyone;

3 - programmed participation at several competitions.

This kind of judo has to be based on a training plan which has to be studied with the athlete, where every set goal, mean, critical analysis of the results concerning health, physical and technical value, behavior in competition situation are clear.

Psychologically this period is also the most difficult one for the teacher/coach, since many of his hopes vanish. As a matter of fact the judoka competitor chooses an orientation according to his aims and results.

In most cases this requires from the teacher a role of someone who has progressively to modify judo's practice, in order for it to become a discipline that is practised in ones spare time.

This new role seems to be necessary for judokas, who after having faced serious competitions, have abbandoned the idea to win more gold medals.

Sometimes they are 15/16 years old, very often 19... 25... 30. The teacher has to get these people, who have physically and psychologically been defeated, back, in order to start them out on body's culture with aiming to health and relax.

Therefore this threefold role of educator, coach and entertainer, as a result of sport's evolution phenomenon within our society, is required from one and the same person: the judo teacher.

At the same time it is a fascinating enrichment, a combination of difficulties and a singular responsability, to be continuously divided among these three roles which for many aspects are opposed, but finally chronologically quite complementary.

The necessary condition in order for the teacher to succeed in these three roles is the recent pedagogical development of relationships.

Development of the pedagogical relationship - Getting close to the image of the school teacher, but probably because of the information, judo's traditional pedagogy leaves its place to active methods, which are based on the pupil: his activities, the needs of his age, his tastes, his personal motivations.

The teacher from school teacher becomes part of the group. He is not anymore its opponent, but belonging to the whole. This kind of relationship may be summarised in the concept of direction science or pedagogy of putting one into the situation. The orientation without direction is based on the phenomenon of trust, answer within pupil's capacities to solve problems which come up while practising.

The teacher maintains his adult status, but he will share knowledge and power work-out. For the judo teacher, power means to give a direction to the lesson, to choose teaching contents, to divide teams, to select, to referee, to give degrees. Knowledge is the revelation of the effective technical solution in order to win a combat.

Progressively, according to the age of the people within the group and to its organization, the teacher proposes combat situations, problem solving within pupil's capacities; he will provoke proofs and errors on which the group will have to work in order to find satisfying solutions.

His role is now described in terms of participation, observation, organization, evaluation. He observes how the group lives, he follows the pupil considering what he will become and not only what he is at present. He pays attention in chosing the right moments when to intervene, making efforts to leave the group work on the situation he has proposed. He pays attention on finding out the moments when the pupil needs to be acted, i.e. to get a direction, or those when he is responsible and therefore autonomous.

Such pedagogic sight is seducing, but it also requires a high level technical competence (this in order to eventually follow a dynamic group and be a spectator of high level competitions); a deep knowledge of the pupil and group's life; an objective knowledge of oneself and the ability to cancel oneself's directive function.

It is always difficult to leave the initiative to find the answer to a proposed combat situation, autentically accepting the risk, that found solution might be better than the own. The teacher does not have to show a solution anymore, but to enable the group to find the solution by reflection.

Availability's attitude toward pupil's personality requires an authentic congruence quality: harmony between deep and real aim of teacher's presence and his continuous adapting behavior to the pupil here and now. This kind of role may not be convenient to the teacher/Master who loves to dominate, shine, manipulate his pupils according to his conscient or programmed desires.

The pedagogical relationship without directions:

1. does not reach at the beginning the same technical results as the authoritarian reproduction one;

2. technical knowledge, the answer to a found problem while practicing or coming from the teacher, as a discovery invented by the group, is better integrated in the body and in conscient memory of movement structure of the person. This kind of begin brings to an elaboration of a sensation judo (motion actions get their starting signals by perceiving opponent's strength); a tactical judo (a thought answer to opponent's ciclical offensive behavior). Such formation is an evolution, that is found and that does not necessarily have to be followed, going beyond the state of judo-blind-robot (the fighter attacks with his techniques without considering opponent's messages or variations);

3. Besides learning technical, physical and tactical concepts, which surely take a long time to assimilate, the pupil expresses himself: he comunicates, observes, helps, searches, creates, he take his responsabilities knowing that mistakes are allowed;

4. To be added, that the playing activity, prerogative of very young judokas and which still remains an effective support while learning (does it really stop at a certain age?), has a better place within the method without direction rather than in the directing one.

The description of todays pedagogical relationships has voluntarily been structured and shows the clear distinction between the two extreme tendencies. The judo teacher, who comes (at least the great majority) from a teaching system with directions, searches and assimilates slowly this new comunication.

It has to be noted however that the method without direction is very often assimilated with a laisser faire, which is the worst relationship between teacher and pupil.

The authentic "without direction" is not without constrictions, that are born from situations, the group and to finish from the pupil himself. To be without direction is to take the pupil into account, what he is, the way he feels practice, his answer, his affection now and here.

To let go laisser faire means to forget that the pupil exists, in other words to get rid of him.

Teacher's attitude may be expressed with the following final sentence: In order to succeed the conscientious and qualified educator has first to put himself on the existential axis of whom he takes care of, then he has to follow his rythm to live, with him the synthesis of his personality and needs.

There are many interpretations of the concept goal, reason for which when one talks about educational goal one may intend also many different things according to assigned contents to expression and especially when depending upon the concept of goal.

Such concept with its possible flexions brings differences in meaning also when refering to other words, often used while planning and within the notion of programming itself.

Table

concerning three different situations

Interpretations of

the goal concept

Attitude towards

goal

Qualification of

following activities

Required

actions

Educator's

position

Arrival,

conclusion of an

itinerary. The end.

The result

Forseeable.

Predetermination.

Measurement.

Planning

Describe

Executive

Technician

Motive what trails

and determines

a process.

Desired result

Expression of

will power.

Deliberation

Calculation

Rationalization

of procedures.

Programming

Explain

Method's

functionaire.

Goal (tèlos).

The why. Reason.

Whar comes before

ideation and as last

when realized.

Intenzionality.

To project.

Programmed

reason.

Planning.

Found

Strategist

10.5 Teacher's approach to the visually impaired athlete

1. Physical considerations -

A. degree of visual impairment = ask the athlete to describe visual impairment's nature and how it influences his participation and exercise execution. Even though there are no other general motion problem, athlete's sight might be less functional within the gym.

Ask:

1. which is the best colour for a contrast;

2. which is the best place to take while there is a demonstration;

3. what influence natural and artificial light have on sight.

Avoid questions such as can you see this? Which require only a straight answer such as yes or no. Such answer will not tell anything about how far or how clear an object may be seen.

B. Ability level = it will be necessary to get informed on previous experiences and on actual motion ability's development. If necessary, it will be good to determine specific exercises at the beginning of practice. The information may be gained while observing a game situation or during practice itself. Knowledge may be widened keeping record of observations. In some circumstances it will be necessary to define a personalised program.

C. Orientation and motion development = in many cases, to know about the level of orientation and motion development, especially when athletes are completely blind or with a low partial sight, it will help to find what level of initial orientation may be needed and with what frequency one will have to intervene.

D. medical data = it will be necessary to know about athlete's health situation, since it may help to understand his physical and expressive abilities. Some sight losses limit athlete's motion to participate only at certain exercises, for ex.: people with detached retina should not dive or practise contact sports, since such activities might furhter damage the retina. A medical test is recommended with idoneity certificate also from the ophthalmologist.

2. Psychological considerations -

A. - fear or inhibitions = the athlete might be scared or inhibited concerning participation at physical activities. If there are signs of resistance, it will be better to talk it over. To build a strong relationship may help in order to get over certain inhibitions. It will also be usefull to remind the athlete that he is able to follow training's program and that he will not be asked to perform exercises against his will.

B. - interactions with others = observe how the athlete works with others, especially when he is a teenager (from 10 to 14 years old). His belonging to a group where he is accepted is very important. It will be necessary to avoid to contribute to the exclusion of the group. Should adaptations be required, in order for him to get more involved, make so that they are pleasant.

3. Environmental considerations -

A. - Involving the family = family's role might have an influence, in a positive or negative way on beginner's attitude. If parent are too hiperprotective, the beginner might not have done any physical activity. In the other case, when parents are favorable to beginner's chosen activity, it will be good to involve them.

B. - social training = when the athlete shows a delay within execution of basic motion models, to practise out of ones club may influence in a significant way on ones progress.

4. Cosiderations on the program -

A. Instruction strategies = it will be usefull to consider instruction strategies which have had success in the past and apply them again. Once one knows of athlete's specific needs, a niew experience might be done.

B.Reception abilities = at the beginning find out about his best physical qualities, in order to propose variations, which help him to improve his reception abilities. Before proposing him a program, he will be helped to get used to the environment (for ex.: where are the showers, the toilette, on which side one has to step on the tatami, where locker-rooms are, what way one has to go in order to reach the edge of the tatami ecc).

C. - Activity problems = avoid proposing him activities which might cause him problems to his state of being a sensorial disabled, ex.: a partially visually impaired person will never have to be placed in front of a light source, when there are demonstrations hold him always an appropriate place, but not a discriminating one, which might wound his pride.

11. COMPETITIONS

International rules 1997/2001

1. General rules

1.1 In order for our competitions to follow as closely as possible those of the I.J.F. (International Judo Federation), the norms for refereeing set down by the a.m. mentioned organization will be strictly adhered to, not withstanding the following amendments.

These norms may be subject to future modifications, as stipulated by annual International Seminars held either by the European Judo Union or the International Judo Federation.

1.2 Qualification for competitions

IBSA has established the following categories for qualification:

· B1 = From perception of light in either eye to the perception of light, but without the ability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction.

· B2 = From the ability to recognize the shape of a hand to a visual acuity of 2/60 and/or a visual field of less than 5 degrees.

· B3 = From a visual acuity above 2/60 up to visual acuity of 6/60 and/or a visual field of more than 5 degrees and less than 20 degrees.

All classifications will be based on the best eye, with the aid of the best corrective lenses, e.g., all athletes who wear contact lenses or eyeglasses should be wearing said eyewear when tested (if they intend to make use of them while competing).

1.3 Competitions:

Competitions should be divided into the following categories:

- Individual Competitions -

· male

· female

- Team Competition -

A - male

B - female

- Individual Competitions - Male and Female

Paralympic and World Championships

1. Each country is allowed to enter one participant per weight category;

2. Visual groups B1,B2 and B3 will compete together;

3. The duration of each combat is:

· Male - 5 minutes - effective fighting time;

· Female - 4 minutes - effective fighting time.

4. Each participant has the right to have an in between time equal to 10 minutes.

Individual Regional Championships

1. Each country is allowed to enter one participant per weight category;

2. Visual groups B1,B2 and B3 will compete together;

3. The duration of each combat is:

· Male - 5 minutes - effective fighting time;

· Female - 4 minutes - effective fighting time.

4. Each participant has the right to have an in between time equal to 10 minutes.

Individual International Tournaments

1. The number of entries per weight category will be established by the Organizer of said event;

2. The duration of combats and the system have to be extablished by tournament’s rules;

3. The referee has to be informed on the duration of the combat before stepping on the tatami;

4. Based on the number of participants entered in a single weight category, following contest rules will be applied:

· If more than 6 participants are entered in a single weight category, two repechages will be necessary;

· If up to 6 participants are entered in a single weight category, only one repechage is necessary;

· If 4 to 5 participants are entered in a single weight category, the Olympic system will be used;

· If not more than 3 participants are entered in a single weight category, the competition in this category will be suspended.

A - Men's Team Competitions:

World and Regional Championships

1. Each country may enter one single representative team, composed of the following weight categories:

up to 65 kg ; up to 86 kg ;

up to 71 kg ; over 86 kg.

up to 78 kg ;

2. Participating nations may enter two athletes per each weight category;

3. The team has to be composed of at least 3 weight categories, in order to be admitted to the competition;

4. Athletes may fight in the weight category right above their natural one , however it has to be previously reported when handing in the team composition ten minutes before each “contest”.

5. The same athletes may return into their natural weight category in following contest. Once team’s composition has been reported, it may not be changed during the contest, but it may be changed in following contests, however always with athletes on the weigh-in report;

6. Should injury occur, IJF rules will be followed;

7. The team with the greatest number of victories wins:

· in case of equal number of victories, the team with the greatest number of judo scores wins;

· in case of further equality three weight categories have to be drawn, with Delegation Heads of concerned teams present, in order to have three fights with a compelled victory decision. In the draw those categories where nations do not have entered any athletes are excluded;

8. Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together;

9. For whatever is not foreseen within these rules, the IJF ones will be followed.

International Tournaments

1. Each Nation may participate with more teams, according to decisions of Organizers;

2. IBSA Sub Committee Judo and IJF rules are foreseen for these kind of events;

3. Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together.

B - Women's Team Competitions

World and Regional Championships

1. Each country may enter one single representative team, composed of the following weight categories:

up to 52 kg. ;

up to 56 kg. ;

up to 61 kg..

2. Participating nations may enter two athletes per each weight category;

3. Athletes may fight in the weight category right above their natural one , however it has to be previously reported when handing in the team composition ten minutes before each “contest”.

4. The same athletes may return into their natural weight category in following contest. Once team’s composition has been reported, it may not be changed during the contest, but it may be changed in following contests, however always with athletes on the weigh-in report;

5. Should injury occur, IJF rules will be followed;

6. The team with the greatest number of victories wins:

· in case of equal number of victories, the team with the greatest number of judo scores wins;

· in case of further equality one weight category has to be drawn, with Delegation Heads of concerned teams present, in order to have one fight with a compelled victory decision;

7. Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together;

8. For whatever is not foreseen within these rules, the IJF ones will be followed.

International Tournaments

1. Each Nation may participate with more teams, according to decisions of Organizers;

2. IBSA Sub Committee Judo and IJF rules are foreseen for these kind of events;

3. Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together;

11.1. Appendix to the I.J.F. reefereeing rules

Appendix Art. 1: COMPETITION AREA -

Tatamis making up the protection area will be according to safety rules of the IBSA Judo Sub Committee.

An adhesive red tape and a white tape, approximately 10cm wide and 50cm long shall be fixed on the center of the contest area at a distance of 50cm apart, to indicate the positions at which the contestants must start and end the contest.

The red tape shall be to the referee’s right and the white to his left.

Appendix Art. 3: UNIFORM -

All athletes being classified as B1 will have to have a red circle having a diameter of 7cm sawn on the outer part of both sleeves. The center of the circle will have to be postioned at about 15cm from the shoulder. This in order for the officials to apply the rules according to this special circumstance.

When a participant is also deaf, a small blue circle having a diameter of 7cm will be attached to the back of the judogi in the center at about 15cm from the collar. This in order for the officials to apply the rules according to this special circumstance.

Appendix Art. 6: POSITION AND DUTIES OF THE REFEREE -

On assuming control of a competition zone, the referee and judges must make sure that the surface of the tatami is according to safety rules of the IBSA Judo Sub Committee.

Appendix Art. 7: POSITION AND DUTIES OF THE JUDGES -

Both judges should lead the combatants from the edge of the tatami to their assigned positions within the combat zone, and have them both face each other. The judges will then return to their respective positions.

At the end of the combat, after the referee has declared the winner and had the combatants give the customary bow, the two judges will accompany the combatants to the edge of the tatami where an assistant from the organization will then take charge of them.

Appendix Art. 8: SIGNS -

In order to indicate to combatants that they may sit down with crossed legs at the starting position, the referee will place the palm of his hand on the shoulder and give a slight downward pressure.

(Paragraphs I - V): Each time the referee makes a judgement, in addition to the conventional sign and term used, he should also announce akai (red) or shiroi (white), depending on which athlete has gained the advantage.

If the athlete is also deaf, the referee will trace the initial representing the advantage in the palm of the athlete's hand: K for koka, Y for yuko, W for waza ari, I for ippon.

(Paragraph XIII): In addition to making the conventional sign to indicate the invalidation of an opinion expressed, he should also announce akai (red) or shiroi (white) depending on which athlete has lost the advantage.

If the athlete is also deaf, the referee will trace a large X on the palm of the athlete's hand.

(Paragraph XV): In addition to declaring the winner of the competition in the usual fashion, the words akai (red) or shiroi (white) will also be announced.

(Paragraph XVI): In order to indicate to athletes that they must adjust their judogis, the referee will take hold of their forearms, crossing them in such a way that they know what must be done.

(Paragraph XVII):To indicate a non-combativeness penalty, after having made the appropriate sign, akai (red) or shiroi (white) should be announced. The referee will then approach the athlete in question, obliging him to extend his arm with his palm face down; rotating his index fingers under the palm of the hand he will announce penalty’s value.

If the athlete is also deaf, the referee will carry out the same operation, and also tap the top of the athlete's hand with:

· one finger (in the case of shido)

· two fingers (in the case of chui)

· three fingers (in the case of keikoku).

Appendix Art. 15: COMMENCEMENT OF COMBAT -

After the judges have lead the athletes to their respective positions, they will stand at referee's side to make the conventional bow and then return to their positions.The referee will announce REI; at this command athletes will bow to each other. The referee will then have them raise their arms for the kumi kata (grip), making them drop their arms alongside their bodies afterwards.

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the judges will assist them by bending their chests forward. The referee will raise his arms for the kumi kata (grip) and will lower them afterwards.

When the referee announces hajime (start) the combatants will make again the grip and only after having done this they may begin to move.

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, at the hajime (start) the referee will tap them once on the shoulder blades.

Any movement whatsoever before making the kumi kata (grip) is totally forbidden.

Appendix Art. 17: APPLICATION OF: MATTE (WAIT) -

When the referee announces matte (wait), he should be careful not to lose sight of the combatants, staying close to them at all times. He should then accompany them to the centre at their starting positions, if he retains it necessary, and have them make the kumi kata (grip) ; he will then have them lower their arms to their sides and announce hajime (start) again.

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, when the referee announces matte (wait) he should also tap them twice on the shoulder or shoulder blades and carry out the steps listed in Art. 16.

This process will be repeated each time the referee announces: matte (wait).

Appendix Art. 18: SONO MAMA (DON'T MOVE) -

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the referee should also quickly tap them on their heads. While the referee announces that combat may continue, YOSHI, he should quickly tap their heads with his hand again.

Appendix Art. 19: SORE MADE (END OF COMBAT) -

After announcing sore made (end of combat), the referee should accompany the combatants to their starting positions. If necessary, the referee should ask them to adjust their judogis (see Art.8, Paragraph XVI).

After the referee has given the results of the combat, accompanied by the announcement of akai (red) or shiroi (white), he will then ask the combatants to bow to each other as he announces rei.

The judges will then rise to accompany the athletes to the edge of the tatami where assistants from the organization will take charge of them.

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the judges will approach the athletes to help them make the customary bow, bending their chests forward, and afterwards leading them to the edge of the tatami.

Appendix Art. 20: IPPON (NET POINT) -

The referee will announce either ippon akai (net point red) or ippon shiroi (net point white).

In the case of athletes who are also deaf:

· the referee will also trace an I on the palm of his hand;

· in the case of a holding technique osaekomi waza, a choking technique shime waza or an armlock kansetsu waza, the referee will tap the combatants twice on the shoulder or shoulder blade of the performer and then announce the points to be awarded.

Appendix Art. 23: WAZA ARI (HALF POINT) -

The referee will announce either waza ari akai (half point red) or waza ari shiroi (half point white).

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the referee will trace a W on the palm of his hand.

Appendix Art. 24: YUKO (¼ POINT) -

The referee will announce either yuko akai (¼ point red) or yuko shiroi (¼ point white).

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the referee will trace a Y on the palm of his hand.

Appendix Art. 25: KOKA (1/8 point) -

The referee will announce either koka akai (1/8 point red) or koka shiroi (1/8 point white).

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the referee will trace a K on the palm of his hand.

Appendix Art. 26: OSAEKOMI (HOLD DOWN) -

2^nd Paragraph: ....the referee will announce matte (wait), after which he will accompany the combatants to their starding positions. He will then state the sanction (as well as any points derived from osaekomi), and announce either akai (red) or shiroi (white). Combatants will then continue, following the procedures outlined in Art. 18.

7^th Paragraph: ....the sanction will be levied, announcing either akai (red) or shiroi (white).

In the case of athletes who are also deaf, the referee will follow the procedures outlined in Art. 8, a) Paragraph XVII.

But in the event of immobilization calling for a score of, 1/8 point koka, ¼ point yuko or ½ point waza ari the referee will wait for the right moment to announce matte (wait), in order to make the combatants assume their standing starting postures. He will then trace the advantage gained in the palm of athlete's hand.

Appendix Art. 27: FORBIDDEN ACTIONS AND PENALTIES-

Referees and judges are authorized to award penalties according to the “intent” or situation and in the best interest of the sport and with the intention to safeguard the B1 athletes from the partially visually impaired ones B2/B3.

a. Shido

(Paragraph XVI): This is declared if an athlete repeatedly moves from his/her position (forward, backward, or sideways, even if only moving one of his feet) before and during the announcement of hajime (in other words, before having made the kumi kata grip with both hands).

b. Chui

(Paragraph XXI) : ...valid only for B2/B3 athletes.

(Paragraph XXII): This is declared if an athlete tries to attack in any way at the hajime (for ex.: morote gari, kata guruma, ect, ect) without having previously made the kumi kata grip with both hands.

c. Hansoku make

(Paragraph d): Once the referee sanctions with hansoku make akai (disqualification of the red) or hansoku make shiroi (disqualification of the red) foreseen rules are followed.

If the athlete, that has to get the penalty, is also deaf then the referee will trace an H in the palm of his/her hand.

11.2 Techniques and attack areas

Since I became Coach of the National team on behalf of the Blind Sports Federation, and from 1989 Chairman of the IBSA Judo Subcommittee, I have the aim to study in what way judo may help a blind or visually impaired athlete; what possibility it gives him to help with integration within society and if there really is a difference between judo practice of a blind athlete and a seeing one.

Using my forty year long judo experience I have started to analize:

- space occupation strategies while fighting;

- which is the best moment to attack;

- in what way body weight might influence technical choices;

- athletes' age distribution in the different weight categories;

- consideration of the central referee from the two groups of athletes;

- the use of the red danger zone in attack's strategy.

Technical-tactical features of the blind or visually impaired athletes depend much more on the nature of their sensorial handicap and their behavior, rather than on specific refereeing rules.

The idea was to verify sight loss consequences on decisional processes, which are to be considered in order to perform an attack, from a comparing analisys of techniques and tactics of judokas, who have participated at the Olympic and Paralimpic Games of Barcelona 1992.

weight	number of participants	number of performed combats	victory % by point ippon	victory % by 1/2 point wazaari	victory % by 1/4 point yuko	victory % by 1/8 point koka	victory % by decision yusei gachi
kg. 60	9	19	78,94	31,57	21,05	57,89	00,00
	43	56	25,73	11,76	22,05	40,44	8,92
kg. 65	7	12	75,00	25,00	33,33	41,66	00,00
	46	60	23,80	8,84	30,61	36,73	13,33
kg. 71	9	19	63,15	26,31	89,47	10,52	00,00
	44	56	37,62	9,90	17,82	34,65	16,07
kg. 78	7	12	83,33	25,00	41,66	75,00	00,00
	42	54	29,41	13,17	27,13	30,93	5,55
kg. 86	9	19	94,73	26,31	31,57	57,89	00,00
	33	44	24,69	9,87	29,62	35,80	11,36
kg. 95	5	10	100,00	70,00	10,00	20,00	00,00
	35	46	20,96	16,12	35,48	27,41	6,66
kg.+95	6	9	77,77	44,44	33,33	44,44	00,00,
	29	40	29,78	17,02	21,27	31,91	00,00

weight	number of participants	number of performed combats	% of suspensions hansoku make	% of official warnings keikoku	% of sanctionschui	% of warnings shido
kg. 60	9	19	00,00	00,00	10,52	5,26
	43	56	00,00	8,82	23,52	67,64
kg. 65	7	12	00,00	8,33	8,33	25,00
	46	60	2,32	00,00	25,58	72,09
kg, 71	9	19	00,00	00,00	00,00	57,89
	44	56	3,84	00,00	7,69	88,46
kg. 78	7	12	00,00	00,00	00,00	00,00
	42	54	00,00	19,35	25,80	54,83
kg. 86	9	19	00,00	00,00	00,00	21,05
	33	44	00,00	7,69	23,07	69,23
kg. 95	5	10	00,00	10,00	00,00	10,00
	35	46	2,43	17,07	39,02	41,46
kg.+95	6	9	00,00	11,11	11,11	33,33
	29	40	5,26	10,52	26,11	57,89

Note = bold type are Olympics

During competitions the following has been noted:

1 - geographical attack's distribution while standing tachi waza of a visually impaired athlete is not organized around the red danger zone, since he is not sanctioned if he steps out of it, while the seeing athlete is;

2 - considering a comparable performance level, the technical-tactical ensemble of a visually impaired athlete is less elaborate than the one of a seeing one;

3 - techniques' choice does not depend upon judoka's position on the tatami.

Attack's distribution observation has brought to following conclusions:

visually impaired athletes: the distribution of all performed attacks, with or without evaluation, according to zones shows that prefered attack area is tatami's center;

-seeing athletes: the area between the centre and the red danger zone, called periferic area, is the prefered attack area, also in order to obtain points.

Both groups avoid the red danger zone, but for different reasons, visually impaired athletes avoid it because they are scared to get out of the competition area and therefore to provoke themself physical damages, seeing ones because of tactical reasons.

Technical comparative table

between Barcelona Paralimpic and Olympic Games

1 point

ippon

1/2 point

wazaari

1/4 point

yuko

1/8 point

koka

total

n°

standing techniques

tachi waza

158

146

109

492

ground techniques

ne waza

1 point

ippon

1/2 point

wazaari

1/4 point

yuko

1/8 point

koka

n°

total

arm techniques

te waza

169

30,00

34,34

hip techniques

koshi waza

15,00

5,08

leg techniques

ashi waza

200

38,33

40,65

sacrifice techniques

sutemi waza

16,60

19,91

holding techniques

osae waza

87,50

66,17

choking techniques

shime waza

12,50

16,17

armlocks

kansetsu waza

00,00

17,64

Note = bold type are statistics concerning Olympic Games.

Such conclusion has been reached observing the relationship between the number of techniques that gave points and the total number of performed attacks. It may be noted that points made by the two groups are different:

Seeing athletes have performed 561 attacks of which :

-117 equal to 20,85% ended up with 1/8 point koka;

-151 equal to 26,91% ended up with 1/4 point yuko;

- 81 equal to 14,43% ended up with 1/2 point wazaari;

- 212 equal to 37,78% ended up with a victory by ippon.

Visually impaired athletes have performed 92 attacks of which:

- 3 equal to 3,26% ended up with 1/8 point koka;

- 6 equal to 6,52% ended up with 1/4 point yuko;

- 5 equal to 5,43% ended up with 1/2 point wazaari;

- 78 equal to 84,78% ended up with a victory by ippon.

Interpreting the results of both groups, it is quite clear that visually impaired athletes have a quite high percentage of victories by ippon (84,78%), while seeing athletes a wider distribution of victories among the various points, and is therefore more homgeneous. Furthermore it may be noted that victories by working on the ground are:

for visually impaired athletes quite higher, they have obtained 34,78%;

for seeing athlete limited, they have obtained 9,62%.

Most performed techniques at Barcelona 1992

throwing techn.	Olymp.	Paralim.	holding techn.	Olymp.	Paralim.
seoi nage	73	9	yoko shiho gatame	10	3
uchi mata	62	6	tate shiho gatame	8	1
o uchi gari	36	8	kesa gatame	6	4
kuchiki taoshi	30	0	kami shiho gatame	4	6
tani otoshi	27	1	kuzure yoko shiho	1	8
o soto gari	24	1	kuzure kami shiho	5
ko uchi gari	21	0	choking techn.
tai otoshi	18	5	okui eri jime	5	0
tomoe nage	18	1	sankaku jime	3	1
ko soto gake	16	1	ashi gatame jime	2	0
harai makikomi	15	2	maki komi jime	1	0
te guruma	12	1	juji jime	0	1
harai goshi	11	4	hadaka jime	0	1
de ashi barai	11	2	kata ha jime	0	1
morote gari	10	0	armlocks
ura nage	8	3	juji gatame	11	0
sasae t. komi ashi	6	2	hiza gatame	1	0
soto maki komi	5	3
ko soto gari	4	1	others	13	8
tsuri komi koshi	3	4
o soto otoshi	2	2

Conclusions: It seems that visual impairment influences processes of structuring action space, therefore the visually impaired judoka behaves in a particular way.

It may be noted that the center of the tatami is prefered for the attack, while all the remaining competition surface and especially the red danger zone are neglected. Seeing athletes organize their attacking actions arround the red danger zone, recognizing its main tactical role as per its name danger zone, and around the peripherical area.

Visually impaired athletes use the central referee as refering point, the latter favors their central attacks, while for seeing athletes he seems to limit their performing attack in the area behind him.

The visually impaired athlete seems to gain an advantage from the specific refereeing rules, that fact that he is not sanctioned for stepping out of the red danger zone does not compell him to defend himself from stepping out of it and therefore at the same time to use it with tactical aims, as we have previously noted.

The IBSA Judo Sub Committee is studying a way to have a red danger zone that may be recognized by stepping on it, and only then stepping out may be sanctioned as it is foreseen within the International Judo Federation. Visually impaired athletes will have to get used to this new way and to study more complex behavioral ways; the importance of the red danger zone will be reconsidered, getting therefore closer to the fights of seeing athletes.

Table of combats duration

tempi	60	65	71	78	86	95	+ 95
- di 30"	2	2	4	2	2	2	2
da 30" ad 1'	3	4	0	2	4	1	2
da 1' a 2'	6	3	4	4	4	3	1
da 2' a 3'	1	1	0	3	5	2	2
da 3' a 4'	1	0	3	0	2	1	0
da 4' a 5'	0	0	1	0	2	1	0
5'	4	3	7	1	0	0	2

From this table it may be seen that the two athlete groups have a quite different behavior when considering the entire combat time (5 minutes). 81,52% of visually impaired athletes' combats finish before maximum time allowed, while 80% of seeing athletes' combats are carried until the end of the official combat time.

Comparative table between winners of each weight category

kg	athlete	nat	inc	vict	sco	%	ip	%	w	y	k	s	c	k	time	total
60	Kanki	Jap	5	5	0	100	5	45,45	3	1	2	0	0	0	0:19	3:49
60	Gousseinov	Eun	6	6	0	100	4	3,33	1	2	5	3	1	0	3:24	20:57

65	Talavera	Esp	4	3	1	75	1	25,00	1	0	1	0	1	0	0:44	11:37
65	Sampaio	Bra	5	5	0	100	3	30,00	1	3	3	2	0	0	3:34	17:53

71	Jackson	Gbr	6	6	0	100	6	40,00	1	7	1	1	0	0	0:07	6:31
71	Koga	Jap	5	5	0	100	2	28,57	1	3	1	1	0	0	3:18	16:32

78	Gichtenaere	Fra	5	4	1	80	3	60,00	1	0	1	0	0	0	0:28	5:59
78	Yoshida	Jap	6	6	0	100	6	42,85	0	4	4	1	0	0	2:43	16:21

86	An	Kor	5	4	1	80	4	36,36	3	2	2	0	0	0	0:34	8:26
86	Legien	Pol	5	5	0	100	2	25,00	0	4	2	1	0	0	3:04	15:20

95	Takagaki	Jap	4	3	1	75	3	60,00	1	0	1	0	0	0	0:09	6:18
95	Kovacs	Hun	5	5	0	100	1	09,09	2	5	3	4	0	0	4:30	22:32

+95	Kasakov	Eun	4	4	0	100	4	66,66	1	0	1	0	0	0	0:40	5:06
+95	Khakhalei	Eun	5	5	0	100	2	25,00	4	0	2	2	1	0	4:08	20:41

11.3 Technical evolution

When reading the following table, it may be seen that there is a clear evolution of athletes' belt degree. The color of the belt is not important in itself, but in this specific case it shows a clear evolution concerning technical preparation of visually impaired athletes, demonstrating technical integration with seeing ones.

Furthermore there are several National Federations who have prepared an exam program in order to obtain the higher belt level for people who do not compete, while the competing ones may acquire the higher level on the field for good results, as happens with the seeing athletes.

Table of belt distribution among visually impaired athletes

Belt	kg. 60			kg. 65			kg.71			kg. 78			kg. 86				kg. 95				kg. +95				totali
	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91		92	95	91		92	95	91		92	95
orang	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1	4		0	1
green	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	3		0	0
blue	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0		0	0	0		1	0	3		7	0
brown	3	3	2	2	2	1	3	2	1	1	0	1	1	3	3	0		1	2	1		2	0	11		12	10
1 dan	2	4	2	4	3	5	5	5	5	6	4	4	4	2	2	4		2	4	2		2	6	27		22	28
2 dan	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		0	1	0		1	0	1		4	7
3 dan	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0		2	0	0		0	0	0		4	1
5 dan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		2	0
6 dan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	2

Legend: 1991 European Championship Sassari (Italy)

1992 Barcelona Paralimpics (Spain)

1995 World Championship Colorado Springs (USA)

11.4 Athletes' age.

Analising three competitions which took place between 1991 and 1995, it has been noted that the age of participants has increased and it seems that judo is much more practised by seniors (from 20 years on).

Another interesting thing to note is that athletes below 30 years are in weight classes between Kg. 60 and Kg. 78, while the age increases proportionally from Kg. 86 up to over Kg. 95 where the age is around 50 years.

This is due to the fact that the first group performs techniques where high speed is required in order to perform it, such physical effort when carried on in time limits athlete's carrier. The second group instead performs small techniques usually leg techniques and however performed with less effort and speed. This allows them to compete also up to and over 50 years of age.

Table of age distribution within weight categories

Età	kg. 60			kg. 65			kg. 71			kg. 78			kg. 86				kg. 95				kg. +95
	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91	92	95	91		92	95	91		92	95
17	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
18	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
19	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
20	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
21	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
22	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0		0	0	1		0	0
23	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	0		0	0	0		1	0
24	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0		1	0	0		0	0
25	1	0	1	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0		0	0	0		1	0
26	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0		0	0	0		0	0
27	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0
28	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	2	0	0		0	0	0		1	0
29	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0
30	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		0	2	0		1	0
31	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0		0	1	0		0	0
32	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0
33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	1	0		0	1
34	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1
35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		0	0	1		0	1
36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2		0	0	0		0	0
37	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	0	0		1	0
38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	1		0	0	1		0	0
39	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0		0	0
40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	1	0		0	0
41	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0
42	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0
43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1
44	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		1	0
45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	0	0		0	0
46	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		0	1	0		0	0
47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	0	0		0	1
50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1

Legend: 1991 European Championship Sassari (Italy)

1992 Barcelona Paralimpics (Spain)

1995 World Championship Colorado Springs (USA)

Judo For Visually Impaired Athletes

Introduction

1. Visual classification and athletic suitability

1.1 Foreword

1.2 Visual classification

1.3 Athletic suitability

1.4 Visual Perception

2. Body analysis

2.1 Two cultures being compared

2.2 Analysis of the word body

2.3 Posture and reflexes

2.4 Psychomotor ability's basic elements

2.5 Alignment evaluation of the standing position

2.6 Balance and coordination analysis

2.7 Walking evaluation

2.8 Conclusions

3. Pathology

3.1 Ophtalmology

3.2 Occupational disease

4. Judo's benefits

4.1 Sport's benefits

4.2 Judo and visually impaired athletes

4.3 Educational judo

4.4 Integration

5. Reaching set goals

5.1 Motor ability

5.2 Psychology

5.3 Sociality

6. Historical origins

6.1 Origins of the Italian Disabled Sports Federation

6.2 1st National Census

6.3 The International Blind Sports Association

6.4 The Paralimpic Family

6.5 History of Paralimpic Games

6.6 Judo's origins

6.7 Definition of Bujutsu

6.8 Jujutsu's birth

6.9 Is judo a martial art?

7. Behavior's origins

7.1 General rules

7.2 The ritual

7.3 The sitting position

7.4 Self discipline

8. Breathing

8.1 Esoteric - hexoteric

8.2 Four methods

9. Technical progression

9.1 Gymnastics

9.2 Body movements

9.3 Grips

9.4 Balance

9.5 Falls

9.6 Throwing techniques

9.7 Techniques on the ground

9.8 Technical practice

9.9 Basic techniques' demonstration

9.10 Programming

9.11 Learning hierarchy

10. Teachers

10.1 Teacher's qualification

10.2 Teacher's qualities

10.3 Education's philosophy

10.4 The teacher and his method

10.5 Teacher's approach to the visually impaired athlete

11. Competitions

11.1 Appendix to the IJF refereeing rules

11.2 Techniques and attack areas

11.3 Technical development

11.4 Athletes' age

Bibliography

Bloom Tassonomia degli obiettivi educativi G & Lisciani Teramo 1986

Carmeni Judo per tutti G.B. Padova 1988

Carmeni Il judo come mezzo di educazione fisica Padova 1991

Chateau Le jeu de l'enfant

C.O.N.I. Il corpo e il bambino S.d.S. Roma

C.O.N.I. Sport, sviluppo umano, socializzazione S.d.S. Roma

Cormant Il testo Boringhieri Torino 1975

Dal Monte e Faina Fisiologia dell'esercizio nell'età evolutiva

Doron Psicologia infantile Armando Roma 1972

Draeger I segreti dei samurai Mediterranee Roma

F.F. Judo Judo e entrainement phisique

F.I.C.S. Raccogliamo le idee... CONI/IBSA Roma 1990

Freud Al di là del principio del piacere

Galimberti Il corpo Feltrinelli Milano 1991

Hizuinga Trattato di psicologia infantile Armando Roma 1972

Huard/Wong Tecniche del corpo Mondadori Verona 1973

Huxley L'arte di vedere Adelphi Milano 1991

Merni e Carbonaro Test motori

Musashi Il libro dei cinque anelli Mediterranee Roma

O.N.C.E. Libro de ponencias Fondacion Barcellona

Payane Arti marziali Fabbri Milano 1982

Paparella La programmazione delle attività Educative La Scuola Brescia 1991

Piaget L'industria culturale Il Mulino Bologna1963

Ramancharaka La respirazione e la salute Napoleone Roma 1986

Sacripanti Biomeccanica del judo Mediterranee Roma 1989

Salvini L'apprendimento motorio dello sviluppo cognitivo

Schvcersonn L'industria del piacere Il Mulino Bologna1963

Sekida La pratica dello zen Ubaldini Roma

Suzuki Saggi zen Mediterranee Roma

Tokitsu Lo zen e la via del karate Sugaro Milano 1979

Ulatowski La teoria dell'allenamento sportivo S.d.S. Roma

Visalberghi Pedagogia e scienze dell'Educazione Mondadori Milano 1990

Watts La via dello zen Feltrinelli Milano 1971

B.B.C. Active living through Physical Education Inclusion

Other pubblications

1973 - Judo, didattica d'insegnamento.

1974 - Judo per bambini.

1975 - Judo.

1987 - Judo tecniche a terra.

1988 - Judo per tutti (1° edizione).

1991 - Il Judo come mezzo di educazione fisica moderna.

1992 - Judo per tutti (2° edizione).

- Aspetti tecnici dell'allenamento sportivo del cieco.

1993 - Il Judo come mezzo di educazione fisica moderna (in Braille).

1994 - Judo per i Disabili Mentali

- Judo per i Ciechi Sportivi

Author's biography

The author - born in 1940

started judo practice in 1995.

He gets his 1st dan in 1960 and 7th in 1993.

He participates at the first Judo Olympic Games in 1964.

He wins a silver medal at the European Championships at Geneva in 1963.

He is 21 times a representative of the Italian National Team and participates at 7 European Championships.

He participates 44 times at Italian National Championships (individual and team and is 7 times Italian Champion.

He studied two years in Japan, from 1964 to 1966, at Tenri's University, where he takes a Degree in Japanese Language.

His masters were: M° Noritomo Ken Otani (8° dan - he is his pupil from 1957 until today); M° Kotani (10° dan); M° Ebii (9° dan); M° Matsumoto (9° dan); M° Osawa (8° dan); M° Daigo (8° dan); M° Hashimoto (8° dan).

Bronze Medal to Athletic Value CONI 1965.

Coach of the Italian National Junior Team FILPJ, College Team CUSI and FICS from 1971 to 1992.

First teacher at the Italian National Judo Accademy in 1971.

From 1976 he is member of the National Commission for qualification and degree promotion.

Since 1978 Federal Technical Consultant.

Bronze Star to Sport's Merit CONI 1985.

First Caetegory National Referee since 1977 and International Continental Referee since 1992.

Well deserving Master FILPJ 1982.

Member of the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) Commission sin 1987.

International Technical Delegate (IBSA) at Seoul Paralimpics (Korea 1988), Barcellona (Spain 1992) and Atlanta (USA 1996).

International Chairman of IBSA's Judo Subcommittee since 1988.

FISD's National Technical Director (Blind and Psycho/Physical sectors) since 1992.

Chairman of the Technical Commission of Disabled Studies since 1994.

Member of the National Judo Propaganda and Development Commission FILPJK since 1995.

Cavaliere to the Merit of the Italian Republic since 1993.

Silver Star to Sport's Merit CONI 1996.