Differentiation between high class judoists in terms of indices of experience, physical development, psychomotor fitness and their activities during competitions

The aim of the present work was to give an answer to the question whether such factors as weight category, age and training career, advancement degree and the actual level of successes in the sport are related to physical fitness tests. A research was carried out on 16 competitors during their immediate preparations just before the Polish Judo Seniors’ Championship in Chorzów in May in 1998. The average values of age, training career, body mass and height and of the Rohrer body build index (R.I.) were as follows: 22. 8 aged 11. 9 years, 81.19 kg, 175. 9 cm, with RI averaging 1.48. Their degree of advancement ranged from 2 Kyu to 3 Dan. The following tests were used in our research on the competitors’ state of preparation: Measurement of reaction with choice, cross apparatus, a labyrinth i. e. a device examining the remembering function and learning by the trial-and-error method, Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) some observations of the course of fights during Polish Championships. Calculations helped to ascertain that the awarding of points during the Polish Championships depended both on the characteristics obtained during laboratory research, on parameters measured by means of SJFT, and on individual indexes describing the course of fight. It was discovered, that the competitors attaining the best results in this sport during the period preceding the Polish Championships had considerably better psycho-motor fitness and higher ability to concentrate on their tasks than the judoists with poorer results. The observation and analysis of the course of fights verified the need for conducting both laboratory research and the special fitness motor test. It can be concluded that the methods employed can be successfully used to monitor judoists’ psycho-physical state and to evaluate the level of their special fitness preparation during their participation in competitions.