An Uchi-komi with load, a physiological approach of a new special judo test proposal

Objective. - The aim of this study was to elaborate and validate a specific test to evaluate the physical condition of judo players. Subjects and methods. - Twenty-three volunteers, males, aged 22 +/- 3.62 years old took part in our experiment. They did the progressive test of Leger et al. (1984), vertical lump test 'Sargent test', Australian shuttle run test and a specific judo test. Results. - The observed results showed significant correlations between muscular power and the number of Uchi-komi on the judo test reference scale (R = 0.52, P < 0.01). Furthermore, there were other correlations between the number of Uchi-komi at the two first sets of specific judo test and the anaerobic power represented by the distance covered in 30s at the Australian shuttle test (R = 0.86, P < 0.01), also between the anaerobic capacity represented by the whole distance covered and the total number of Uchi-komi achieved at the judo test (R = 0.88, P < 0.01). Conclusion. - The test reproduces the physiological characteristics of judo fight. It is a good indicator of the judoka's physical fitness and their cardiovascular adaptation in a physical effort. (C) 2007 Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS.