October 28th is World Judo Day. It is celebrated on the day of the birth of the sport’s founder, Jigoro Kano.
Each year has a different theme, but the goals are always to promote the moral values of Judo. In recent years, themes such as “Solidarity” and “Inclusion” have been promoted. Judo is an Olympic sport and has been since 1964. It is practiced by millions of people, from children to seniors. Like many sports, it has drawn practitioners for a myriad of reasons. Some people value the discipline that it helps to instill in life. Other people appreciate the ability to defend themselves in the case of an emergency. But all practitioners of this martial art participate in physical activity.
Dr. Takao Yamasaki, an Executive Director and Medical Director at the Department of Neurology, Minkodo Minohara Hospital, prepared a review of the “growing body of evidence showing that multicomponent exercise improves physical and cognitive performance in older adults.”
Dr. Yamasaki breaks up his review into three primary parts. The first discusses judo holistically. Following this, he addresses the benefits that judo has for elderly individuals (both physically and cognitively). Finally, he goes into detail about the possible mechanisms of brain effects (in relation to improvements in physical and cognitive performance in the elderly.
What is judo?
Judo was founded in Japan in 1882 by Prof. Jigoro Kano. Jujutsu, a style of close combat, with blended with elements of mental discipline. In fact, the meaning of the Japanese characters, “柔 (ju)” and “道 (do)” is “gentle way.” Like any martial art, the applications range from self-defense, to sports, to personal improvement and wellbeing. In creating judo, Prof. Kano established eight guiding principles: courtesy, courage, friendship, honesty, honor, modesty, respect, and self-control. In short, judo blends both mental and emotional components with physical elements. Judo aims to use mental and physical strength effectively so that its practitioners cultivate their bodies and spirits.
Judo matches are a mix of of high-intensity actions (like throws) and low-intensity actions (like displacement without contact or pauses). Dr. Yamasaki’s review delves into more details about the duration of activities (often bursts of effort that take up to 20–30 seconds). He breaks down the energy expenditure of these efforts, and helps the reader to understand what the different kinds of actions in judo mean in the context of energy usage.
As he notes from previous work,
“In humans, the energy for muscle activity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), is produced by three energy systems, phosphagen (ATP-creatine phosphate [CP]), anaerobic (glycolytic), and aerobic (oxidative) systems.”
The impacts of judo
Judo, like many sports, uses energy and this energy expenditure can have long-term effects on the body. Continued exercise has been shown to have a myriad of positive impacts. Some of these health factors are things like bone health and quality of life. Beyond that, however, balance, strength, and walking speed can have positive impacts on people. Looking at psychological impacts is beneficial as well. Dr. Yamasaki notes that the practice of judo can positively impact psychosocial aspects like fear of falling, cognition, and self-efficacy
Judo training and physical and cognitive function in the elderly
Dr. Takao Yamasaki notes in his review that Judo offers diverse advantages. These advantages are across different age groups, genders, and skill levels. Judo encourages active physical behavior and improves quality of life in many ways. This sport enhances both physical and mental health and helps to develop safe falling skills, which in elderly populations can have immense impacts on health.
It is not only effects like improved bone density that can be measured. Psychosocial such as fear of falling, cognition, and self-efficacy can all be seen to be improved. In his review, he observes some of the findings of other research.
Dr. Yamasaki notes that the underlying brain mechanisms of these positive effects need to be explored further. As such, he discusses the brain mechanisms underlying judo training to improve physical and cognitive performance in older adults. Based on the research of others, he draws the conclusion that judo training induces various changes in the brain. In particular, these changes cause functional and structural changes in various brain regions and brain networks.
Conclusions drawn
While its popularity is clear, the benefits to participating in this sport are also evident. Dr. Yamasaki notes that,
[J]udo training has some positive effects on physical (gait and balance, among others) and cognitive (memory and executive) function in the elderly. These positive effects are attributed to various changes in the brain (increase in CBF and BDNF, among others), which in turn cause functional and structural changes in various brain regions and brain networks.
But, crucially, he also points out that further longitudinal intervention studies are needed to confirm these beneficial effects.
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