Zbigniew Borysiuk

Information Processes, Stimulation and Perceptual Training in Fencing

Information Processes, Stimulation and Perceptual Training in Fencing Learning and development of motor skills and techniques in fencing and other sports with open motor habits are based on perceptual processes involving the senses of vision, touch, and hearing. In fencing, the same stimuli can yield defensive or offensive actions, which are strictly related to the tactics and strategy. Different types of stimulation determine reaction time, movement time, and muscle bioelectric tension (EMG) in fencing. From the training process, controlling the significance of dominant stimuli should be taken into account. The results of presented studies of advanced and novice fencers show that the time of reaction to tactile stimulation is similar or slightly shorter than to acoustic stimuli followed by visual stimuli. The advanced fencers were faster than the novice fencers in all the studied parameters. The EMG signal was significantly lower in case of advanced fencers in all three types of stimulation. It can be a proof that the psycho-motor superiority of elite fencers results in a reduction of the bioelectrical tension of muscles involved in performing the motor tasks. Perceptual skills enable athletes to respond to important signals in sport competition and ignore disrupting ones which lower the effectiveness of sports combat. Time pressure during sports competition makes it necessary to reduce as much as possible the decision-making time and the time of sensorimotor responses in the motor phase. The study results show that experienced athletes make decisions much faster than their novice colleagues. It conforms to the main strategy of perceptual training, (i.e., gaining maximum benefits at the lowest expense). Speed of decision-making is strictly associated with the stimuli detection effectiveness and re-creation of acquired motor patterns.

Is It Time to Begin a Public Campaign Concerning Frailty and Pre-frailty? A Review Article

Frailty is a state that encompasses losses in physical, psychological or social domains. Therefore, frail people demonstrate a reduced potential to manage external stressors and to respond to life incidents. Consequently, such persons are prone to various adverse consequences such as falls, cognitive decline, infections, hospitalization, disability, institutionalization, and death. Pre-frailty is a condition predisposing and usually preceding the frailty state. Early detection of frailty (i.e., pre-frailty) may present an opportunity to introduce effective management to improve outcomes. Exercise training appears to be the basis of such management in addition to periodic monitoring of food intake and body weight. However, various nutritional supplements and other probable interventions, such as treatment with vitamin D or androgen, require further investigation. Notably, many societies are not conscious of frailty as a health problem. In fact, people generally do not realize that they can change this unfavorable trajectory to senility. As populations age, it is reasonable to begin treating frailty similarly to other population-affecting disorders (e.g., obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases) and implement appropriate preventative measures. Social campaigns should inform societies about age-related frailty and pre-frailty and suggest appropriate lifestyles to avoid or delay these conditions. In this article, we review current information concerning therapeutic interventions in frailty and pre-frailty and discuss whether a greater public awareness of such conditions and some preventative and therapeutic measures may decrease their prevalence.

Psychomotor reactions in fencing dependence of stimuli type

The purpose of the present study was to examine reaction time (RT), movement time (MT) and electromyography (EMG) signal under tactile, acoustic and visual stimulation. Two groups of subjects took part in the study: one consisting of advanced fencers (n = 12, average age 22.3) practicing fencing for an average of 8.3 years; and the other consisting of novice fencers (n = 15, average age 14.8) practicing fencing for an average of 2.8 years. The research tool applied in the study was an innovative system of surface electromyography with peripheral equipment that enabled participants’ reactions to tactile, audio and visual stimulation. The system made it possible to record RT and MT separately. The subjects were exposed to forty-fi ve stimuli in a randomized manner in each type of stimulation. The tested fencers responded fastest to tactile stimuli, then to acoustic stimuli, and in a much slower way to visual stimuli (p < 0.01). The advanced fencers exhibited signifi cantly lower values of RT, MT, and EMG signal in comparison with the novice fencers. Both groups exhibited a decrease in the EMG signal value during the tactile, acoustic and visual stimulation trials, supporting the hypothesis. A slight coincidence of EMG signal curves was also observed in the visual stimuli test. It can be concluded that visual perception lowers muscle tension in novice fencers (p < 0.050).

Quality of life and physical activity in an older working-age population

Objective Physical activity can be an effective means of prevention and therapy of many psychosomatic disorders. It can also have a significant impact on the quality of life of older working-age people. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationships between quality of life and physical activity in older working-age people from Wrocław, Poland. Materials and methods The study group comprised 1,013 people, including 565 women and 448 men, aged 55–64 years (59.1±2.9 years). The study took form of a questionnaire survey. The participants assessed their physical activity and quality of life using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Version (IPAQ-SF) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), respectively. Results The highest mean indices of general quality of life, perceived health status, and quality of life in the physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains were shown by respondents whose intensity of physical activity was the highest. Moreover, the odds of high assessment of overall quality of life increased with respondents’ higher levels of physical activity. Conclusion Quality of life improvement programs should also involve increased physical activity components.

Physical Activity as a Determinant of Quality of Life in Working-Age People in Wrocław, Poland

Regular physical activity can greatly contribute to the improvement of physical fitness and performance, reduction of the incidence risk of some occupational diseases, and as a consequence, to a general improvement of quality of life in terms of health status. The aim of the article was to assess relationships between the quality of life and physical activity of a working-age population. The study material comprised 4460 residents of the city of Wrocław, Poland (2129 men, 2331 women) aged 18–64 years. The study was a questionnaire survey using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaires. The highest levels of overall quality of life and its four particular domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental), as well as perceived health conditions were found among the most physically active respondents. Furthermore, the odds of high assessment of perceived overall quality of life were shown to increase with the increasing levels of physical activity. Activities aimed at the improvement of the quality of life of working-age people should involve programs enhancing the development of physical activity.

The sabre school of Count Michał Starzewski as a reflection of Polish fencing traditions

The fencing tradition in Poland has been subject to nu merous research studies carried out mainly by Polish authors [1-7]. Polish sabre fencing, in particular, has attracted interests of many scholars; however, it still remains a little known area outside Poland. This article attempts to outline the development of sabre fencing in Polish history by placing it in a wider European context and taking as its focal point the tenets of the Polish sabre fencing school of Count Michał Ostoja Starzewski. Swordsmanship in Poland, like in other European countries, has been strongly associated with national tradition. In particular periods of Polish history the development of swordsmanship reflected cultural transformations, changes in weapon technology as well as in social perception of sabre duels. The present-day word for fencing in Polish is szermierka, which shares a number of cognates in other European lan guages, e.g. Old French escremie, Spanish esgrimar, Ilalian scrima, German schirmen. In the Old Polish language (9-16 cent.), szermierka had a variety of meanings, e.g. “working the weapon”, “swordsmanship”, “duelling”, “hand-to-hand com bat” as well as “swordplay”. Fencing was frequently mentioned in classic works of Po lish Renaissance literature, e.g. in Mikołaj Rej’s Żywot czło wieka poczciwego (The Life of the Honest Man, 1568), Łu kasz Górnicki’s Dworzanin polski (The Polish Courtier, 1566) and Sebastian Petrycy’s Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej sposobem Arystotelesowym ułożonej (The Polish Commonwealth in Ari stotelian Perspective, 1605). It was also referred to in many famous literary works of 18-century Poland, e.g. in Jędrzej Kitowicz’s Opis obyczajów za panowania Augusta III (17331763) (Description of Customs During the Reign of August III, 1840) [8], or in the memoirs of the great Polish playwright Aleksander Fredro Trzy po Trzy (Topsy Turvy Talk, 1844). The disastrous partition of Poland of 1795 by the neighbouring powers: Austria, Russia and Prussia, and the subsequent abolishment of Polish statehood and national army interrupted the historical development of Polish fencing.

Application of sEMG and Posturography as Tools in the Analysis of Biosignals of Aging Process of Subjects in the Post-production Age

Surface electromyography (sEMG) and posturography are some of the most useful tools applied in the assessment of the motor skills of humans. The scope and objective of this paper is to report on concurrent and synchronized application of the Kistler platform for postural balance and electromyography analysis (sEMG Noraxon) with the purpose of the registration of the bioelectric muscle tension of selected muscles (soleus, tibialis anterior). A random group of senior subjects aged 60–70 years, who participate in regular fitness program involving the formation of psychomotor activities (once a week) and focusing primarily on the motor coordination and low-intensity aerobic performance capacity was subjected to 4 tasks involving postural assessment. The results of the study were concerned with the analysis of the correlation between the sEMG and COP parameters and confirm the initial hypothesis regarding the existence of a positive correlation between the level of muscular coactivation (soleus, tibialis anterior) and the scatter parameters of COP.

Coordination Aspects of an Effective Sprint Start

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in the movement structure and the coordination aspects expressed by bioelectrical tension indicators between a group of experts/sprinters and a group of novices/students. A group consisted of 20 sprinters and a control group consisted of 35 master’s physical education students. A 16-channel surface electromyography (14 muscles) and two cameras with recording speed of 250 frames/per second were used. Significant differences were found between reaction time (p < 0.005) and time at 30 m of the covered sprinting distance (p < 0.001) between the students and advance athletes. Furthermore, the sprinters activated the back foot (taking off the starting blocks) and the front foot (first ground contact) earlier, which correlated with the attained times at 5 (r = 0.66) and 10 m (r = 0.62) of the covered sprinting distance. The most important component of the sprint start, apart from the muscle strength of the legs, is the appropriate motor coordination, which greatly affects the generation of power in the legs at the right time and optimal duration.

The effect of offensive and defensive actions on taekwondo sparring

Performance analysis in sports has been part of the athletes’ training program for several decades as far as discrete movements are concerned in soccer [1] or physical demands by position in the same sport [2]. Sanderson [3] focused on (un)successful patterns of play in squash, while notational analysis in other racket sports was also performed [4,5]. More examples of sports where notational analysis has gained inroads include volleyball [6], water polo [7] as well as rowing and swimming [8]. Performance analysis in combat sports has mainly occurred in judo [9,10,11,12] with one of the earliest done by Matsumoto et al. [13]. Calmet et al. [14] sought to investigate the approach and grappling stages in beginning, intermediate and advanced male judo athletes. The authors reported that the frequency of attacks of experienced judo practitioners (67.4%) was lower than those of the beginners (80.0%) and intermediate counterparts (86.7%). Franchini et al. [15] investigated medal winners (super elite) and those who ranked 4 -7 (elite) in at least two judo world championships or Olympic Games between 1995 and 2001. The authors reported that the super elite group recorded more wins, while the men and women in the super elite group as well as the men in the elite group scored more points than the elite women. Few performance analysis studies were carried out in karate. Koropanovsky et al. [16] revealed that the reverse straight punch was the most often used technique at three European championships, followed by the roundhouse kick. He reported that the reverse straight punch was most frequently used at European and world championships. Laird and McLeod [17] arrived at the same conclusion when investigating tournaments in Europe. In comparing adults with children (12-13 years), Lapresa et al. [18] revealed that the latter preferred to use their left guards as opposed to the adults, who blocked equally as often with the right and left sides. No differences were found in kicks. In taekwondo, research on notational analysis is in its beginning stages. Recent analyses were done by Kazemi and colleagues on full-contact taekwondo according to the rules of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The dominant techniques were kicks, with a total absence of punches at the 2000 Olympic Games [19]. More details were provided by Kazemi et al. [20] on kicks and warnings incurred per weight category at the 2008 Olympic Games. Notational analysis in taekwondo according to the rules of the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) is likewise scarce. Wąsik and Ślęzak [21] found that in females competing in the over-70 kg weight division, the technique that was often successful in scoring points included the straight punch. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to assess the performance profile of selected male and female taekwondo athletes competing according to ITF rules.

Analysis of the fencing lunge based on the response to a visual stimulus and a tactile stimulus

Fencing requires from competitors responses to multiple stimuli, therefore in initial training and honing fencing techni ques the trainer’s task is to adapt specific activities to achieve the desired speed of sensorimotor (psychomotor responses) [1]. One of the main goals of individual training and fighting is selection of an adequate moment for starting an offensive ac tion, in this case, a simple lunge. During specialty training, fen cers acquire multiple technical and technical-tactical skills which can be used during fighting. These skills include: a simple speed response to a visual stimulus and a simple speed response to a tactile stimulus [2]. The speed of response to a given stimulus can be shaped using single or complex action exercises according to the scheme presented by Czajkowski. The study used a simple response scheme (a simple speed response to chan ges, the predicted stimulus, and the trainer’s action). The same author also presents the sequence of fencing lunge performance: 1) a harmonious, slight extension of the armed limb in such a way that it is difficult for the rival to notice it; 2) lifting the back leg softly and sliding it forward with the heel sliding along the board; 3) extension of the back leg in the knee joint ended with a vigorous extension (at the same time thrust of the back leg sheen forward); 4) a blow and an immediate stepping on the board with the front leg. The above sequence of a simple lunge has been generally accepted in fencing training. As already mentioned, apart from the response to stimuli, the responses to tactile stimuli are also very important (the so