To cool down is as important as to warm up, however often ignored. Stopping an activity abruptly may cause pooling of the blood and slow the removal of waste products in the athlete's body. It may also cause cramps, soreness, and other problems for athletes. The cool down gradually reduces the body temperature and heart rate, stabilize breading and speeds the recovery process before the next training session or competitive experience.
One of the major secrets of vitality and rejuvenation is a purified blood stream. The quickest and most effective way to purify the blood stream is by taking in extra supplies of oxygen from the air we breathe. The breathing exercises described in here is the most effective methods ever devised for saturating the blood with extra oxygen. Oxygen bums up the waste products (toxins) in the body
By purifying the blood stream, every part of the body benefits, as well as the mind.
The cool down is also a good time for the coach and athlete to talk about the session or competition.
Note; cool down is therefore a good time to do yoga, meditation, tai chi and light stretching.
Muscles are warm and receptive to these kinds of movements, furthermore it’s important to teach students to coop emotionally with stress in competition
Flexibility and mobility is critical to a judoka’s optimal performance in both training and competition, but is not achieved through stretching only.
In an extensive comprehensive review of international research papers concerning indications and effectiveness of different stretching techniques, there appears to be no agreement. There seems to exist a vast amount of stretching techniques, each with its own described precise application. However, the theoretical models attached to these stretching techniques are based on incomplete scientific study or basis.
Most studies show that each individual technique seems to have some value when the goal is to improve mobility. The majority of the studies identify the short-term effects of stretches on the subjects, but none deal with the long-term effects.
Most authors conclude that the improvement of mobility which is dependent on properties of the connective tissue as the most important factor in resistive stretching is overestimated
Furthermore a judoka with the Down syndrome by which one of the physical characterises can be muscular weakness (hypotonie) requires a totally different treatment than a judoka with Cerebral Paralyse (hypertonie).
Therefore the judo teacher must gain medical background of his students and insides of alternatives for stretching.
Tai chi is an ancient Chinese discipline that integrates mind, body, and spirit. Practitioners use meditation and deep breathing as they move through a series of continuous exercises, called "forms," which resemble slow-moving ballet. Though it originated as a martial art, tai chi is now practiced more for its therapeutic benefits, which include reducing stress, promoting balance and flexibility, and motions.
Yoga is an excellent means of relieving the strain caused by training.
Strain cause imbalance that comes off by outside or internal blockades. Chi, the life energy, must be adjusted. That takes place by means of imaginative breading, movement, respiration and relaxation.
All this action together gives the body the possibility for the regeneration.
The beauty of Tai chi and Yoga is that it can be adapted to suit the needs of everyone, regardless of age, physical ability or background
