Vertical jump performance in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes: an approach with different training levels

Background. Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) are grappling sports, in which the athletes of both modalities require a combination of powerful actions in the upper and lower limbs. In the lower limbs, power actions are observed in several judo throwing techniques, and the guard passes, sweeps, takedowns in the BJJ matches. Aim. To compare the kinetic parameters of vertical jump performance between judo and BJJ athletes, and to compare these parameters between novices and advanced athletes. Methods. Twenty judo male athletes (twelve novices and eight advanced) and twenty male BJJ athletes (twelve novices and eight advanced) participated in this study. They performed a countermovement jump (CMJ) on a force platform. The following variables were analyzed: jump height, mean power, peak power, maximum force, and peak velocity. An independent samples t-test was used with the level of significance set at p ≤ 0.05 and the effect size was calculated to verify the effect magnitude. Results. The main results showed that only peak velocity was higher in judo than BJJ athletes (p = 0.02). Also, advanced BJJ athletes showed higher peak velocity (p = 0.03) and jump height (p = 0.05) than novice athletes. Advanced judokas presented higher peak velocity (p = 0.03) and maximum force than novice athletes (p = 0.02). Conclusions: We conclude that judo athletes are able to apply higher velocity during the jump take-off compared to BJJ athletes. In general, advanced athletes in both combat sports seem to present higher performance in CMJ parameters related to force and velocity. © Idōkan Poland Association “IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology”, Vol. 17, no. 4 (2017), pp. 25–31 DOI: 10.14589/ido.17.4.5