Background: Physical activity yields exceptionally positive results when it takes place out in the open air, in contact with nature. Both contact with nature and practicing sport constitute a certain kind of philosophy of life and living by its rules plays a vital role in positive mental health―understood as maintaining a high sense of coherence. Martial arts are examples of sports that are rooted in a philosophy. The goal of this study was to explore the links between a sense of coherence and connectedness to nature in the context of motivations for practicing karate. Methods: A total of 127 practitioners of karate were examined using the Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO), the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire, and the Connectedness to Nature Scale. Results: The most important objective for women training karate was a fit, shapely body, and for men the most important objective was physical fitness. Connectedness to nature had the strongest positive relationship with the measure of physical fitness (in both genders). A sense of comprehensibility increased men’s motivational conflict, whereas, in women, this IPAO dimension was positively related to feeling emotionally connected to the natural world. Connectedness to nature was related to motivational conflict positively in women and negatively in men. Feeling emotionally connected to the natural world correlated with a sense of comprehensibility, a sense of manageability, and a sense of meaningfulness. Sense of comprehensibility and sense of meaningfulness tended to increase with age. Conclusions: Understanding both the natural environment and the utility of setting sport-related goals led to increasing one’s efforts on the way to both successes and defeats, and, most of all, overcoming one’s weaknesses.

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Pupiš M, Sližik M, Bartík P. The use of hyperoxia as a way to accelerate recovery after a karate and judo match. J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 8, No. Proc3, pp. S608-S614, 2013. The research study is concerned with the use of hyperoxia (an abnormally increased supply or concentration of oxygen) as a possible way to accelerate recovery time after anaerobic load in karate and judo. The study sample consisted of 23 top athletes (14 karatekas, 9 judokas) aged 22 to 29. All these athletes inhaled a hyperoxic gas mixture (containing 95 ± 4% of oxygen in the inhaled air) or a placebo (air) from an oxygen concentrator before and after the match. Lactate level was measured in the third and 10th minute after the match. Following the match before which the athletes had inhaled the concentrated oxygen, the average lactate level was 10.44 (SD 2.76) mmol/L. On the other hand, the lactate level after the match before which they had inhaled placebo equalled 10.43 (SD 2.92) mmol/L. The difference between the results represents 0.0009 % which is considered not to be of any statistically significance. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was recorded after three-minute recovery -following the inhalation of the hyperoxic gas mixture the average lactate level reached 8.53 (SD 2.82) mmol/L. This represented a decrease of 18.12 % while after inhaling the placebo the average lactate level equalled 9.06 (SD 2.98) mmol/L (a 13.4% decrease). Following the ten-minute recovery we observed the average lactate level of 6.65 (SD 2.31) mmol/L after the inhalation of the hyperoxic gas mixture (a 36.3% decrease compared to the values before the match). The average lactate level measured after the inhalation of placebo represented 7.73 (SD 2.39) mmol/L (a 25.86% decrease). We ascertained the statistical significance of the difference between the dynamics of lactate metabolism after the inhalation of the hyperoxic gas mixture and after inhaling air (p < 0.05). The inhalation of hyperoxic gas mixture before a match does not have a statistically significant effect on the lactate level after the load. However, the inhalation of hyperoxic gas mixture does significantly affect the dynamics of lactate metabolism in the third and 10th minute of the recovery time, based on the p < 0.05 level of statistical significance. Based on this result, we consider the inhalation of hyperoxic gas mixture an appropriate way to accelerate recovery time after a judo and karate match.

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The goal of the research was to analyze the relation between subjective well-being specified by the frequency of individually observed emotional experience, life satisfaction and the Origin -pawn in behaviour. The research was realized with the group of respondents -graduate students studying at FTVŠ in Bratislava. The research sample consisted of 58 males and 43 females with the age average 21,4. The questionnaire was used to collect the research data. These obtained data were analyzed by the statistical analysis of Spearmen's correlation coefficient. According to our research findings, there is a significant relation between the respondents´ subjective well-being and the Origin -pawn theory.