There are jobs with high risk of a fall. It seems reasonable to create a device for diagnosis and improving safe fall skills for workers. The aim of the present study was a verification of usability of a rotating training simulator for assessing motor habits during a fall caused by an external force by conducting validation procedure. Material and Methods: the participants were chosen from a group of 128 students of physical education of the University of Zielona Góra. Predictive validity was determined by comparing results of immediate fall test (IFT) to forced fall test (FFT). Repeatability was determined by conduction test/retest conditions. Reliability was also determined by comparing grades given by two observers with those given by an expert. Results: the acquired results show that there were no significant differences between results of IFT and FFT tests conditions and also no significant differences between test/retest conditions separetly for IFT and FFT, alongside with moderate correlation of its results. Good and excellent reliability ICC values were obtained for observers and experts (from r = 0.853 to 1.00). Summary: the obtained results show that the rotating training simulator is a valid and reliable tool for diagnosing motor habits during a fall caused by an external force.

Purpose. This paper aims to examine how the knowledge of biomechanics, specifically of mechanics principles used in teaching aikido techniques, affects the precision of aikido movements execution. It also aims to answer the question whether secondaryschool teaching of solid-state mechanics, using examples from aikido and other sports, improves the learning outcomes. Basic procedures. The experiment involved 60 second-and third-form secondary-school students, divided into two groups: F (n = 27) and E (n = 33). The research on the understanding of mechanics principles was based on the results of a written test. Group F (experimental group) had been taught the principles of rotation mechanics, using examples from aikido and other sports, as opposed to group E (control group). Surprise tests were applied to assess the understanding of mechanics rather than retrieving of definitions learned by heart. The experimental group took a written test to assess their understanding of aikido mechanics. Over the period of one month the students in this group had been taught four selected aikido techniques. Using a ten-point grading scale the precision of execution of aikido techniques was evaluated. Main findings. Student's t-test and regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. A statistically significant difference was found between the aikido-enhanced and the conventional ways of teaching solidstate mechanics: the experimental group attained much higher test results than the control group. There was a strong correlation between understanding aikido mechanics and the performance of aikido techniques. Conclusions. Understanding aikido mechanics improves the performance of aikido techniques. Teaching solid-state mechanics, using examples from aikido and other sports, is more effective than teaching physics in the conventional way.

(1) Background: The aim of this article is to investigate the susceptibility to head injuries in physical education students who do not train a specific sports discipline and those who use the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body technique. The other goal is the biomechanical analysis of the impact of the fall technique on the likelihood of head injury. (2) Methods: the study included 57 students, divided into two research groups. Group A consisted of 32 students who had not practiced any sport in a sports club before. Group B consisted of 25 students who, by practicing martial arts, had acquired the skill of the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body. A rotating training simulator (RTS) was used to force the fall backwards. (3) Results: students from group B made significantly fewer “head” errors when falling backwards than in group A. Increasing the speed of falling did not increase the number of “head” errors in group B, but only in group A. The type of the fall test performed affected the increase in the number of “head” errors only in group A. (4) Conclusions: practicing selected sports disciplines in which the fall backwards occurs can protect one against head injuries by acquiring appropriate motor habits. The use of the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body technique with the occurrence of horizontal inertia forces causing a fall reduces the risk of head injuries.

(1) Background: This research aimed to determine the effect of the backward fall technique on the sagittal linear acceleration of the head in students training in different sports. (2) Methods: The study involved 41 students divided into two study groups. Group A included 19 students training in martial arts who practised falls with side aligning of the body. Group B included 22 handball players who practised falls performed in a way similar to a gymnastic backward roll. A rotating training simulator (RTS) was used to force falls, and Wiva ® Science apparatus was used to assess acceleration. (3) Results: Significant changes in head acceleration were only obtained between immediate fall tests (IFTs) and forced fall tests (FFTs) in group B. Significant differences were noted between groups for the IFT and FFT. Greater changes in head acceleration were noted in group B. (4) Conclusions: Smaller changes in head acceleration in group A students indicate a lower susceptibility to head, pelvic and cervical spine injuries in falls performed backward with side aligning of the body. This technique in group A limited the differences in head acceleration between IFTs and FFTs. Negative acceleration values obtained in group B confirmed that the head may suffer a moment of force, tilting it backwards, but then forward when the buttocks hit the ground.

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