Content area
The aim of this study was to know the Portuguese judo coaches´ understanding on some fundamental aspects of the global judoist´s sports education process. It was also an aim to present a summarized education model based on the coaches´ understanding, and focusing on the aspects to be strengthened in the various age groups.
The qualitative methodology was used, by means of an interview (semi-structured), as well as a small questionnaire. The interviews were conducted with sixteen Portuguese coaches from five different regions of the country (the North, the Center, Lisbon, the South and the Azores), and recorded for ulterior answer handling through content analysis.
Based on this analysis ‘result some conclusions arose: judo teaching builds on the attitudes and values ‘transmission; parents play a crucial role while dedicated and respectful agents of the coaches ‘decisions, showing the latter an exemplary behavior to set the example; the teaching of entertaining features is an important source of motivation for the practice; the lack of collaborators and the rather heterogeneous classes are some of the problems sensed by the coaches; the correct teaching of falls and techniques, as well as the stress given to the ground fight (with beginners), and a suitable competitive regulation improve safety in the practice; good technical basis, a wide variety of learnings, as well as the use of problem situations are important aspects in the context of judoists´ sports education; judo teaching should, progressively, prepare the athletes for the future competitive demands, respecting, however, their stage of development; contacts with judoists from other clubs are fundamental for the athletes´ evolution; coaches have not always justified conveniently their options regarding the work of the motor abilities and skills and the logic behind the choice of the teaching situations, among others.