Learning to Think for Themselves High-altitude Training in Tokyo Softer Face for Greater Distance Special Column

Machine-training for a Quick Shoulder Throw Heightened Awareness Means Greater Strength   Yuki Yokosawa of Market Development Promotion Department, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance   Yuki Yokosawa, Athens Olympics judo athlete, to-52kg category Yokosawa joined Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in 1999. She currently works on insurance publicity posters and the like in the Market Development Promotion Department. “I go to work every day. My job is a nice respite from judo,” says Yokosawa with a smile. Her tokui waza (speciality techniques) are seoi nage (shoulder throw) and o soto gari (major outstep reap). She works out on a machine designed to strengthen her twisting ability. “You can increase the load as you train and I think it has made my twisting when I go for a throw much more powerful. Working out on the machines is also mentally helpful because practice builds confidence.”   Masae Ueno of General Affairs Department , Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance   Masae Ueno, Athens Olympics judo athlete, to-70kg category Winner of the World Championships in 2001 and 2003, Ueno joined Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in 1997, where she currently works in General Affairs Department. “It was hard at first to balance work and judo, but I’ve gotten used to it now,” she says. “Our machine training is more than just weight training—it’s geared specifically to judo, which makes it very practical and useful, especially for image training.” Head Coach Yanagisawa, she notes, is always telling the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance judo club women to aspire to world-class excellence. “We’re all striving to compete in the global arena. I think this heightened awareness is another reason for the strength of our club.”

Simulation Technology Changes the World of Sports   Masaya Tsunoda, an assistant manager in the information Technologies Research Department at SRI R&D Ltd.   SRI Sports’ unique Digital Impact simulation technology has been a significant contributing factor in the company’s product development. This technology makes it possible, for example, to stop and see in one-billionth of a second increments how a ball impacts with the face of a golf club. “Simulation technology allows us to experiment and analyze the force of impact when the club head hits the ball, the speed of ball’s initial velocity, and amount of spin—all inside the virtual world of the computer. But unlike with computer graphics, we are able to analyze actual phenomena with calculations based on the physical laws. For example, our technology allows us to ‘see’ what happens inside a ball on impact—something that’s impossible to observe in reality,” explains Masaya Tsunoda, an assistant manager in the Information Technologies Research Department at SRI R&D Ltd. “There is always some margin of error when testing with experiments and prototypes,” he says. “That doesn’t happen with simulations, so we don’t make mistakes in deciding on research and development directions. Simulations are usually used for enhancing efficiency or cutting costs, but for us the objective is to ensure we go in the right direction with our R&D.“ Simulation technology can also be used to examine human movement. For instance, it makes it possible to determine which muscles a golfer needs to develop to improve drive shots, or to pinpoint what’s wrong when a golf swing causes a backache. Clearly, simulation technology is going to have a considerable impact on sports going forward.   Club head with a high-rebound face design for smooth transition of impact energy. Conventional club head showing the impact energy loss

(Data collected July 2004)