EN
In the theory and methodology of sport training there are issues which are extremely important and which are marginal. As a rule, the first kind of issues becomes the subject of intensive research, whereas the second occasionally and fragmentarily are subject to scientific penetration. Sometimes, these extremely important, although not being sufficiently dealt with, cease to be the subject of interest. It seems that the same lot fell upon the extremely important issue which was and still is – the ability of muscle relaxation. Exercises with „...the biggest tension and the biggest relaxation” were used already in the ancient times”. What is this ability? A partial answer to this question was given by a physiologist W. Farfel: „ Relaxation – a concept widespread in sport, at the same time not having a precise definition and a quantitative dimension (measurement). I consider relaxation as an ability of unrestricted diminution of superfluous and reflexive muscle tension.”. Despite the significant progress in the knowledge about sport training, muscle relaxation accounts for a relatively little exploited reserve in the practice of physical education and sport. There are fewer and fewer such reserves, since in contemporary record-seeking sport, more often it is the odds and ends that affect the final result. The ability to relax muscles is not trifle, since according to scientists and coaches the low level of muscle relaxation inhibits the achievement of maximal sport results. The superficial overview of contemporary literature related to physical education and sport demonstrates that the issue has recently become barely noted, though 20 –30 years ago it was a subject of various research works, carried out by specialists of various scientific disciplines in many countries. Taking into account the evident shortage of new information, as well as the lack of interdisciplinary interpretation of the issue, particularly from the point of view of the science about human movement -antropokinesiology, the work hereby focuses on the achievement of the following aims: definition of the place of the muscle relaxation ability in the science about human movement as well as manifestation of the muscle relaxation ability in various sport disciplines. Search for the relationship between this ability and other movement abilities, establishment of the relation between the level of the ability of muscle relaxation and sport techniques, accompanied by attempt to establish the influence of the ability of muscle relaxation on the effectiveness of technique and on the sport success was also carried out.