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Physical education has existed since the earliest stages of human society, in forms as simple as the transmission of basic survival skills, such as hunting.
Later, the ancient Chinese, Indian, and Egyptian civilizations had traditions of physical education and activity, most commonly acted out in sporting
competitions, military tactics and training, and martial arts.
However, the real history of physical education is in the changing methodologies used to transmit physical skills and, to a lesser extent, the varying
intentions of the educator, and thus theGreek influence is often argued to be the most fundamental to how the discipline is viewed today.
The ancient Greek emphasis on anatomy, physical achievement and abilities was for the first time in the ancient world blended with a humanistic and
scientific approach to balancing one's life. The first known literary reference to an athletic competition is preserved in the ancient Greek text,
the Iliad, by Homer, and the ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic Games, which originated in the early eighth century B.C.E. The Japanese tradition
of physical exercise integrated into daily life derived from Bushido ("the way of the warrior").
The father of modern physical education as we know it today was Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. During the nineteenth century, Jahn established the first
gymnastic school for children in Germany. A fervent German nationalist, Jahn believed that the best kind of society was one that had established
standards of physical strength and abilities. The first Turnplatz, or open-air gymnasium, was opened by Jahn in Berlin in 1811, and
the Turnverein (gymnastics association) movement spread rapidly.
Around the same time, but independent of Jahn's developments, the Swedish teacher Pehr Henrik Ling started to see the benefits of gymnastics. In
1813 he was successful in developing the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute with the cooperation of the Swedish government, which went far to advance
physical conditioning. Soon, many European nations followed suit, first with private schools mostly for gymnastics. In the early twentieth century, with
the advent of organized sports, public schools around the world started to develop physical education curricula.
Before physical education became popular in school systems, private gyms started to crop up in Europe and America. The first indoor gymnasium in
Germany was probably the one built in Hesse in 1852 by Adolph Spiess, an enthusiast for boys' and girls' gymnastics in the schools. In the United
States, the Turner movement thrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first Turners group was formed in Cincinnati in 1848. The
Turners built gymnasia in several cities, including Cincinnati and St. Louis which had large German American populations. Adults and youth utilized these
gyms.
In the Meiji period (late nineteenth century), Japan imported many foreign sports. Nationwide sports competitions were instituted, particularly in
the middle school level, which continue in the form of national school tournaments. However, an absolutist ideology of winning became established,
particularly among middle school students who were being prepared for military service, boosting nationalistic ideas and supporting the development of
military power.
During the last decades of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, John Dewey and his colleagues promotedprogressive education ideas,
challenging traditional education and leading to reforms that included the introduction of physical education. Educational psychologists, including
Stanley G. Hall and Edward Thorndike supported Dewey's focus on activity in learning, suggesting that children's play be recognized as an important
aspect of their development.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first to seriously consider a nationwide physical fitness program in the U.S. However, his well-intended
President's Council on Youth Fitness never fully materialized, and it was left up to the succeeding President John F. Kennedy to introduce and encourage
public school systems to adopt physical fitness programs in their curricula.
The benefits of physical fitness are numerous and include better health, greater strength, more flexibility, increased energy, improved appearance, and
a more positive attitude and mood. Regular exercise can lead to both immediate and long-term benefits. Regular physical activity has been shown
to reduce the morbidity and mortality from many chronic diseases.
The benefits of fitness far outweigh the inconveniences of regular exercise. To reap the maximum benefits of physical fitness, remember that your
program should include all the main five components of physical fitness. These are the health related fitness components like cardiovascular endurance,
flexibility, muscular endurance and muscle strength. There are in fact other components of physical fitness but they are skill related and less
important.Physical fitness is considered a measure of the bodys ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be
healthy, to resist hypo kinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations.
9. Improved Appearance
Physical activity build muscle mass and burns excess fat. It tones body muscles helping you to look fit and healthy. Healthy active people almost always
have great skin tone and look fresh, less fatigued.
These are some of the more prominent benefits of physical fitness. Everyone can and should participate in a fitness program to improve their quality of
life. Living an active and healthy life will make your overall lifestyle much better.