INDIVIDUAL SPORTS.

 INDIVIDUAL SPORTS.

 

a) Athletics.

For children under ten, we do not differentiate between the natural gesture and the sporting gesture. The child jumps, runs, throws as best he can, obeying his instinct and his gift of imitation.

After this age, the pupil begins to be interested in his first performances, but the tests calling for his resistance should be admitted only with great caution.

              At the age " young cadet ", we can arrange some épreu multiple ves We may exceptionally authorize a few friendly matches of teams of the same age. In the choice of the tests, one must take the greatest account of the age and the resistance of the subjects. 

From the age of sixteen, the “ cadets ” will be initiated into more difficult technical specialties. The competitions may take on greater importance, while remaining subject to the double control of the doctor and the educator. 

Scales will specify the nature of the events that can be contested at each age and the corresponding ratings.

 

b) Swimming.

Initiation to swimming can begin at school age, and even earlier. It will be done in water, dry learning being reduced to a minimum.

It begins with a confidence building obtained, with the help of games and various exercises, in the " small baths " where the children have foot. Then come the technical study and the practice of the different swims, and particularly of the " crawling " swims . This training can be continued collectively in the “ big baths ”, even for still hesitant subjects, thanks to mobile hanging devices or to easy-inflating waterproof lightweight fabric belts.     

 

c) Combat Sports.

Combat sports follow the natural defense exercises that should be practiced by children during general physical education.

Sports initiation includes the study of the blows or holds of the various combat sports: English or French boxing, classical wrestling, jiu - jitsu. Individual education being necessary here, the instruction groups will be reduced.

This initiation gradually leads to the practice of assaults. This development must be gradual and careful. Assaults will initially be limited to the practice of well-studied blows or grabs: they must always take place in an atmosphere of loyalty and courtesy.

 

d) Apparatus.

The first exercises on apparatus are hand suspensions. First come the inclined suspensions, then the elongated suspensions, the swings, the tumbles, the elementary supports. From these exercises, we move on to swings, balances and falls. However, learning a more advanced technique, a prelude to swing exercises both in suspension and support, will not begin until around the age of fourteen.

Apparatus gymnastics, due to its specialization, requires compensatory exercises: extension movements (throws), flexibility exercises, sport jumps (long jumps), races. Basic physical training is therefore essential for gymnasts and athletes alike.

 

e) Outdoor Sports.

              Certain outdoor sports, in particular skiing, may in certain regions be practiced by children in school. Others, generally practiced in small groups of comrades, should be encouraged by the teachers. The unforeseen or the risks they entail are a school of guts; but they should not be approached without sufficient preparation.

Educators will find in the methodically thorough study of this preparation a remarkable opportunity to develop the practical intelligence of their students. They will also pay close attention to the progress of the training.