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428
iv. education and mental cultulle.
power of performance, is produced and developed. The implements of
movement, viz., the skeleton itself with its ligaments and muscles, are during the
exercise the instruments constantly at work, but of themselves they can do
nothing except operate through the nervous impulses, — therefore it is evident
that the development of a calm and equable nervous system, sufficiently
dominant, must be one of the chief aims of gymnastics. Action and reaction is
the natural law thas is concerned here. As Ling significantly said, "Muscular
force or elastic force thus stands in intimate connection with the blood vessels
and nerves, and therefore the latter must be developed equally with the former".
Among the great number of movements employed in gymnastics, there are
also many applied movements. And the result of these — as far as the choise
of movements is rational and suited to the organism’s requirements — must be
that (to the degree that individual capacity permits) health and strength are
gained, and also that suppleness that is demanded of the civilized individual
to accomplish the tasks imposed by everyday life. Ling also prescribed, in
complete agreement with all his views, the addition of gymnastic games, as
supplementary to the more regular and systematic gymnastics, holding that "an
element of pleasure should pervade everything". But he offers a caution against
all excess, calling to mind the diversity of human capabilities, in the words
"Therefore all this exaggerated competition in gymnastics hinders all true
development and encourages one-sided skill, that is to say disproportion". — The
whole of this system of gymnastics is, in the fullest and best sense of the
word, truly democratic. It is as suitable and almost as accessible for the poor
as for the rich, it is the inheritance of the weak and the strong alike, whether
man or woman.
The object of pedagogic gymnastics is to perfect health and to make the body
an obedient implement of the moral will, and one always available. Just as
mental training ought to have for its special purpose the development of good
sides of the mind and the subjugation of its evil propensities, so physical training
ought, by suitable exercises, to produce harmony and concord amongst the forces
of the body and at the same time to correct its defects and weaknesses, and
to prevent their development and growth. Thus, in pedagogical gymnastics a
purely corrective element is included.
Military gymnastics, fencing, proceeds from, as it is based upon, pedagogic
gymnastics, and must be founded in its movements on laws both mechanical and
gymnastic, so that, by correct use, the available strength may achieve steadiness,
quickness, and endurance.
The great expectations which Ling entertained with regard to the
Central Gymnastic Institute are being steadily and surely realized. The
Institute has, during its century’s existence, developed to a very considerable
extent. All teachers of gymnastics, women as well as men, are trained
there for all the educational establishments throughout the country, and
likewise for the military schools. For this purpose there are courses of
one year, two years, and three years for men, and a two years’ course for
women. The three first-mentioned follow one another consecutively and
are preparatory each for the next: the third year’s course is devoted
exclusively to instruction in subjects for training in medical gymnastics. The
number of pupils at the Institute has so increased that at present it amounts
to about 135, of whom 60 are women.
In all the State schools (of six and nine classes) in the Kingdom there
are well-lighted and airy gymnasiums, in which the exercises are conducted
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