Last updated on July 14th, 2024 at 05:41 am
Sociological Aspect Of Physical Education
Games And Sports As Man’s Cultural Heritage
Culture is a vast term which represents the influence of the society, community and religion. Culture is the image of art, knowledge, ideas, views, thoughts and capabilities of the society.Culture shows the image of a nation.
According to Taylor, “Culture is that whole complex which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral, law and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of the society.”
According to Mathew, “Culture is the evidence of intellectual development in a nation.”
The culture of man’s in games and sports is very old. There is no proof when exactly it started. The prehistoric evidence confirms that physical activities were an important part of their life.
In pre-historic period physical activities were performed for their survival like hunting for food, saving themselves from dangerous animals, finding shelter, etc.
Afterward human shifted to settled life and thus live in a socialized group and formed civilization. There are proof that various civilizations and nations included games and sports in their culture.
Development of individual through games and sports
In pre-historic days survival of the fittest was the requirement. Thus, physical activity was very much part of their life to get food by hunting, finding safe shelter, save themselves from dangers and wild animals etc. For this reason they made themselves fit for running, climbing, throwing, etc.
As man was more intelligent than other wild animals so he used stones and sticks as tool for hunting, throwing, cutting, etc. In this way we are having the culture of running, throwing and jumping events like in Athletics (throws, jumps and races).
Afterward humans shifted to settled life and lived in a civilized way and formed various groups. In these groups the culture of physical activities were given importance. Thus, the origin of games and sports activities came to develop them physically, mentally, and socially. Various sports and games act for their body and mind development.
As man’s life modified towards settlement, they performed hard physical activity for the production of food, making homes and to earn their livelihood. Physical toughness was also required to defend themselves from their enemies. War and battlefields were common in their culture.
For this reason they practice hard and tough physical combative games to become good warriors and soldiers. The body contact and defensive activities like Wrestling, Boxing, Fencing, Taekwondo, Karate, Archery, Horse riding, Power lift, etc., can be said as a culture of warrior and soldier.
Slowly man’s comforts increased and body beauty was given importance. For this reason physical activity was given more importance to look beautiful, smart and attractive. Thus, activities like yoga, gymnastics, swimming, dancing etc. became the culture of humans.
In modern times man considers physical activity for many reasons. Some perform these activities for the recreation, thrill, enjoyment purpose; some perform them for their profession, job, social status; some did these activities for the development of health etc.
Today our society considers these physical activities as their culture. Many games and sports are part of the cultural heritage of many nations. It has been accepted as cultural heritage and they feel pride to possess and protect this culture.
They have made certain traditions, ethics, rules and regulations for these games and sports. This way the games and sports have popularized the culture of human beings to new heights throughout the world. The culture of games and sports is universally accepted and participated with great enthusiasm.
Games and sports culture in various civilizations
Greece
Greece has one of the oldest civilizations. It has contributed a lot towards the progress of games and sports along with science, art and literature. Greece had many small states (like Athens and Sparta) and they used to fight between each other to prove their dominance.
So the hard physical activities were given great importance in their culture to produce good soldiers and warriors. Slowly they developed these activities into proper sports for participation. Their culture gradually gave importance to sports to develop a strong body and sound mind.
In ancient Greece, the Athens had started the ‘Olympic’ in 776 B.C. in the honor of their god “Zeus’ and they built the stadium called Olympiad in Athens. In those days these games were very popular and were played with true sportsmanship without any materialistic rewards.
Physical education was given importance to develop a healthy body and sound mind. These games came to an end when Roman king Theodosius I stopped them in 394 A.D.
In Ancient Olympics, the activities like Foodiatos (sprint races), dolichos (medium distance races), Marathon (long distance races), running, throwing, jumping events were played. In ancient Olympic wrestling, boxing, equestrian horse races and chariot races were very popular activities.
Pentathlon, Pankration (combination of wrestling and boxing) and archery, etc., were also played. Many players of Ancient Olympics are still remembered in our stories like Atlas, Hercules, Homer, Plato, etc.
Rome
Roman civilization had also accepted physical education in its culture. Romans were good warriors and lovers of sports. They used to perform running, jumping, wrestling, sword fighting etc.
They considered physical education to develop the beauty of the body. Rome also keeps the ruins of the big stadium, “Colosseum” (one of the wonders of the world).
This ‘Colosseum’ had a thermal bathroom (bathing place for its participants). Colosseum warriors were known as ‘Gladiator’, they were experts in combative sports activities.
Slowly, the Roman had a downfall in games and sports as these games were played for fun and enjoyment. Later professionalism entered in the sport competition and spoiled its spirit. Today, Romans are still considered as good lovers of games and sports.
England
After the renaissance, England emerged as an imperial state and conquered many countries. England has a vast history. England’s contribution is nothing less in games and sports.
England’s culture has given us many games and sports which are very popular- like Cricket, Hockey, Football, Tennis, Polo and Cycling, etc. England’s social culture is equally motivating for its expansion to other parts of the world.
England has provided great historical places for games and sports promotion like Epsom, Durby for horse races; Oval, Lords for Cricket; Wembley for Football; Wimbledon for Tennis.
India
Indian history began from the Indus valley civilization where “Vedas” was the apex holy book which described Indian culture, India had the origin of Yoga which was done to develop physical and mental fitness. Yoga had deep roots in Indian society.
Archery, Wrestling, Sword Fighting, Chariot Races were considered for royals and kings. All the educational process (physical, mental and spiritual) was obtained from the ‘Gurukuls. Physical activities for girls were dancing and music.
Later on, in the Mughal period polo became a popular sport. In British period Cricket, Badminton, Football became popular games among the rich whereas some princely states also provided Akhara for wrestling.
Hockey became a popular game after independence and was given the honor as the national game of India. In rural India, kabaddi and kho-kho are very popular games
Physical education in promoting national integration
National integration is the awareness of common identity amongst the citizen of the country. means that the individual belongs to different communities, caste, religions, cultures and regions and speak different languages; all of them recognise the fact that they are one.
Physical education and sports is a medium through which integration process shall take place. The term integration consists of co-operation. Co-operation is an integrated action of individuals or groups towards the achievement of some common purpose or goal.
Sports competitions, group competitions, inter-community sports contests, intramural sports competitions, special programmes in the schools and at home play a predominant role in developing the concept of national integration.
The spirit of brotherhood and friendship is fostered through games and sports. Ideas, actions, reactions, behaviors and human movements acquire a unity of color and flavor at the sports field. The ideal of oneness springs up through play.
Physical education and sports create the principle of give and take policy among the individuals. Education cannot be a happy affair unless the teachers and the students co-operate or integrate with one another. Similarly no game can be owned without the co-operation or integration of all the members of the team.
It can be fairly said that physical education and national integration go hand in hand. Further, physical education and sports develop the basic components of integration such as co-operation, attitude, sympathy, friendliness, fellow feeling, willingness, respect to others, coordination, motivation, tolerance, trust-worthiness, integrity, oneness, and identification.
The term integration means, “unify and make it into one whole”. Games and sports in the context of national integration absorbs elements such as cooperation, discipline, judicious use of leisure, competitive spirit, democratic values, socialization, culture, national spirit, ideal citizenship, cordial relationships, removal of social evils, employment and peace.
Physical Education is integral to the education process. It results in holistic development of personality, physically fit, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced and socially well adjusted.
The sport being a part of the universal culture, is an important instrument of combining different people in the world. It is an activity that contributes to world peace.
There is a social cohesion in all sporting activities as well as relaxation and fun. The sport plays an important role in the social fusion and identification. The physical and mental satisfaction facilities provided by sports are an integral part of a new way of life.
The sport is one of the most popular organizations in the community. Physical Education provides a common platform
where they forget all their differences. It plays a very important role in bringing about national unity.
Physical education For Personality Development
Socialization
Socialization is the process of acquiring social values for the survival of culture. It is also said that it is the process of living together with the feeling of collectivism and sharing the responsibility of others.
Physical education programmes help to develop a positive attitude towards social bonds. Physical education and its activities provide us the real experience of life which is very important for every individual.
Physical Education enhances our performance in all spheres of social life along with physical fitness, wellness and good health. The programmes of physics are very important for every individual. Physical education enhances our performance in all spheres of social life along with physical fitness, wellness and good health.
The program of physical education includes many activities which develop a high level of social qualities without any pressure of education pattern. These qualities are highly appreciated and also referred as sportsman spirit
Discipline
Discipline in sport, is often defined as the ability for an individual to exert self-control and behave in a manner that is compliant with the rules and fairness of the sport they are participating in.
Whilst discipline can be seen as an actual action, its basis starts from a mental decision to comply and address the instructions and rules required to achieve the most from the sports.
According to Johnny Lewis, “Disciplined life of players has a good chance of success. Without it, players will never reach great heights whether in business or sport.”
A lack of discipline can often be the edge the other team requires to gain the upper hand. Discipline is an essential foundation for any sport and it is also a key aspect to succeed in other areas of life, especially your career.
It helps to achieve a certain mindset towards achieving great things. A disciplined approach to their training and lifestyle is essential to ensure their growth is not limited in the sport.
Discipline teaches us a lot about the harder parts of life, It teaches us the value of hard work, sacrifice, sweetness of victory and sourness of losing, accomplishing the goals, and success in life.
Discipline is guided by parents, teachers, coach, feedback, motivation, self esteem, self courage etc.
Helpfulness
Our society is bound with a “give and take” attitude. This “give and take” is also found in the playfield where a player helps others to perform better. For success or to win a match,collective effort is required. And for collective efforts, one has to develop a helpful attitude.
This attitude is required to bring success. For success, selfish behavior has to be forgotten and a helpful attitude of a player should become a part of his habit. This quality of sympathetic attitude is worth praise. His sympathetic attitude is not only for his teammates but opponents too praise him.
Team Sprite
A good player is not only recognised from his perfection in skill but, his ability to adjust well with every member of society, his family, team, coach, officials opponents, rivals and spectators. A true sportsman has good behavior with everyone.
Patience
A good player has a high tolerance and patience ability, may it be physical or mental.
He often faces the situation where he has to accept the height of tolerance and still remains quiet due to unfair decisions, incorrect umpiring, vulgar comments by spectators and fouls by opponents, etc.
If this tolerance ability is lost, he may lose patience that may lead to lack of concentration thus, he is distracted easily and there is decline in his performance. A good player has high level of tolerance and patience ability.
Unity
Sports are an incredible thing for the communities and people around the world. They can bring people together through various ways. Games and sports development the habit of togetherness
by which strong bonds of unity are developed. Thus, it unites and binds the whole team, community, state and nation together.
Friendship
A good player always has a healthy relationship with his teammates, coaches, officials, opponents, rivals and spectators etc. He makes good friends and expands this. Whenever anybody is in trouble, (injury or accident) a good sportsman will come up for help. This can even be noticed during matches between India and Pakistan (who are traditional rivals in cricket and hockey).
Final Words
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