HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
 It is a process of learning through physical activities

SPORT
 It is designed to improve fitness, develop motor skills, knowledge and behaviour of healthy
and active living
 In ancient Greece, it was the responsibility of the state to educate every child

History of P.E in Sparta

 In Sparta, the state had full control of every new born baby
 Children born with disabilities were exposed to harsh weather conditions in the mountains
and left there to die.
 Boys stayed at home up to the age of 7 years, doing state monitored activities
 At 8 years they were assigned to the state-operated training institutes where they were
trained strictly in war and state tasks
 They were trained in the gymnasium, the training was meant to groom qualities of soldiers in
every boy child
 School was very painful and hard as it involved brutal training
 At the age of 18, the boy joined another group for military training up to 20 years
 After military training, a vow was made to serve the state up to 30 years upon passing a
fitness test that tested military ability and leadership skills
 None was allowed to get married during the period of service to the state
 The girl child stayed with parents from birth to 20 years doing household chores and taught
other activities meant to make them strong so that they can bear strong children
 Sometimes girls were given the same training as boys and sometimes did gymnastics,
wrestling and combat skills together
 Strengthening the body and preparing for war was their main priority in accordance with the
military character of Spartan state
 At the age of 18 girls went for fitness test. If one passes the test a husband would be assigned
to her
 Spartan education provided an extremely paternalistic education, which provides the
attributes of courage, complete obedience and physical perfection
 In Sparta the most important attributes were discipline, military proficiency, strictness and
absolute obedience
 The most prominent activity being girls and boys doing gymnastics
 Although physical training and music education were included, reading writing and arithmetic
were barely included in Spartan education

History of P.E in Athens

 Athenian education was democratic
  Athens had an advanced trade and industry
 Parents had a contribution to the education of their children
 They were two groups of training i.e. one group was trained in military tactics and the other
group did other courses to improve communication for trade, as well as military training
 Learning was given great importance so as to match other trading state
 Their education system focused on grammar to improve communication skills for trade, music
education, arithmetic, gymnastics training in Palestrae
 A palestrae was a building used for training, which were built and controlled by the state
 Athenians education insisted on the aesthetic and emotional aspect of education resulting in
the best artworks of the ancient world being created in this country
 Physical education became common in the curricular of the renaissance than years before
 Boys were taught by their mothers up to 6 years. Primary education started at the age of 6 to
14 years
 Military training started from 18 years for army or navy
 Boys practiced wrestling, jumping, running, throwing discus and they played hockey.
 Girls were initially taught at home by their mothers, they learnt motherhood and
housekeeping skills
 Girls were not allowed to part in sports like wrestling and their parents felt if they learnt to
read they would be spoiled

 In the ancient world the greatest success an athlete could achieve was to win the Olympiad
crown and this crown was won when one came out first in the Olympic Games
 The Olympic Games were held every four years for a thousand years from 776 BC until 393 AD
in honour of god Zeus
 In Olympic Games rewards were symbolic
 In ancient Greece, the Hera Games were organised for women and took place every four years
 The Heraean Games were the first recorded sporting competitions for women, held in
Olympia as early as the 6th century
 Only young girls, not married women, were allowed to participate in these competitions. The
girls were rarely married before the age of twenty
 Physical beauty did not refer just to the external appearance, it also referred to mental health
 To achieve the ideal athlete three conditions were required which were nobility, correct
behaviour and careful teaching
 The children were prepared for various sport competitions under the supervision of a
paidotribes
 A paidotribes was a physical education teacher. He carried a forked stick as a symbol of his
power to inflict punishment on boys who misbehaved. The boys in Athens exercised naked
 They learnt horse riding, long jumping, discus, javelin throwing, running, wrestling and boxing
 The aim of sports was to strengthen and develop the body
 The Olympic Games had an important of uniting the ancient Greeks culturally, but this ended
when the games were banned by Emperor Theodosius 1st in 393-4 A.D

History of P.E in ROME

 For Romans, body movements served the purpose of preparation for war and the military.
 Roman youth received physical training as war exercises
 Activities suitable for Romans’ war ambitions were used to create their ideal human type who
was a strong, hugely muscled man
 The Romans had a special need for spectator orientated activities, such as chariot racing at the
circuses and gladiatorial battles in the amphitheatres
 The education system was “scholastic”. During this age women were excluded and physical
activities were out in the name of recreation not sport
 The purpose of the education system was to raise a good citizen such that each person had a
skilled, righteous and steady character
 Physical training was provided in addition to courses such as mythology, history, geography,
jurisprudence, arithmetic, geometry and philosophy
 The training was provided in Grammar schools, where basic teaching covered the seven free
arts
 History of sport
 Military training involved vigorous exercises meant to strengthen the body
 They also believed in a strong body as well as a sound mind
 In Egypt wrestling and weight lifting were part of their lives
 The Egyptions also took part in long jump, javelin throwing, high jump, discus, boxing, archery,
camping, wrestling, horse riding, swimming, rowing, shooting, fishing and athletics
 Various ball games were also well-developed and regulated in ancient Egypt
 In Africa sport was part of life
 People have always been walking, running, throwing things
 Team sports may have developed to train and to prove the capability to fight and also to work
as a team (army)
 The history of sport can teach us about social changes and about the nature of sport itself
 In Zimbabwe, modern activities came as a result of the colonisation as well as movements by
soldiers who were using the activities for the military training
 The games at Olympia were established according to tradition in the year 776 BC and were
held every four years.
 At the beginning this was a one-day athletic meeting with a single competitive event
 The entire day was taken up with heats for a running race
 In later years more events were added to the schedule, events like discus throw, javelin
throw, long jump, boxing, wrestling, chariots, horse racing, and a challenge to test all-round
ability, the pentathlon
 The pentathlon actually started with contest in four events which were running, jumping,
throwing the discus and the javelin
 The winners from these encounters have to meet in fifth and exclusive contest, wrestling.
 The winner received a simple token of their victory, garland of fresh olive to wear on the
head. There was no second place
 The winners were called Olympionics
 There were separate men’s and boy’s division for the events
 Women were not allowed to compete in the games themselves
 Peasant workers had their own types of sport they took part in whilst the working class had
their own
 In schools’ sport was limited largely to drills and gymnastics
 Football continued to increase popularity and by 1930s, it was the most popular sporting
activity
 There was also little government involvement in sport, apart from physical education in
schools
 Sport has become a way of life as well as a well-paying career to talented athletes

History of sport in Africa

a) Ngolo and Capoeira – capoeira is a popular Afro – Brazilian sport that combines elements of
dance, martial arts and music
b) Senegalese Wrestling ( laamb) – the sport began as recreation for fisherman and farmers
c) Donkey raccing – this sport requires a great amount of skill, when racing with well-trained
donkeys without saddles. it is popular in Kenya
d) Dambe boxing – this type of boxing was mainly practiced in Nigeria
The dorminant hand of the fighter is wrapped with rope and dipped in resin and shards of
glass before the practice was banned
The contestant’s goal is to strike his opponents with punches and kicks until he drops to the
floor, known as killing over the course of three rounds
e) Nguni stick fighting – this martial art has been among the pastimes of teenage Nguni herders
of South Africa for a long time
It’s a stick battle that can last up to five hours where the opponents take turns at playing
offense and defence, scoring points based on which part is struck
Despite being banned in parts of South Africa, it’s still played in some townships to this day
f) Savika
g) Ta kurtom el mahag