Vinluan: Physical culture

PHYSICAL culture once stood for health, physical and mental well being, strength and symmetrical muscular development. This is with due respect, admiration and complete awe of today’s modern athletes and the enormous discipline they have to build their bodies. However, are they healthy on the inside too?

We owe our sporting to the Greeks who started the Olympics in 776 BC in Athens that was founded and modernized by Pierre De Coubertin of France in 1886. Known today as the modern Olympic Games, it aims to gather athletes all over the world in one great competition carrying the traditions of the Olympic Games aimed to promote world peace and brotherhood.

Tradition has kept the athletes going and if there are any reference materials to “physical culture” (as it was called back then), it is usually featured as an activity for “health nuts”. Nonetheless, modernization of training methods, equipment and even the acceptance of a crowd of an athlete’s performance have taken their toll in changing the philosophy of the modern athlete.

Looking at sports trends today, coaches and athletes alike have changes in behavior and attitude, winning at all cost seems to be (but does not have to be) the philosophy of the new “I’m better than you” generation athletes.

“Physical culture” stood not only for health, but the training and playing ethics athlete and coaches must consider. Many factors affect the behavioral changes and performance of our athletes today. Drugs, for example, affect both physical and behavioral changes.

The rampant use of illegal drugs like steroids by some athletes may change their physical structure. They may have added strength and stamina, but they may have relatively poor level of fitness because their kidneys, heart and liver are at the chemical edge.

But did you know, not to generalize athletes in today’s drug craze sporting practice, it has nothing to do with health? It’s about winning and prize benefits above all else. But that is where health conscious “real” athletes have to put a perspective on their own training goals and how to achieve them.

So while physical culture is dead in one aspect, where some athletes are so homely, think of the “old school” champ who was given a priceless laurel leaf and the honor of winning and rest assured the training ethics of the glory days of physical culture will be alive and well, because…

“Yesterday we learn from. Today we create from what was learned yesterday and tomorrow we improve upon yesterday and today.”