Essay, Research Paper: Eastern Thought And Movement Forms: Possible Implications For Western Sport And Physical Education.

TITLE: Eastern Thought and Movement Forms: Possible Implications for Western Sport and Physical Education.
AUTHOR: Case, Robert W.
1983
ABSTRACT: American sport stresses the outward aspects of participation such as outcomes, rewards, goals, and winning;
Eastern thought and movement forms emphasize the inner and spiritual aspects of human movement such as self-realization,
spontaneity, body awareness, and enlightenment. In relating Eastern thought and movement forms to Western sport, five
themes are found to be repeated in the literature: (1) practical and utilitarian concerns; (2) hidden dimensions; (3) metaphysical
(mind/body) concerns; (4) competition concerns; and (5) pedagogical concerns. A discussion and analysis of these concerns'
implications for Western sport is presented. Two emerging trends are identified. The first is the "movement arts" trend which
emphasizes the depth and fullness of human movement experiences and a subjective/qualitative understanding of the body in
meaningful relation with the world. The second trend suggests that movement activities which emphasize self-awareness and
self-expression will play an important role in coping with a high technology future. (JD)
DESCRIPTORS: *Athletes; Competition; *Holistic Approach; Human Body; *Meditation; Movement Education; Non
Western Civilization; Participant Satisfaction; *Physical Education; Physical Fitness; Relaxation Training; *Self Actualization;
Social Attitudes; Sport Psychology; Western Civilization
ERIC_NO: ED104831
TITLE: Re-Visioning Sports, Physical Education and the Body.
AUTHOR: Leonard, George
1975
ABSTRACT: Physical education and athletic programs are usually considered expendable parts of the American lifestyle.
Nearly half the adults in the United States do not exercise at all, and of those that do, many indulge in their favorite sport only
once or twice a month. Although America seems to be a sports-conscious nation, the majority of the population are spectators
rather than active participants. A demand for equal time for health, physical education, and recreation needs to be made.
However, there should first be a change in attitude concerning sports. Why should the national favorites continue to be football,
baseball, and soccer when they have been found to not be conducive to physical fitness and health? Besides being poor body
builders, competitive sports have recently been considered drains on the spirit because competition makes more losers than
winners. There is now a growing movement in American physical education which emphasizes lifetime sports rather than the
usual team sports learned in school. This movement is exemplified by the increasing number of local recreational athletes,
creation of new family games, booming interest in dance, Eastern martial arts, and other disciplines. With a change in
attitude, people can have both sound bodies and sound minds. (JS)
ERIC_NO: ED401406
TITLE: Imaginaries of "East and West": Slippery Curricular Signifiers in Education.
AUTHOR: Aoki, Ted T.
: 1996
ABSTRACT: The labels "East and West," suggest two distinct cultural wholes. "East and West" is
understood as a binary of two separate preexisting entities, which can be bridged or brought
together to conjoin in an "and." This image has dominated Western modernist thought in the works of
historians, anthropologists, and others. Educators, like tourists or business people, may be overly
emphasizing "crossing" from one nation to another, from one culture to another, as in bridging
across from land to land. By viewing a bridge not as a mere path for human transit or route for
commerce, but as a dwelling place for people, one can move away from the identity-centered "East
and West" and into the space between. To try to change an identity-oriented image into one that
allows someone into the space between "East and West," to the site of "and," requires a discourse
that can entertain "both this and that" and "neither this nor that." The "and" between "East and West"
is then understood as both "and" and "not-and," allowing space for both conjunction and disjunction.
In this reframing, the bridges of the Pacific Rim can be viewed as both bridges and nonbridges. This
third space is an ambivalent space of both this and that, of both East and West, wherein the
traditions of Western modernist epistemology can meet Eastern traditions of wisdom. (YLB)