Physical culture , also known as body culture , is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US.
29-596: Physical culture was a health and fitness movement from the 19th century. Physical Culture may also refer to: Physical culture The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century owed its origins to several cultural trends. In the United States, German immigrants after 1848 introduced a physical culture system based on gymnastics that became popular especially in colleges. Many local Turner clubs introduced physical education (PE) in
58-543: A Chinese friend, Ming, but this was an invention of Ling’s rivals, in an effort to discredit his work. Although Ling was probably aware of Chinese massage , he instead developed a system of integrated manual therapy, combining physical training and gymnastic procedures with knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology. He was the first to publish and popularize such a system with modern scientific knowledge. Ling's system of medical gymnastics also influenced later institutions and systems. The Gymnastic Orthopedic Institute
87-539: A focus on good posture and is aimed at young girls and women, from pre-school age to seniors. The original physie school was the medical gymnasium Bjelke-Petersen Bros, founded in Hobart in 1892 by Danish immigrant Christian Bjelke-Petersen , whose sister Marie ran the women's section. It has been in continuous operation since that time, becoming the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture Ltd. in 2011. . BJP
116-481: A form of remedial physical therapy . Certain items of equipment and types of exercise were common to several different physical culture systems, including exercises with Indian clubs , medicine balls , wooden or iron wands and dumbbells . Combat sports such as fencing , boxing , savate and wrestling were also widely practiced in physical culture schools and were touted as forms of physical culture in their own right. The Muscular Christianity movement of
145-758: A late-19th-century turnverein physical culture training facility. Modern collections of antique physical culture apparatus include those of the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture, part of the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin and the Gymuseum collection at the Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts studio in Ravenswood, Chicago. Pehr Henrik Ling Pehr Henrik Ling (15 November 1776 – 3 May 1839) pioneered
174-465: A range of traditional folk games , dances and sports, military training and medical calisthenics . Physical culture programs were promoted through the education system, particularly at military academies , as well as via public and private gymnasiums . Industry began the production of various items of exercise-oriented sports equipment . During the early and mid-19th century, these printed works and items of apparatus generally addressed exercise as
203-417: A system of what became known as "heavy gymnastics ", meaning strenuous exercises performed with the use of elaborate equipment, such as pommel horses , parallel bars , and climbing structures. The Turnverein philosophy combined physical training with intellectual pursuits and with a strong emphasis upon German culture. Numerous events in modern competitive gymnastics originated in, or were popularized by
232-773: Is the largest association of physie within Australia. In March 1934, a "physical culture demonstration" was performed at the Theatre Royal in Adelaide , by Weber, Shorthose & Rice. Other leading historical schools include the Edith Parsons School of Physical Culture, founded in Sydney in 1961; and the Burns Association of Physical Culture, founded in Sydney in 1968, both still in operation. . Other schools founded later include
261-464: The 1980s, and numerous articles, theses and books have been produced addressing the topic from various perspectives. A number of contemporary strength and health training programs are based directly upon, or draw inspiration from various physical culture systems. The historic Hegeler Carus Mansion in LaSalle, Illinois , features a basement gymnasium that is believed to be a uniquely preserved example of
290-483: The Institute; August Georgii , who became sub-director of the Institute; and his own son, Hjalmar Ling (1820–1886). These three, along with Major Thure Brandt , who from c. 1861 specialized in the treatment of women (gynecological gymnastics), are regarded as the pioneers of Swedish medical gymnastics. Although Ling is sometimes credited as the father of Swedish massage , it was not a part of his Gymnastic Movements nor
319-558: The Ling System in 1893. Broadly speaking, there have been two streams of development in the Swedish gymnastics founded on Ling's beginnings, either in a conservative direction, making certain forms of gymnastic exercises subsidiary to the prescriptions of orthodox medical science, or else in an extremely progressive direction, making these exercises a substitute for any other treatment, and claiming them as cures for diseases. A representative of
SECTION 10
#1733094252416348-523: The Stockholm Institute as a gymnastic director. See also the encyclopedic work Sweden: its people and its industry: historical and statistical handbook (1904), p. 348, edited by Gustav Sandburg for the Swedish government. The yoga scholar Mark Singleton states that Ling's gymnastics shaped the development of modern yoga as exercise in the Western world. In 1939 and again in 1949, Sweden held
377-578: The Swedish government, Ling at last obtained government cooperation in 1813, and founded the Royal Central Gymnastics Institute for the training of gymnastic instructors was opened in Stockholm , with Ling appointed as principal. Ling invented physical education apparatus including the box horse, wall bars , and beams. He is also credited with developing calisthenics and free calisthenics. Orthodox medical practitioners were opposed to
406-558: The Turners and Sokol movements. These ethnocentric systems in America were centered on integration, and later stood apart from their origin countries, having very little contact with them by the time World War I emerged. Later outfits were based on preference to what each system offered as a matter of practicality, with some systems retaining in their names historical references to their geographic origin. The German Turnverein movement promoted
435-859: The Turnverein system. The Czech Sokol movement for physical culture was largely inspired by Turnverein. By contrast with the German and Czech systems, the "Swedish System" founded by Pehr Henrik Ling promoted "light gymnastics", employing little, if any apparatus and focusing on calisthenics , breathing and stretching exercises as well as massage . At the turn of the 20th century, bodybuilder and showman Eugen Sandow 's system, based upon weight lifting , enjoyed considerable international popularity, while Edmond Desbonnet and George Hebert popularized their own systems within France and French-speaking countries. Bernarr Macfadden 's system became especially popular within
464-490: The United States, via the promotion carried out through his publishing empire, particularly its flagship magazine itself titled "Physical Culture." Other notable advocates of physical culture include Jørgen Peter Müller and Mary Bagot Stack . A physical culture practice, informally known as "physie" (pronounced "fizzy") developed in Australia in the 19th century and continues to this day, especially for women. It combines elements of march, rhythmic gymnastics and dance, with
493-662: The University of Copenhagen. He then traveled to Germany, France, and England. He took part in a naval battle as a volunteer on a Danish ship. Ling studied Goethe and Schiller , the Edda and northern mythology, and composed original poems in Swedish, German, French and Danish. He learned fencing at a school of French emigres and noticed its benefits, and those of physical education, on the gout in his arm. Financial difficulties and rheumatism caused him to return to Sweden. He read Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths ' book Gymnastics for
522-562: The West to China. Back in Sweden, Ling began a routine of daily exercise, including fencing, and in 1805 was appointed as a master of fencing at Lund University. Having discovered that his daily exercises had restored his health, Ling decided to apply this experience for the benefit of others. He saw the potential of adapting these techniques to promote better health in many situations and thus attended classes in anatomy and physiology , and went through
551-668: The Western Zone Physical Culture (1972), and The Australian Physie and Dance Association (APDA) (2011). United Physie was founded in 2023. Competition structure varies between associations, but generally there are local, state and national competitions for teams and individuals. National championships are typically held at prestigious venues such as Sydney Opera House or the Sydney International Convention Centre. Considerable academic research into 19th-century physical culture has been undertaken since
580-448: The Youth , and participated in the gymnastic exercises of the originator of Danish gymnastics, Franz Nachtegall He returned to Sweden 1804 in order to establish a gymnastic institute. It is possible that Ling's gymnastics were inspired by Chinese body exercises. Also it is possible that there was a lot of influence from Ling's method in the development of Chinese body exercises, that is from
609-688: The claims made by Ling and his disciples. However, by 1831, Ling was elected a member of the Swedish General Medical Association (Svenska läkaresällskapet), which demonstrated that his methods were regarded as worthy of professional recognition. He was elected a member of the Swedish Academy in 1835 and became a titular professor the same year. When Ling died of tuberculosis in 1839, he had charged three of his pupils with carrying on his legacy. These pupils were Lars Gabriel Branting (1799–1881), who succeeded Ling as principal of
SECTION 20
#1733094252416638-557: The curriculum of the Royal Central Gymnastic Institute founded by Ling in 1813. The Swedish massage techniques effleurage (long, gliding strokes), petrissage (lifting and kneading the muscles), friction (firm, deep, circular rubbing movements), tapotement (brisk tapping or percussive movements), and vibration (rapidly shaking or vibrating specific muscles) are largely credited to Johann Georg Mezger (1838–1909). Some sources mention that Ling learned massage from
667-507: The entire curriculum for the training of a medical doctor. He then outlined a system of gymnastics , exercises, and maneuvers divided into four branches: pedagogical, medical, military, and aesthetic which carried out his theories and demonstrated the scientific rigor to be integrated or approved by established medical practitioners. Ling was the gymnastics instructor in the Military Academy at Carlsberg. After several attempts to interest
696-604: The form of 'German gymnastics' into American colleges and public schools. The perception of Turner as 'non-American' prevented the 'German system' from becoming the dominating form. They were especially important mainly in the cities with a large German-American population, but their influence slowly spread. By the late 19th century reformers worried that sedentary white collar workers were suffering from various " diseases of affluence " that were partially attributed to their increasingly sedentary lifestyles. In consequence, numerous exercise systems were developed, typically drawing from
725-796: The late 19th century advocated a fusion of energetic Christian activism and rigorous physical culture training. As physical culture became increasingly popular and profitable, there arose intense national and then international competition amongst the founders and/or promoters of various systems. This rivalry became informally known as "the Battle of the Systems ". Both public gyms and educational institutions tended to take an eclectic approach, whereas private physical culture clubs and organizations often promoted particular exercise systems initially based on ethnocentric and cultural links. Early private establishments were based on ethnic and cultural affiliation, such as
754-566: The latter, more extreme section was Henrik Kellgren (1837–1916), who had a special school and following. Other accounts of Dr Ling's practice and philosophies were published: a Handbook of Medical Gymnastics (English edition, 1899) by Anders Wide of Stockholm represents the more conservative practice. Henrik Kellgren's system is partially based on Ling's, and is described in The Elements of Kellgren's Manual Treatment (1903) by Edgar F. Cyriax, who, before earning his MD at Edinburgh, had served at
783-537: The sixteenth century and includes clergymen and peasants. His great grandfather apparently lived to 105 and had seventeen sons and two daughters. After graduating from the Växjö gymnasium in 1792, he studied theology at Lund University from 1793, completing his degree at Uppsala University in 1799. He then worked as a tutor for several families for the next three years. In 1800, Ling left Sweden and lived abroad and traveled for seven years. He studied modern languages at
812-531: The teaching of physical education in Sweden . Ling is credited as the father of Swedish massage . Ling was born in Södra Ljunga , Småland in 1776. His parents were Lars Peter Ling, a minister, and Hedvig Maria (Hedda) Molin. On his maternal side, Ling was the great-great grandson of the famous Swedish scientist Olof Rudbeck (1630–1702), who discovered the human lymphatic system . His family tree extends back to
841-605: Was founded in Stockholm in 1822 by Nils Åkerman, which from 1827 received a government grant. Around 1857, Gustav Zander developed a medico-mechanical system of gymnastics, known by his name, founding the Zander Institute at Stockholm in 1865. At the Stockholm Gymnastic Central Institute, qualified medical faculties have supervised the medical department since 1864. The Dedham Public Schools began teaching
#415584