ABSTRACT
Early Japanese society was not one in which the individual counted, and each member of a group had to contribute to the group’s solidarity, protecting lands, revenues, and so on. The martial disciplines developed as a way of life mat has not much to do with the present practice of martial sports. Ministry of Education guidelines specify the same amount of time for boys and girls in calisthenics, gymnastics, track and field, swimming, and sports theory. A kind of mini-physical education program is held for four days, and about one hundred women take part. The training is divided into theoretical and practical aspects. In the former is taught the role of sports in modern society, the physiological basis of physical fitness and how to keep fit, how to organize groups and the role of leadership, and how to utilize public facilities.
