PHYSICAL FITNESS
THE ARMY METHODS LECTURE BY CAPTAIN BROCKS A very interesting lecture on physical training as now practised' in the British Army and in the colonial armies allied to it, including the Now Zealand Array, was given by Captain Brocks, M.C., to the Wellington Officers' Institute last night. Captain Brocks is bayonet and physical instructor to the New Zealand Forces in tho training camps. It is the wish of the Territorial officers to introduce into tho Cadet and Territorial forces a system ofi training similar to that which has produced such wonderful results in the camps, and it was as part of this scheme that Captain Brocks was asked to give his lecture. Captain Brocks introduced his talk with some general remarks on tho importance of physical fitness among the soldiers of an army. Experienco in this war, in which tho physical and nerve strain on men had been so very heavy, had demonstrated the extraordinary value of health and strength in the fighting men, and it was because of this that so much attention was being given to this branch of training in'the British Army. His general text was that systems often called "physical culture" did not necessarily, make for good health and strength in those who practised them. A hugeT)iceps was of little use to a man if at the same time his heart was not in such condition as to permit him to put forth for a reasonable period his full strength. The aim of the piesent system was to produce all-round physical fitness and to provide a reservo of power : in order that the body might do the work required of it without strain and injury to the system. It aimed also at teaching speed, strength, accuracy, agility, and endurance. The training also was plotted to create and ensure a good co-opera-tion of mind and body. He raid that the importance of games as an adjunct, to physical training could, not be over-estimated, hut they were not in themselves sufficient. Some games tended to one-sided development, and tho chief objection to this was that they did not help tho man who was not proficient. This man usually became a mero looker-on. _ Ho detailed tho several series of exercises, mentioning their effect in the promotion of general good health. H6 said that of tho first 40,000 balloted men 1600 were "turned down" for flat and taking account also of those rejected for deficient chest measurement, those defects, both possible of correction by physical training, cost the fighting forces the loss of two battalions of infantry. Fortunately most of theso men had beon recovered by the training at tho CI Camp. Tho Army system was based on tho Swedish system, but it was not correct to call it the Swedish system. After a description of the psychological effect of thoso rapid alterations of exercise to give alertness and tho condition known as "presence of mind," ho said that tho name "physical training" was really a misnomer as a complete description. The object of it was to train not merely the muscles of tho body but also the mind and nerve. At the completion of the lesson every muscle of tho body would have beon worked in proportion to its size. Tho teaching would inculcate growth and strengthening of will power in the.trainee, and an all-round improvement in health and fitness. At tho conclusion of his lecture Captain Brocks invited the officers, present to view a' display of drill and exercise by a souad of instructors from Trentham. The men gave just such a course of drill as would be given to a recruit in tho advanced part of his training, with the difference that they were asked to do the work in less time. Particularly interesting were somo of the game exercises introduced to lend variety'to the drill, and to cultivate alertness and to keep the interest df the men. After the drill Colonel G. F. C. Campbell, tho senior officer present, thanked Captain Brocks and his detachment for their display.
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 8
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674PHYSICAL FITNESS Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 8
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