Josef Eugen Scheiner

“ Tyrš’s ingenious system, in its frame, offers room enough for exercises convenient and accesible to every age being opposed to any soulkilling, dull and dry—as—dust, gymnastics which rendes the exercises insipid and repulsive to the youth and drives him from the gymnastic halls into sport of a kind which overstrain his powers.
After man woman had her turn. The physical education of the nation must also encompass in its sphere the woman who is endangered by the same social conditions which permeate all classes and bring their influence to bear upon the development of new generations. ”

“ Tyrš kept in his mind the glorious example of the life of antique Hellas, the beautiful forms of human perfection full of virile strength and pure beauty of body, of a noble mind which combines in a harmonious concord all preeminences of human nature on the basis of a refined intensive gymnastic education. As final aim the requirements of the nation have been set out, instead of the egoistic instict of the individual or the onesided discipline of special interests. ”

“ This beautiful trait in the characteristics of the Sokol camp, serving the whole nation without distinction of rank or profession, without differentiation of age’ sex, social aims or political persuasion, has saved it from disputes and dissensions, by which public life generally is agitated and renders it as yet an impregnable fortress, inaccessible to any party quarrels. ”

“ Men and freshmen are led to strictly regulated exercises not only to secure a sound digestion and the banishing of pathogenic consequences of the daily life instead of one-sided records but to cultivate symmetrically all physical abilities to take advantage of all capabilities of the body in order to attain an allround juvenile soundness which is to make everyone fit to accomplish the great duties of life in work and in the endeavours and strifes of the nation. Therefore great stress is laid in Tyrs's system up on the combative exercises, that is all sorts of wrestling, fencing etc. ”

“ Tyrš chiefly took upon himself the care of regulating the inner activity of the young society. He had an eminently esthetic mind, was an enthusiastic admirer and connoisseur of the antique culture of Hellas, a philosopher and historian, and, therefore, supported all the endeavours of the society, principally by a refined physical education aiming at a sound defensive capability of the nation and its artistic progress by a special choice of exercisse. ”

“ The young men invigorated their sense for duty towards themselves and the nation and began to educate themselves earnestly for their work, because they grew up in a voluntary discipline founded on the conscience of a common aim, and because they always had in sight goal of the Sokol’s efforts. ”

“ Out of a simple gymnastic association there has developed in the course of time a prominent and powerful national organisation which assumes important public functions in order to meet the demands of the times and as a natural consequence of its activity which began with the elementary care of the education of the Czech’s body and of his physical recovery and reinvigoration but, step by step, was induced to attend also to his spiritual welfare, to his moral development, considering before everything else his national wants. ”

“ In the gymnastics of the Sokol the principal care is devoted to the youth who has outgrown the primare schools; to the age of juvenile and manly vigour accessible to a strict training and externing exercises, full of exuberant strength, proper to his temperament and full of the courage belonging to a sound and well developed body.
To this age is offered an opportunity of making full use of its physical capacities and of attaining that virile vigour, defensive power and bravery which are necessary to a people living in unceasing strife and hard struggle for national self—preservation. ”

“ The opinion a member has of his duties towards himself, his surroundings, and towards the entire world has its influence on his whole civil life, on his personal honour and worth; so the Sokol idea forms itself gradually into the conception of a perfect civil virtue founded on the soundness and steadiness of the body. ”

“ But the Sokols did not stop in this exclusive sphere of activity; the unceasing efforts, the systematic straining of energy to attain the aims of physical education were naturally folloved by the results in other parts of our life and its work, the manly spirit, cultivated by exercises the personal courage relying on its own strength, the power of endurance and resistance acquired by a daily training of the minds of the young men to a further improvement and steading of their character. ”

“ Only now was it possible to bring into life and full efficiency various institutions serving the common interest and to exercise a gratifying influence upon the systematic education of the rising generation. The ruling principles in the organisation were: distribution of work and the granting of home rule even to smaller unities in order to foster and cultivate constant interest in initiative work for the furtherance of the cause. ”

“ Whereas other similar systems pursue different aims, either the education of youth, discipline in schools, military drill, or sanitarian problems and the healing of individuals, etc. Dr. Tyrš’s system principally strives to incite physical talents and abilities of the young men to efficiency, to harden their physical powers, to strive after the highest agility and dexterity, as well as to develop physical beauty. ”

“ Of the Sokol system was to effect its extensive national mission, it was obliged to adapt itself to the social conditions in which we live and which present the majority of grown—up in workshops, industrial or commercial establishments, or in offices, from devoting any time during the day to their training, it was obliged to democratise itself and to become accessible to the broadest classes. ”

“ It is its own charm which principally captivates the youth which finds the rethe opportunity and the ground for realizing their juvenile ideals and for manifesting the strength of their prime of life in brotherly companionship. ”

“ To conform with the demands of esthetics great care was taken to select pleasing exercises which were to be performed elegantly; and especially to the common exercises was allotted the important function to incite artistic creations and the sense of an ennobling education of the individuals, as well as of society in general. ”

“ After the youth has grown into manhood attention is directed to the boys who are leaving elementary schools, pricipally to neglected youngsters forming the rising generation of workmen and tradesmen. These had hitherto been abadoned to themselves without any control or care and grew up unnoticed in the mire of the smothering social conditions. The Sokols were the first to take care of these freshmen, to introduce them into their gymnastic halls where they were offered the opportunity not only of wholesome exercise and training but also of a moral education. ”

“ In the course of time, served by experience, a perfect organism was constructed, easily manageable, efficient, full of life, capable of accomplishing difficult tasks, as was proved by the gigantic Sokolgatherings, excursions to foreign lands and other undertakings of astonishing dimensions. ”

“ It was in the early sixties of last century that suddenly dawned the hope of free constitutional institutions after the overthrow of the severest system of autocratic government under which especially the non German nations of ancient Austria had to suffer cruel oppressions and wrongs in all branches of public life ”

“ The Sokol idea has become a part of the Czech essence, a characteristic trait of the Czech soul, which in foreign lands manifests itself by the foundation of Sokol societies wherever a greater number of Czech kinsmen are settled. A great number of such societies were founded by Czechs in France, Germany and in the Slavonic lands; and the Sokol societies of the Czechs in America have attained an imposing development wherever they were founded early. They exist almost in every state of the Northern Union. ”

“ They are a striking instance of the extensive process of renaissance which is proceeding on Slavonic soil and has no other significance than the expression of the yearning after a more perfect, freer and stronger life. ”

“ The common identical aim steadily incited to an association and organisation of all work and to its common adaptation, therefore, from the begining every energy was directed to the organisation of a union in which every activity would be concentrated. ”

“ As long as it faithfully executes these prescripts and is led by enlightened and progressive men, without regard to temptations and without yielding to exterier pressure, it will be able to fulfil its noble mission to the nation and to secure for itself the merit of further development and progress. ”

“ The opposition of the government frustrated this intention, the petitions to permit the forming of a union were returned with the stereotyped answer that the pursuit of physical exercise had nothing in common with the unity of the language or the nation. ”

“ Besides free exercises without apparels there were prepared exercises with and on apparatus which in their complicated combinations set every part of the muscular system in activity and, following the rules of the art, systematically develop the whole body, although the exercies and plays in the fresh air always remain the ideal of the invigeration of the body. ”

“ These departments occupy at present a condign place side by side with the men’s and complete the efforts of the Sokol societies by spreading among their families a sense for sound education and for the Sokol duties. ”