Entrenchment

“ Our team has broken training, and some of them are breaking it badly. There are the long summer months before them, with the leisure hours at seashore or mountains, and no more work until the cool winds of autumn begin to blow. Even those of the most regular habits are kicking over the traces, and some of the wilder spirits, that make a trainer's hair gray before its time, to whom the six months' restraint has been a galling yoke, are giving themselves very loose rein. ”

“ Therefore your trainer, Jesus Christ, Who has anointed you with the Spirit and led you forth to this arena, has seen good to separate you from a state of freedom for rougher treatment, that power may be made strong in you. For the athletes also are set apart for stricter discipline, that they may have time to build up their strength. They are kept from luxury, from daintier meats, from too pleasant drink; they are driven, tormented, distressed. The harder their labours in training, the greater their hopes of victory. ”

“ In view of the above, it will be seen that by intelligent exercise and use any and all faculties of the mind may be developed and cultivated, just as may any special muscle of the body. And this exercise can come only from actual use of the faculties themselves. Development must come from within and not from without. No system of outward stimula [Pg 40] tion will develop the faculties of the mind—they may be cultivated only by an exercise in their own particular field of work. ”

“ The new noises, and the strangeness of bare metal walls and artificial light, still novel after only a single day's training, gave rise to something very like a panic, and a confused babble of voices arose from the crowd.
"What is this?"
"What place is this?"
"It is a training place."
"My name Hortat. My name Hortat."
"What is training?"
"There is food here."
"What place is this?"
"Where are elders?"
"Are masters here?"
"My food."
"Is this a place for sleeping?"
"Training is to do what a master says. Training—"
"There are no elders. My name Hortat." ”

“ On account of the many misconceptions of the nature of human development, will it not be well, before beginning our program to consider seriously—What is training? What are some of its principles? What can we do with ourselves by obeying nature's laws? Or, if these questions are too serious, too difficult for a short answer, should we not, at least, try to realize what is an exercise?
To many persons, any kind of movement, any jerk or chaotic action, is an exercise. They think that the more effort put forth, the better. ”

“ In track and field athletics, the pleasantness and informality of English methods of training reach a climax. In America we place the welfare of our teams in the hands of a professional trainer, who, through his aide-de-camp, the undergraduate captain, is apt to make the pursuit of victory pretty much a business. ”

“ Besides his usual or regular Exercise, a person under training ought to employ himself, in the intervals, in every kind of exertion which tends to activity, such as cricket, bowls, throwing quoits, &c. ”

“ I have often looked on at this evening practice, and it would astonish a stranger, who cannot understand strength, endurance, and activity being attributed to a 'mere nigger,' to see the severe training these young lads impose upon themselves. They leap into the air, and suddenly assume a sitting position, then leap up again and squat down with a force that would seem to jerk every bone in their bodies out of its place ”

“ The third mode is that by command, when the gymnastic master, no longer training the learner, nor showing in his own person the exercise for the boy to imitate, prescribes the exercise by name to him, as already proficient in it. ”

“ You may also alter the development of the muscles very much, by dint of training; all the world knows that exercise has a great effect in this way; we always expect to find the arm of a blacksmith hard and wiry, and possessing a large development of the brachial muscles. No doubt training, which is one of the forms of external conditions, converts what are originally only instructions, teachings, into habits, or, in other words, into organizations, to a great extent; but this second cause of variation cannot be considered to be by any means a large one. ”

“ Do not let the apparently trivial nature of the inquiry discourage you, for the simplest form of mental training is useful, and will help to develop your Will and Concentration. It is akin to the process of developing a physical muscle by some simple exercise, and in both cases one loses sight of the unimportance of the exercise itself, in view of the end to be gained. ”

“ How patiently they submit to all the rules of their training-master during their long and painful course of training! What abstinence from food, from indulgence in drink, and all luxurious living, in order to reduce their bodies to the most athletic proportions! ”

“ From constant practice they attain a muscular development that would eclipse that of our prize-ring champions; but their paunchy figures and sluggish movements render any further comparison impossible, as they neither practise nor appreciate what we call training. ”

“ In order to answer this question we must determine more specifically what we mean by the term "training". Usually we take it to mean the establishment in the animal, of definite habits of motor reaction in response to certain stimuli purposely selected by the trainer, and without involving any process of animal consciousness other than association. Such a conception may be applied also to man, if we assume that the higher thought processes can be eliminated. ”

“ They are beginning to understand. Every youngster who has spent a few weeks in training camp comes to realize that courage, willingness, and the basic qualities of manhood are insufficient—he must learn how to handle himself. ”

“ When the observer beholds the superb condition of trained oarsmen entering a race, or of boxers going to fight for a championship, he stands in admiration of the firm and massive muscles, the light and elastic step, the strong wind, and the insensibility to blows that would produce concussion of the brain in a common man. Can the rules which produce these results be taken out of the training-school, and followed in common life, even with large modifications? ”

“ When concentrating his attention upon each successive movement in the instructor’s model performance, the beginner in sports and gymnastics receives with his whole body, so to speak, an impression of the exercise he has to go through. The representation thus gains in distinctness as well as in motor force, and the subsequent movement is executed in an almost automatic way.
These familiar facts from the psychology of everyday life will explain why among the savage tribes we so often meet with the institution of the præsul. ”

“ Now the first principle of training is to get rid of the fat on both horse and jockey, and this is done by means of purging, sweating, and violent exercise. These gentlemen know they will lose so much by medicine, and they arrive at their results with incredible accuracy; such a one who before training could not run a mile without being winded, can run twenty-five easily after it. ”

“ Each successful champion in the great athletic contests means a large number of men who went through a course of training in which they were wrought up to the highest pitch of perfection not only of muscular development, but also of pluck and endurance. ”

“ Whatever exercises will excite the pugnacious instinct, if done satisfactorily may involve a training in emotional habits. Habits of good fighting in work and play, the give and take in debate, class discussion, the witty retort, boxing, the team games if carried on aright, afford good exercise for the emotions. ”

“ The object of these Exercises is to strengthen the muscular system, by subjecting it to a regular process of training, and to teach the means of employing it most advantageously. The expediency of their early acquisition is rendered evident by the [2] first tendency of youth being directed to them, by the rapid progress made in them, and by the delight derived from them, at a period when the body is incapable, with real or solid advantage, of higher acquirements. ”

“ It is the same in the case of animals: training is a habit which is forced upon them. The horse goes on drawing his cart quite contentedly, without having to be urged on: the motion is the continued effect of those strokes of the whip, which urged him on at first: by the law of inertia they have become perpetuated as habit. ”

“ Apart from individual training to develop and perfect the individual body, we would impress upon "Twelves" the advisability of practical training together, to perfect each other in individual positions, to combine and equalize their action, and to establish mutual confidence. ”

“ Even before the departure of the French, I began to go through the exercise in private, but a man can scarcely acquire it without companions. Since the French left, a party of about twenty of us have been exercising in a garden, and we have already got over the most difficult part of the training. When my lectures are concluded, which they will be at the beginning of next week, I shall try to exercise with regular recruits during the morning, and as often as possible practice shooting at a mark..... ”

“ The blacksmith’s arm, hardening by the exertion it puts forth, is a trite illustration of the effect of exercise; and the man who is always applying to ideas and things the verbal signs by which they are known, will increase the facility with which he can call them to mind. If he does not employ them properly, his manner will not improve, and with all his fluency he will speak incorrectly. But if he speak in accordance with established usage, his ability will daily increase. ”

“ If you feel a spark of courage and strength, face the danger cautiously, practise, do as a man does who goes to a gymnasium and trains his muscles—begin to throw a half stone weight, and increases the amount by degrees. ”

“ To train properly one must concentrate [60] attention upon whatever pertains to his particular sport. Through such attention one strengthens the muscles and nerves, gains knowledge of the strength he possesses, so that he can use it in the right way and at the right time, to attain the maximum amount of speed with the minimum amount of effort. Training increases strength of mind, self-confidence, strong nerves, patience, thinking power, and character. ”

“ It is by the exertion of force that the pupil will become supple, and not by the abandon so much and so uselessly recommended. A movement at first obtained by great effort, will, after a while, not require so much, for he will then have gained skill, and skill, in this case, is but the result of exertions combined and employed properly. ”

“ Under her tuition we were subjected to the most rigorous training, mentally and physically; we were compelled to leap and jump, to twist and contort our bodies, and bend our arms, fingers, and ankles in every direction, till we became so supple that we were almost like young canes of rattan, and could assume any posture the old hag pleased. ”

“ But it should always be remembered that a training,—a severe and perilous training,—has to be gone through before our sportsmen can attain the ease and comparative security which enable them at last to take the high ground they hold. ”

“ How largely strength is simply a matter of training may be instanced by a case or two:—
“The results of practice and training from childhood on the bodily development can be seen in female acrobats and circus riders, who could compete with any man in courage, daring, dexterity, and strength, and whose performances are frequently astonishing.”—Bebel (“Woman,” p. 126) .
168“I am a medical man. I have spent several years in Africa, and have seen human nature among tribes whose habits are utterly unlike those of Europe. ”

“ The higher in the pedestrian grade the man may be to whom the question may be put the better, in consequence of his having gone through the whole performance, from novicehood upwards; and, in every instance, it will be found that more than one of his defeats will be attributed to want of condition (proper training) arising from neglect of work or other causes, such as carelessness in diet, want of practice, and, in some instances, from the neglect of the precepts attempted to be inculcated by his trainer. ”

“ You can develop a strong one if you want to. You can make your Will a dynamo to draw to you untold power. Exercises are given which will, if practiced, strengthen your will, just as you would strengthen your muscles by athletic exercises.
In starting to do anything, we must first commence with elementary principles. Simple exercises will be given. It is impossible to estimate the ultimate good to be derived from the mental cultivation that comes through these attempts at concentration. Even the simple exercises are not to be thought useless. ”

“ Imagine that you instantly became ten times as strong as you'd ever been. Could you immediately shake hands with someone? Hold a child? Could you take a step and not leap fifty feet? Could you even hold a coffee cup without breaking it? It takes time and training to adjust safely. ”

“ All who know anything about the construction of the human frame admit the necessity of exercise as a means of physical training. Exercise produces strength; inaction produces weakness. If we may trust the author of the “Castle of Indolence,” the women of England, a hundred years ago, were too effeminate ”