The culture of gym class is likewise bad news. I loathed gym growing up. I can't tell you how happy I was to find out that marching band met my PE requirement in high school. Far too many PE programs wind up being punitive and discouraging to kids who neither an aptitude nor interest in sports.
I was very lucky because I had alternatives outside of school; surfing, riding my bike, martial arts classes and so on. So I came to enjoy physical activity a great deal. Basically I had a chance to do things that were not competitive and which did not have some asshat of coach riding me. In my experience, competition can really bring out the worst in people. That's one reason why I don't think I'll ever get into any kind of tournament martial arts. Not mention that the one I'd be interested in, Judo, can be hard on the body in competition. Gettin too old here for that.
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Date: 2008-08-13 12:53 am (UTC)I was very lucky because I had alternatives outside of school; surfing, riding my bike, martial arts classes and so on. So I came to enjoy physical activity a great deal. Basically I had a chance to do things that were not competitive and which did not have some asshat of coach riding me. In my experience, competition can really bring out the worst in people. That's one reason why I don't think I'll ever get into any kind of tournament martial arts. Not mention that the one I'd be interested in, Judo, can be hard on the body in competition. Gettin too old here for that.