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Through the farsightedness oflt;$----the Athletic Department, the administration and the desire of a number of students, Union College is taking a further step in the direction of effective physical training for the student body. Last spring, compulsory physical education for all students was authorized, and now the College has made arrangements to teach “commando judo” in the gym classes during the late fall and winter programs.We are the first college in the country to adopt this kind of training, and the decision to inaugurate this program is a tribute to the realistic understanding of the present world situation on the part of the administration, the athletic department, and representative members of the student body. It is to be hoped that other colleges will see the sense and advisability of instituting such programc as necessary pre-induction training for college students.Too many colleges have been adopting chicken - hearted programs, and some are even on a voluntary basis. Perhaps this is a result of the complete lack of appreciation of the circumstances under which we fight for life today. It is indeed a reflection upon the easy-going ways of American society which are to be recommended in proper times and which are certainly admirable in some cases. There is a good deal of evidence to support this proposition.What this country must learn is to be tough and not take the easy road. There is no correspondence course composed of ten easy lessons which can teach a person to use a bayonet, let alone to defend himself. The art of self-defense itself has been neglected, for it is considered that those who pursue this kind of training are tramps or gangsters.To be able to defend oneself was the foremost demand in life many years ago. Today it becomes a necessity again, and learning this art does not remove the cultural dignity which is associated with colleges. Training for defense against an enemy who has trained for physical combat since he was a child cannot be done overnight. If such training can begin before persons are inducted into the Army, then the Army can afford to cut down the basic training period. It is only because persons are soft, both physically and mentally, that the Army has been held back in its attempt to hasten the training of ate tics and the shipment of men to the various theatres of war. It is estimated that three months of training could thus be saved.The idea of “commando judo” was conceived by Brooks Mendell, a Syracuse graduate in the class of 1926. He applies both the philosophical and psyeholigieal approach to this system. He lias grouped together principles concerned with the building of the body and mind. It is defined as stressing “physical fitness through body contact and rigid, mental discipline to understand and aecept endurance, severity' of training and even pain.” Mendell paces his teachings according to the age, physical, mental, and psychological makeup of each student. The end result is a integration which leads to a sound mind through a sound body.Today the program serves as basic training for unarmed defense. It is not intended to generate organized or small-scale or individual brawls as some high-minded people might think.It is not necessary to be an athlete in order to learn the funda-mentals of “commando judo.” So long as one has two arms and two legs, he can master the course. The Army, Navy and Marines are now adopting such programs. The Union College program is of the same nature, and the college is to be congratulated for organizing war courses directed toward not only the technical problems relating to the industrial aspect of warfare, but the pre-training of manpower for the physical aspect of war as well. Perhaps this kind of training and the stimulation to be tough will create the correct concept of waging war—by offensive tactics and not defensive techniques.One gallon of the very best Ice Cream, anv fla*
Newspaper Details
Schenectady Concordiensis
Schenectady, New York, US
Thu, Sep 24, 1942
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Savate M.
NA, 02 Feb 2025
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Schenectady Concordiensis
