The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-09


Rigid Discipline-why Modern Man Il
Not Fitted for Such Treatment.
A proposition is always best demon
strated by example No better proof car
be furnished Of the statement that ordi
nary physical training" has an exceed
ingly deleterious effect upon the human
constitution than the numerous instances
daily brought TO light where men have
! died of organic ailments directly induced
by the calisthenic practices of both profes
sional and amateur athletes
The case of Matsada Sorakichi, the Jap
anese wrestler, who died of consumption,
adds another item Of evidence to those
medical writers who have long and per-
sistently denounced the usual methods
adopted by athletes to bring the body to
| what they consider the highest degree of
| physical perfection.
Up to within very short time of his
death Matsada Sorakichi appeared to be
In perfect, robust health. A casual glance
at his physique would have evoked in the
beholder nothing but admiration for his
muscular development and envy of his ap-
parently hardy condition. He dies And
only few minutes medical examination
reveals the fact that the immediate cause
of his death is nothing more nor less than
tubercular consumption of the lungs.
In speaking of training" the word Ii
put in quotation marks to designate more
particularly that course of discipl. to
which the pugilist is sujected just pre-
vious to fight, an oarsman to a rowing
match or a pedestrian before six days
walk. 1t is not intended to depreciate the
value of physical exercise or the benefit to
be derived from ordinary calisthenics. But
look for moment at what the athlete has
to undergo to fit himself, according to the
orthodox trainer. for what is in reality an
abnormal test of muscular strength and
nerve endurance.
WHAT SWEATING" MEANS.
First of all he is dieted in a way that is
certainly not physically conducive to the
well being of man as an animal. His regi-
men consists mainly of fesh-lean meat at
that. Every particle of fat is carefully re-
moved from his steak. Vegetables he does
not eat, or at most very sparingly. AS
matter of fact, were an attempt made to
bring a man up on food of that description
from early childhood it is dou btful whether
he would live to within ten years of what
is called middle age.
Man is an omniverous animal. To live
normally, as he has been intended by ma
ture to live, he must eat meat, vegetables
and grain. The very fat that he avoids is
needed by the liver to perform its functions
of turning oleaginous matter into soap.
The length of the human intestines and
the slow process of digestion demand other
food than that of half cooked lean meat,
which is almost entirely digested by the
time it leaves the stomach.
But the most violent injury the athlete
does himself when pursuing his conserv-
ative method of preparing for the arena is
in the process known as sweating down"
to a required weight. He is compelled to
load himself with about five times the
amount of eXtraneous clothing that ma
ture calls for, and then by vigorous and
sudden exercise superinduce sweating I'M
til his weight is reduced in many cases
many pounds below the standard required
by his frame and the work done by the
principal organs of the body.
In this sweating process it is seldom that
the pores of the skin are equal to the de-
mand made by the copious exudation of
moisture from the body. In consequence
an extra strain falls upon the kidneys.
In addition to which, although man may
by this method reduce the muscular and
destroy the adipoSe tissue, it is impossible
for him to lessen the size of the heart liver
or any other organ of the body in the same
way.
WHY TRAINING" IS DANGEROUS.
In healthy man, where there is a grad
ual and normal increase Of the body's bulk,
nature provides a pro rata increase in
the size and strength of the thoracic and
abdominal viscera. If the mans total
weight be suddenly and unnaturally low
cred, the heart and other organs, remaining
the same, are in consequence doing more
work than is necessary. Herein lies the
cause of consumption, enlargement of the
heart Bright's disease, that frequently are
the causes of death in the pugilist, the
and the pedestrian.
Paradoxically speaking, civilized man is |
the only animal whose normal condition is |
one of disease. For centuries he has lived |
and seldom dies simply be- |
cause he cannot live any longer. 1t is on
this account that the regular process of |
training is always injurious and often fatal |
TO him. Were he in the physical condition |
which, presumably, the primitive forerun
ners of his race enjoyed, he would scarcely |
need it.
A young Zulu, straight from his native |
wilds, whose father and whose fathers
forefathers died from an assegai or from |
sheer old age, might be a fit subject for
the sweating system of training, even if it
would benefit him, which is doubtful; but
\ Nineteenth century son of civilization,
whose father died perhaps of apoplexy
brought on by pate de foie gras, and whose
were probably connoisseurs in
port wine is scarcely prepared by physical
for such a suicidal strain upon
MS system.
1t is comforting to learn that few of
he more enlightened professional trainers
Ind athletes of today-and, be it added,
not the least successful-have so far heed
d the warnings held out to them as to
ldopC more modified system OF training.
t is a good step in the right direction. In
/ few years, perhaps, the fast increasing
Of knowledge and the con-
'tsnt instances of evil results from present
methods combined will bring about a
much needed reformation in this respect,
md physical culture will be sought by
means less barOsrous, less injurious and
Without lowering the present athletic
tandard.-New York World