Page:Japanese Physical Training (Hancock).djvu/211

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CHAPTER XII

CLOSING SUGGESTIONS TO AMERICAN STUDENTS

It is to be feared that many who read this volume, and who wish to acquire jiu-jitsu, will neglect the fundamentals and will turn at once to the practice of the tricks of combat. Those who do so will make a mistake at the outset, and one that will have to be corrected later on. Health is not created by mere combat.

Physical training does not consist alone of the creation of swelling muscles. Nor does the possession of a few easily learned tricks of attack make an athlete.

He who would seek physical perfection must carefully observe all the conditions that bring it about. The rules of diet, the habit of deep breathing of fresh air at all times, the wearing of proper clothing that does not impede the free passage of air over the body, the habit of

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