Functional gymnastics
As a function gym or functional gymnastic a form which is gymnastics referred to in the joints , tendons are not excessively loaded and tapes and stretched. It is also called "anatomically oriented gymnastics". One example is the "Swedish gymnastics" by Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839). Above all, it should strengthen the core muscles and improve posture. Hugo Rothstein was a German supporter of Ling and tried to spread this gymnastics in the German Empire, but gymnastics was preferred here.
At the beginning of the 20th century, functional gymnastics for women was influenced by the American doctor Bess Mensendieck (1864–1957), who was a student of the movement pedagogue François Delsarte . In 1906 her book Body Culture of Woman was published. Practically hygienic and practical aesthetic hints . The reform pedagogue Hedwig Kallmeyer also played an important role in Germany . In 1908 she published the work Beauty and Health of Women through Gymnastics and in 1910 Harmonic Gymnastics . She ran her own school in Berlin.
In 1913 Rahel Hirsch , Prussia's first woman professor of medicine, published her book The Body Culture of Women in Vienna and also advocated the then little established sporting exercise of women. Hirsch writes in it "That is why men should not inhibit the women's movement, but rather strive to promote it."
Two different gymnastic schools emerged: Mensendieck is considered the founder of "static gymnastics", Kallmeyer as a pioneer of "harmonious gymnastics". Elsa Gindler tried to combine both methods. She is considered an important representative of modern gymnastics in Germany.
literature
- Liselott Diem: The gymnastics movement. A contribution to the development of women's sport , 1991, ISBN 3-88345-574-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eva-Bettina Bröcker : Frau Doktor - and what then? In: Würzburger medical history reports 23, 2004, pp. 589–592; here: p. 589 f.
