The Bohemian Sokols
the organization. An organizer, as well as a thinker, he directed the energy and loyalty of the Sokols into the gymnasium whence came the motive power for internal organization and for patriotic work.
Here, too, he was working in a new field. If physical training was to be the means for the cultivation of the nation’s energy, it was necessary to take into account racial characteristics; the method must be such as to fit the needs and temper of the people. That method had to be discovered by Tyrš. He gave his Sokols a purely Bohemian system of training, one that satisfied completely the instincts of the young body for exercise and at the same time gave heed to aesthetic considerations: the search for the true beauty of the body. The system of Tyrš includes training for various classes and occupations and makes provision for the needs of the whole people in the way of physical exercise.
It is in this rich variety of exercises for every age, calling and sex that the Bohemian method of physical training differs from other systems. The Sokol institution thus obtained a distinctive, solid foundation from which the further education of intelligent Bohemians could proceed. A sound and strong body, the primary requirement, fostered by the numberless Sokol societies, assists in the better development of the individual man’s higher faculties. For we know now that man’s mental processes are closely connected with his physical make-up; every thought, every emotion corresponds to some change in the body. Strength and nobility of mind and soul develop in connection with strength and efficiency of the body.
Regular gymnasium training has a beneficial effect on all the activities of the man who takes the Sokol idea seriously. He learns to submit to voluntary discipline which commends itself to him through its noble aims; he cultivates the sense of duty to himself, to his family, to his fellow-citizens, above all to his nation. Thus he strengthens and improves his character as he aims at Tyrš’s definition of an ideal Sokol-a well rounded, honest man and citizen.
