Abstract
After critically analyzing some of the Spanish physical education's (PE) main justifications and pointing out their problematic effects on teachers and students, the paper proposes an alternative orientation to teaching and learning PE that fosters consciousness, centeredness and transformation. Drawing from arguments and examples taken from ‘Eastern’ martial arts, the paper introduces the Conscious System for the Movement Technique (CSMT)—a ‘Western,’ ontological, and holistic approach whose purpose is to help people find paths that may allow them to transcend present paradigms, become interpreters of themselves, and acquire knowledge about the use of their body as a totality that, essentially, is ‘the reflection of a complex and mysterious functioning.’ Following this introduction to the CSMT, the paper explains its methodological principles, process, practical applications and transformative effects.
Notes
1. In this article, when speaking of PE, we will do so in reference to Spain, although readers from other countries might find some commonalities.
2. Some researchers deny that such a ‘crisis’ exists (e.g. Gard, Citation2011).
3. http://pequelia.es/72/thao-salud-infantil/ and http://noticias.innatia.com/noticias-c-salud-bienestar/a-aumento-de-la-obesidadinfantil.html (accessed 26 February 2012).
4. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions.
5. By “Masters” we mean both wise men and women.
6. See the principles and bases of Giordano Bruno's University for Global Change (http://www.giordanobrunouniversity.com).
7. See Satprem (Citation1993).
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeYI9ca48NM&feature=related; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYo94CHG2PE&NR=1 (accessed 26 February 2012).
9. In the original text: voluntad pensada.
10. In the original text: pujar.