Page:Japanese Physical Training (Hancock).djvu/77

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CHAPTER IV

EXERCISES THAT DEVELOP THE LEGS—THE INCIDENTAL BENEFIT TO THE ARMS

While the development of the portion of the body from the waist to the shoulders, and including, of course, the rigorous training of the arms, is considered by Japanese trainers as being of prime importance, only a few days are spent in the jiu-jitsu school before the student is taught how to strengthen his legs.

In the leg exercises, as in the arm work, the resistant principle is the one employed. In all feats the man who is "attacked" yields gradually to the pressure of his "assailant." It matters not which of the contestants is the stronger; the one on the defensive should yield by degrees, yet with such reluctance that all the muscles put into play by either of the antagonists are thoroughly exercised, and as

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