A S ound Mind in Sound Body

artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in

sporting activities as early as 2000 BC.Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports, including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports that originate in ancient Persia are polo and jousting.

A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.

toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace

in victory or defeat.

Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game", and the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing... is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.

Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting contests.

is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against

each other using certain rules of engagement (usually significantly different from the rules in simulated combats meant for practice or challenge in martial arts), typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat. Boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai and fencing are examples of combat sports.

The techniques used can be categorized into three domains: striking, grappling, and weapon usage, with some hybrid rule-sets combining striking and grappling.

disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. As many of these

based on existing sports modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability, they are sometimes referred to as adapted sports. However, not all disabled sports are adapted; several sports that have been specifically created for persons with a disability have no equivalent in able-bodied sports. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary.
There are a wide range of sports that have been adapted to be played by people with varying types of disability, as well as several that are unique to disabled athletes. Within each movement, different sports are practised at different levels; for example, not all sports in the Paralympic movement are part of the Paralympic Games. In addition, many sports are practiced by persons with a disability outside the formal sports movements.

in which participants, known as freerunners (or practitioners, though this

is a generic term used for freerunning and parkour), use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, and adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas (such as cities or towns) that are cluttered with obstacles.

The term free running (now freerunning) was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, the term has come to represent a separate concept, distinctly different from parkour — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline emphasizes efficiency, whilst freerunning embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic maneuvers. Although the two are often physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different.

The founder and creator of freerunning, Sébastien Foucan, defines freerunning as a discipline to self-development, following your own way, which he developed because he felt that parkour lacked enough creativity and self-expression as a definition of each freerunner to follow your own way.

San Diego playing football.

Olympic Games track gold medalist Meseret

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Master Hao Zhi Hua, the most accomplished female Wushu athlete in China's history.