Training the Body

This is the first book to examine the body in training in the context of religion, sport and wider physical culture, offering important insight into the performative, social, cultural and gendered aspects of somatic discipline and exercise. The book presents a series of fascinating thematic and case-study led chapters from around the world, examining topics including the martial discipline and symbolism of artistic gymnastics; religious interpretations of body vulnerability in the context of marathons; the religious language of corporeal training in sport and martial arts. Drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives, from sport, religion, history and philosophy, the book explores the often contested and sometimes over-zealous application of training in both sport and religion and the ways in which this can cause harm to athletes or adherents. This is fascinating reading for any advanced student or researcher with an interest in the body, physical cultural studies, the ethics and philosophy of sport, the sociology of sport, religious studies, Asian studies or philosophy.

David Torevell is Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Liverpool Hope University, UK, and Visiting Professor at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. He was previously Honorary Research Fellow at Leeds Trinity University, UK, and taught in secondary schools for 17 years. He has edited many books and published numerous articles in international journals on a range of theological, philosophical and educational issues. His research interests include Catholic theology, philosophy, theology and literature, theology and the arts, sport and religion and Catholic education. Clive Palmer is Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, and Senior Research Fellow in UCLan's THRiVE Research Centre for Early Years, implementing a coaching pedagogy into Midwifery training - a national workforce development enterprise. Also, he is National Teaching Fellow (2019), Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2020) and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies. He is a nationally recognised research supervisor through the UK Council for Graduate Education and Visiting Professor to Hunan Normal University in Changsha Province, China, contributing to a Sino-British Educational Project in PE. Paul Rowan has been a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, UK, since 1995, and is currently working in the diocese of Portsmouth, UK. He is Assistant Head and Director of Catholic Life and Formation, Young People and Skills at Beaulieu Convent School, Jersey. He is also the Director of the Beaulieu Institute for Religious Literacy. He has taught theology, philosophy, ethics and religious studies at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, worked in three Catholic seminaries and in secular and pontifical universities in England, Spain and Rome. His research interests include Belief and Unbelief; the New Evangelisation; G. K. Chesterton; C. S. Lewis; Power, Abuse and the Catholic Hierarchy; LGBT+; Women in the Catholic Church; the writings of Pope Francis.

Introduction, Part I: Personhood, 1. 'Giving the Best of Yourself' in Sports: The Catholic Church's Attention to Sports in Past and Present, 2. Holy Marathon - 'Running Religion'?: Religious Interpretations of Body Vulnerability in the Context of Marathons, 3. Gaining Balance in Religious Training: What Might Sports and Physical Culture Coaches Learn from This?, Part II: Virtue, 4. Corporeal Enhancement and Sport's Spiritual Dimension: A Virtue Ethics Proposal, 5. Training the Body (Stretching the Mind) and Moulding the Spirit: Sport, Christian Asceticism and Life as Self-Gift, 6. Towards an A to Z of Faith in Sport, Part III: Asceticism and Aesthetics, 7. Aesthetics and Symbolism in Artistic Gymnastics: From Martial Discipline to Ritual Practices Embodied in Performance, 8. The Metaphysical Framework of Transformational Combat in Eastern Religions and Martial Arts: Implications for Sports and Physical Culture Training, Part IV: Education, Gender and Mental Health, 9. On the Bodies of Children: The Troubling Messages of American Youth Sports, 10. Jewish Women and Physical Culture Training at Various Jewish Ys in Early Twentieth-Century American Culture, 11. Promoting Western sport and PE ideas in China: Lessons Learned and Future Directions, Concluding Remarks: Making Connections, Questions for Discussion and Reflection