東洋的身体観に基づく太極拳が大学生に及ぼす教育的効果

Abstract

Tai chi chuan, which originated in China, has been called an Oriental body technique. It has a history as a preventive medicine technique similar to qigong, doin, and yojyo. Slow movement, which is a characteristic of tai chi chuan, trains antigravity muscles and as a result is said to have a positive effect on balance ability. Another characteristic of tai chi chuan is deep, long breaths, and this abdominal breathing is said to relieve stress, improve vitality, and affect sensory awareness. These effects are often discussed based on results in middle-aged and elderly people, but there have been few studies with university students. In this study, a questionnaire survey of 68 students （19.2 ± 1.0 years old） who took tai chi chuan as part of the regular university curriculum of physical education was conducted, and their abilities gained through tai chi chuan were investigated. The results were that （1） many key words related to psychological elements such as calmness, breathing, spirit, thought, health, concentration, and relaxation, and（ 2） many key words related to physical elements such as body, movement, balance, flexibility, consciousness, breathing, and center of gravity were extracted as abilities gained through tai chi chuan. This suggests that tai chi chuan as part of the regular curriculum of physical education may help to improve sufficiently the performance of university students.