4:24 PM - 4:49 PM
[15政-口-05] Competence Goals in Martial Arts Education –
A Comparison of German-Japanese PE Curriculums
The school practice of martial arts in PE in Japan and Germany primarily has three important
administrative distinctions: in Germany, a simplified, more playful version of martial arts (»Ringen &
Raufen«, literally »wrestle & scuffle«) is taught alongside regular martial arts. Secondly, in Japan, almost
exclusively indigenous martial arts such as jūdō, kendō and sumō are taught, occasionally karatedō,
naginatadō, kyūdō and others. In Germany, however, Western wrestling, fencing and light contact boxing
are taught alongside Japanese martial arts (jūdō, much less frequently karatedō, jūjutsu, kendō). Thirdly, in
Japan a single curriculum exists for each school level, whereas in Germany, due to the federal system,
there is a caleidoscopic amount of PE curricula.
In the proposed lecture, based on these formal aspects, the didactic goals of martial arts in schools will
be presented and critically analysed on the theoretical basis of comparative pedagogy. The official school
PE curricula of Japan and Germany will be examined as the main sources for this purpose, as well as
academic literature as secondary sources. Thereby it will made be clear that the pedagogical competence
goals in martial arts PE in both countries differ significantly, although there are some overlaps in the
curricular contents taught. Another emphasis of the study is to illustrate the unique didactic potentials of
martial arts in PE.
Therefore, in the course of the discussion, it will be asked if the state-specific formulated educational
goals of PE are responsible for the above-mentioned disparities. The lecture concludes with the related
question of whether Japanese martial arts are misinterpreted in German PE or are moulded in a different
way than in their country of origin due to inaccurate transmission. Furthermore, the question will be
raised whether the German pedagogical martial arts goals are also already implicitly relevant in Japan or
if they can be implemented in the forthcoming MEXT revision and vice versa.
administrative distinctions: in Germany, a simplified, more playful version of martial arts (»Ringen &
Raufen«, literally »wrestle & scuffle«) is taught alongside regular martial arts. Secondly, in Japan, almost
exclusively indigenous martial arts such as jūdō, kendō and sumō are taught, occasionally karatedō,
naginatadō, kyūdō and others. In Germany, however, Western wrestling, fencing and light contact boxing
are taught alongside Japanese martial arts (jūdō, much less frequently karatedō, jūjutsu, kendō). Thirdly, in
Japan a single curriculum exists for each school level, whereas in Germany, due to the federal system,
there is a caleidoscopic amount of PE curricula.
In the proposed lecture, based on these formal aspects, the didactic goals of martial arts in schools will
be presented and critically analysed on the theoretical basis of comparative pedagogy. The official school
PE curricula of Japan and Germany will be examined as the main sources for this purpose, as well as
academic literature as secondary sources. Thereby it will made be clear that the pedagogical competence
goals in martial arts PE in both countries differ significantly, although there are some overlaps in the
curricular contents taught. Another emphasis of the study is to illustrate the unique didactic potentials of
martial arts in PE.
Therefore, in the course of the discussion, it will be asked if the state-specific formulated educational
goals of PE are responsible for the above-mentioned disparities. The lecture concludes with the related
question of whether Japanese martial arts are misinterpreted in German PE or are moulded in a different
way than in their country of origin due to inaccurate transmission. Furthermore, the question will be
raised whether the German pedagogical martial arts goals are also already implicitly relevant in Japan or
if they can be implemented in the forthcoming MEXT revision and vice versa.