Nature of Different Recreational Activities

Recreational activities, as physical activities, have fitness and health-related benefits. Swimming and mountaineering are two popular
activities that people do for rest and recreation. Other activities involve engaging and interesting activities that promote health and
teach self-defense, such as martial arts training. Under this topic, recreational activities are grouped into healthoptimizing activities-
swimming, hiking, defending oneself, and engaging in fun activities that relieve stress. These are the four topics under recreation.
a. Aquatics ​ ​c. Martial Arts or Self-defense
b. Mountaineering ​d. Community Recreation
Nature of Aquatic Sports
Aquatics are also known as water sports, or anything played in water. Water sports are fun and popular forms of recreational activity.
Activities such as going to the beach or having swimming parties are enjoyable for most people in general. Other importance of water
sports include the inculcation of competitive values (for the swimmer athlete), therapeutic values ' (for people injuries), physiological
values (swimming can induce an increase in cardiovascular endurance), and safety (sea and flood casualties can be avoided if more
people know how to swim).
There are different kinds of water sports. Sports played in water include swimming, triathlons, water aerobics, water
gymnastics, water polo, synchronized swimming, and snorkeling. Underwater sports activities include diving, scuba diving, and free
diving. Sports played in water include boating, canoeing, dragon boat racing, rowing, kayaking, fishing, sailing, surfing, and
wakeboarding, among other sports. Among all water sports mentioned, swimming is the most popular water sport taught in schools.
Mountaineering
Learning what to do in hikes and climbs is essential and fun as well. Students who know how to prepare for a hike will find this skill
useful someday as there is always the possibility of doing mountain climbing as a serious sport to pursue, or simply for fun.
Unarmed Self-Defense
Most popular martial arts are predominantly unarmed forms of self-defense. These martial art systems generally originated from Asian
regions, although there are some that come from the West. Karate, popular for its calculated, angular movements using punches,
blocks, and kicks, originates from Japan. Aikido and judo, specializing in the art of throwing, off-balancing, sweeping, and locking are
also from Japan. Also, another martial art from Japan specializing in groundwork and grappling is Jujitsu (spelling variations exist, as
this is sometimes spelled as Jiujitsu). From China came the martial arts of wushu, tai chi, and variants of kung fu. Ancient forms of
kickboxing come from Thailand (muay thai) and Cambodia (bokator), while another style of kickboxing comes from France (savate).
Different Silat versions exist in Indonesia and Malaysia. Western boxing, originating from Greece, passed down to Rome and
resurfaced in Europe, and eventually found its way to the United States. In the Philippines, empty hand martial arts come in the forms
of sikaran (kickboxing), dumog (traditional Philippine
grappling), and kuntao (traditional martial art form of punching and kicking). Arnis is the Philippine martial art of stick-fighting;
however, empty hand techniques are. also employed.
Armed Self-Defense: Arnis
Arnis is the Philippine indigenous martial art of stick-fighting. Also known by other names such as eskrima and kali, arnis in other
countries is known as Filipino Martial Arts or FMA. This martial art is a complete system of defense because stick techniques have
empty hand translations (some stick striking patterns can be translated into empty hand strikes, blocks, parries, and locking
techniques). The moves can be adopted for bladed weapons as well. Even though stick techniques are not exactly the same when
applied as bladed weapon techniques, the angles of attack are very similar; if not, almost the same. Arnis is a very adaptable martial
art, and a lot of other implements can be used as alternative weapons such as umbrellas, ball pens, bottles, or other implements lying
around. Arnis is the national martial art and sport of the Philippines, as stated in Republic Act 9850.
Community Recreation: Light and Low Impact Physical Activities
Community recreation is the collective term for activities that eliminate boredom, encourage physical activities to avoid a sedentary
lifestyle, stimulate mental activities, and involve a lot of people. These activities can be enjoyed by anyone, and it is important to note
that community recreation is usually employed to target specific groups of people who have limited physical activity options—the
elderly and the physically challenged. Activities under this category include tai chi, yoga, fitness walking, strolling, and bird watching.
Community Recreation: Other Recreational Activities
In the previous lesson, light and low impact physical activities that serve as community recreation were mentioned. In this lesson,
other forms of community recreation are suggested. Part of the purposes of teaching physical education, particularly recreation, is to
provide productive, entertaining, positive, fun, and stress-relieving use of idle time. For people who have free evenings, weekends,
long vacations, or are on retirement, community recreation can keep the mind and the body active.
Recreational Activities Board Games and Other Tabletop Games
These activities keep the mind busy and active, while being fun as well. Examples are chess, scrabble, checkers, backgammon, bridge,
and mahjong. Local games include sungka and dama.
Arts and Crafts
Another way to keep the mind active and creative is to engage in arts and crafts. Painting, pottery, carving, and other similar hobbies
can engage people in light to moderate physical activity. Everything from planning a project, preparation of the materials, doing the
project itself, and the post-project clean up, serves as a fun and productive use of leisure time.
Gardening is another activity that can keep a person lightly active. Carty! mate
als trom point to point, kneeling or squatting down to till the soil, wee or plant, walking around watering the plants—these activities,
while light an stress-free, can help keep a person active.
Board games and other tabletop games, arts and crafts, and gardening are just a few examples of light to medium recreational

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 activities that keep the mind and the body active. It also gives a person a sense of satisfaction when he/she finishes a work or task.
Having these in mind, one can be creative by planning a whole array of activities as functional recreation.

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