Holistic Chinese Traditional Indigenous Sports into the Holistic Development of Young People: Theory and Practice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Meditation, Mindfulness, and Educational Transformation

Abstract

This paper explores the integration of Chinese traditional indigenous sports-such as martial arts, rope skipping, and shuttlecock kicking-into holistic education as a means to nurture young learners’physical vitality, emotional well-being, moral development, and cultural identity. Grounded in holistic education philosophy and indigenous knowledge systems, the study investigates how these embodied practices foster discipline, empathy, interdependence, and deep respect for nature and community. Drawing on case studies from school-based programs in China, the paper demonstrates how these culturally rooted forms of movement go beyond physical training to support inner cultivation and whole-person learning. lt contributes to ongoing conversations about decolonizing education, revitalizing local wisdom, and creating pedagogies that honor the interconnectedness of body, heart, mind, and spirit.

Author

• zhixing Xu, Guangxi University