In order to sustain self-effort and zest in training the effort must be founded on true discipline. What is true discipline? It is a free gift from a free person. It cannot be compelled from without; it must come from within. It is a spirit which is created by the constant performance of acts of:
(a) Self-effort
(b) Glad obedience
(c) Punctuality
(d) Cleanliness
(e) Tidiness
(f) Method
(g) Teamwork

Individuality

– qualities which are necessary and basic to a well-ordered life as well as Scouting. It is preferable to train by means of the eye than the ear; as well as being more vivid and practical, it saves time by eliminating long verbal explanations

 

Independence

—the bugbear of training. As far as possible use signals rather than words of command; they teach observation, which in turn trains the memory and exercises the intelligence. When instructions and orders are given orally a natural voice and a quiet conversational tone should be used; the leader should be his natural self. The quieter the voice the more intently the class are likely to listen 

– teach them to use their ears in the right way 

– it is a useful Scout accomplishment 

– also, it introduces the attentive and observant atmosphere of Scouting into the training. He should take up a commanding position in front of his class where he can be seen by all when he gives a signal.

In teaching a new exercise the leader should demonstrate without further explanation; the class should do it working independently, a stated number of times, the leader in the meantime closely watching the performance of each individual. Don’t expect perfection at once. When all have finished select the best performer and get him to demonstrate the exercise to the class: give them another try. Such positive methods in instruction stimulate a wholesome spirit of enterprise and at the same time encourage “home Industry” and individual effort.
         All the exercises should be done in free time, on one’s own, with individual expression and not with mechanical uniformity. The development of individuality is an essential feature in Scouting. It should be regarded as a triumph in training if an individual is induced to train himself; it is a concrete step towards self-leadership, the basis of leadership. When exercises are done in independent time it eliminates the risk of strain to the weaker members of the class. We know that exercises performed together by the whole class, under the direction of the leader, make for mass production, stifle initiative, and are apt to be a torture to the backward individual. In class an average exercise should normally be performed six times, while extra light exercises can be done from eight to ten times. Progress is maintained by greater self-effort and expression put into the action by the individual and not by increasing the number of times the exercise is performed. Independent self-effort, stimulated in class, influences a Scout to train on his own, a
big step in the all-round development of the individual. 

       A leader who is able to induce one of his own class to do this has truly scored a goal and proved his ability to lead and inspire. As solo training, in the privacy of one’s room, is the means of kindling greater keenness for class training in Troop Headquarters, so should Recreative Training, done during the winter months, be a suitable preparation and inspiration for greater keenness and zest for Scouting in the countryside during the summer. The more that Recreative Training can be associated with actual Scout activities, the more likely is it to help towards this end.
 

     The success of any form of training depends upon the Inspiration and personality of the leader. The leader who takes a class in Recreative Training, as applied to Scouting, must naturally be first and foremost a Scout, one who can apply its spirit, principles, and aims. Every exercise in Recreative Training should be linked to some aspect of Scouting. 

     In addition, he must love his job as well as know it inside out. A class is quick to detect whether a leader is genuine and has his heart in his work; if he has, their response will be spontaneous and generous. A leader to inspire must have his heart and soul in what he teaches. There is no greater force in leadership than the force of example. To “click” with his class the leader should be a boy in spirit, a good-hearted elder brother who is out to join in the fun. A boy is full of humour, it is in his make-up. The training should be done in a spirit of good will, zest, and enjoyment; it should be good fun, a jolly recreation done by a jolly fraternity, all out to give of their best. A boy learns with his heart rather than with his brain.

       Remember, the Scout scroll is turned up at the ends like a Scout’s mouth because he does his duty with a smile and willingly. B.-P. says: “The ordinary boy is apt to frown when working hard at Physical Education.”

How can this be done? What are the aims of Recreative Training? Our aims are threefold.

Guiding Principles

       What chiefly matters in training is the thought which inspires the movement and the effort of will with which it is performed. Movement without thought is not much more than a form of St. Vitus’s Dance, while thought without appropriate action is likely to evaporate in a daydream. In recreative training, adapted to Scouting, the mind and body must work together in the closest harmony. The habit of associating thought with action makes for character. 

What is character? 

     It is a combination of moral qualities which have the power to express themselves. Character is dynamic and not a storehouse of static ideals. Character is manifest in action; it must be built up act by act, brick by brick; the finer and greater the number of acts the larger and more noble the edifice. As B.-P. tells us, ally exercise with character. In your training let each exercise be associated with an ideal you want to attain, associate it with an act of the will. The muscles may dwindle in power as you advance in age, but the moral qualities you have developed are immortal; they are stored in the consciousness, they give a set to the sou! and shine with added lustre and give a wider influence in life as you grow older in experience. In your training think of the body as the factory of the soul. The making of the soul is a job which you, and you alone, can do.

Spirit Of Achievement

Every boy feels the power of fitness and realises the need of it when he plays in a vigorous manly game or carries out some tough enterprise. If he is fit his mind works in close co-operation with his muscles; he can think and act quickly, his muscles are responsive and are charged with energy and eager for effort, and above all he has the spirit – the willpower – to stick it.

How do you get fit for a game? 

       By training. Although a game of football may only last an hour, yet you put in many hours of training for it distributed over many weeks. The scheme of training you do is well planned. You adapt it to the game. How? By making a careful study of the qualities of the mind, body, and spirit needed to do well in the game, you make your training as near the real thing as possible. You have the imagination to introduce the atmosphere and the pulse of the game into the exercises; you live in the training by concentrating your thoughts on it. When you finish you feel a glow within you, a spirit of achievement which creates self-confidence and adds to your morale – you
are eager for the game. So it is with Scouting. But Scouting is not confined to a game or single enterprise, it deals with the game of life made up of many enterprises, tough jobs, and hard knocks. Now, one of the most important and worthwhile jobs of a Scout is to make a fit body; it is
his special responsibility, his duty to God and the King. A Scout is just at the age when his body makes the biggest sprint in its development. The body has to be trained and brought in touch with the mind and the spirit created in it during the spring of life. If the body is neglected at this stage of life it cannot be developed later in life. The tree that does not blossom in spring bears no fruit in the autumn.