[Eorzea]

Just another one of the many interesting things about Japanese culture:

Quote

Radio taisō (also known as rajio taisō?, radio physical exercises; Japanese: ラジオ体操) refers to the warm-up exercises popular in Japan, along with the music broadcast on public NHKradio early in the morning. It became popular in Japan just after World War II and is still used among students and workers in companies to help raise morale and form group unity. The exercises reflect the general role of exercise in Japanese culture: to serve as a symbol of unity and cooperation among the Japanese, as well as to raise energy levels and encourage good health. The purpose of the exercises is not to encourage students to become athletes but to push themselves and develop unity with their classmates.

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Radio_taiso

Give it a search on YouTube and I'm sure you'll find plenty of videos.

As teachers, we don't do these exercises at my schools. The students might, but I've never actually seen them in action. From my experience in Japan thus far it seems most common in construction jobs, banks, etc. I always find it funny when I'm going by on a train or bus and see a group of workers performing these exercises while looking out the window.

I laugh, but that doesn't mean I think the whole thing is a bad idea. Healthy trumps corny any day, does it not?

[Momotaru]

I think it's an awesome idea.. and I'm sure it does improve everyone's morale. It's a shame US cultural shies away from it.

[Eorzea]

You don't find it the least bit odd/strange/awkward?

I'm not disagreeing or saying it's a bad thing (seeing as I personally don't have any experience with such exercises), but I really find it entertaining to see all these old guys doing squats and stretches in unison. :msnlaugh: Good on them, though!

[Momotaru]

Maybe at first, but I've seen it in in Japanese doramas and such so that it's normal enough.

Back in grade school, the first activity we would do in gym class was a bunch of common exercises. Same for taekwondo. It's not very odd to imagine it to just start your day.

Oh yeh, the quality here is pretty poor (poor enough that you can't make out his funny faces), but this show is hilarious:

[crevond]

i always start my day jogging wit my ipod before i go to school so i dont it find strange,i would jog to school but dont like to be uncomfortable all coverd in sweat.

[Hydaelyn]

Yeah but jogging by yourself and doing stretching exercises with your coworkers or classmates isn't exactly the same thing! :P

I'm not sure how I feel about this... I think I would have to see it in person to get a better understanding of what it's all about.

[Girseo]

OmGaaawwd, so early in the morning?... I bike like 15 minutes every morning to go to my job, but all that jumping up and down would make my breakfast go out of my ears
I rather do some excercise when im back from my job. 30 or 60 minutes of jogging depending of how i feel and a bit of strength training a few times each week.
dunno why but i can get extremely cranky in the morning, and if i had to do all those exercices i may even get worse and yell at my colleages even more often that i do allready
Tip of the day: I use my Ipod while jogging, Radio 538 podcasts are great, they help me a lot to focus and keep it up. And they are free to download from Itunes

This post has been edited by Girseo: Jun 20, 2010 - 8:52 AM

[Chros]

This is a weekly occurrence for me. My command does group pt (physical training) and we exercise in unison to a cadence normally someone saying 1, 2, 3, 4. I think its ridiculous when I do it, but on days when I don't I feel noticeably worse.

[Satan]

There was a factory back in Illinois that was owned by japanese and the workers were made to do these excersizes before their shift and together. Most of the people I talked to found it weird but I understand why they do it. I do my own excersizes every day when I wake up, it gets the blood flowing and is a great way to start off.

[armyofbear136]

That reminds me of something we like to call "Morning Mediations"