Georges Demeny

DEMENY, Georges (1850–1917), head of the new French school of physical culture. From 1883–1895, in the physiological laboratory he founded together with Marey, he initiated the study of movements (walking, running, etc.) using chronophotograms. In 1902, Demeny was invited as a lecturer in applied physiology and physical education at the military gymnastics school in Joinville. From 1903, he was a professor in the same department at the university in Paris. Demeny developed questions of motor skills in connection with education. His book "Mecanisme et education des mouvements" (1st ed., Paris, 1904; reprinted several times) is one of the first books on the experimental study of this issue. The main difference of Demeny's system (and at the same time the entire French school) from previous systems in terms of movement education lies in the fact that he insists on the need to improve those movements which are constantly used in life (natural movements) and are to a greater or lesser extent fixed by heredity (walking, running, jumping, throwing, etc.). Thanks to sports and physical exercises, not artificially selected and invented, but taken from the practice of life, in Demeny's opinion, healthy and strong people can be developed, agile and courageous, who are needed by the nation. At the school hygiene congress in 1912, Demeny demonstrated his system of women's gymnastics (in contrast to the angular movements of other systems, Demeny proposes plastic, rounded movements, with tension in the muscles taking an active part in the exercise, and with relaxation of all others). His system took root in all women's schools in France (it did not receive a response in our country). Also interesting is Demeny's breakdown of physical exercises by age and his lesson curve, where he notes individual moments of it by duration of time and degree of load (see Gymnastics). Among Demeny's numerous works, it is necessary to note: "Cercle de gymnastique rationnelle" (Paris, 1880); "Physiologie artistique" (Paris, 1898); "Les bases scientifiques de l'education physique" (Paris, 1924); "Education et harmonie des mouvements" (Paris, 1926); "Education physique des adolescents" (Paris, 1927). The posthumous editions of the last two books by Demeny mentioned here were revised by G. Duperron and released in Russian in one volume (Demeny G., "Course of Gymnastics," Leningrad, no date).