Evolution of military obstacle courses and obstacle running in enhancing resilience

In the article, the authors present research, using historical research, relating to the genesis and common roots between obstacle courses and military training. The article analyses the role that the changing nature of military forces and warfare play in this increasingly popular sport, and what it can potentially offer regarding defence education and military training. The authors have researched and thoroughly analysed information from a large historical period of time and interpreted the gathered evidence through systematic methods, appraising all the available studies to synthesise the findings and formulate research conclusions. The use of obstacle courses in military training spread throughout the world during the great wars. Today, in the age of self-controlled devices and cyber warfare, it has retained its military importance, because in addition to the physical, it also has serious character-building effects. Thanks to this, in the last hundred years, it has been used as an integral part of military training in all armed forces, but at the same time, building on some of its elements, it has developed into a new sport on the civilian side. Nowadays, it has been noticed that, reaching back to its roots, the civilian competition has been taken up a notch with obstacles borrowed from the military side. This is more proof of how much universal sports can draw from military sports. It can be also stated that the use of obstacle courses outside the armed forces contributes to the physical and character development of members of society, and thereby to building a more resilient society.