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International organizations such as the UN and UNESCO set priority goals for education in the 21st century. This article shows the educational contribution of the Traditional Sporting Game (TSG) of Bear Guardian and Hunters that involves the three-chained roles. The three roles test players who share a unique social interaction ritual. This study was part of a training experience for university students in physical activity and sports sciences in the theory and practice of motor games subject at INEFC, University of Lleida (Spain). This research investigated the emotional intensity in these three roles, the emotional meaning units, and their correspondence with the emotional triad. This study is a mixed-methods research. After playing the game involved, 131 university students (46 women and 85 men) aged 18–35 years (M = 20.19, SD = 2.42) answered the validated GES-II scale indicating the intensity and causes of five basic emotions. The data were analyzed using different strategies (qualitative data: content analysis; quantitative data: descriptive statistical analysis, inferential and association rules). The methodology employed has revealed part of this game’s secret (intimate and subjective) code: the affectivity invisible to external observation. Among the findings, we highlight: (a) each role originates different intensities and units of emotional meaning; (b) the three roles feedback, need and complement each other in this socio-affective network of interdependent relationships; (c) the Bear is the central role of the game. The emotional meanings concerning the motor aggression of the Bear operate as a magnet that attracts four itineraries of association rules of meanings and emotional triads. In the hands of intelligent, prepared and sustainable teachers, this game can help students learn to live together and educate them to control and respectfully channel motor aggression. In this way, students will be active actors in the process of civilization in favor of sustainable development.

Playing traditional games has a direct impact on the mood states of the players, and this is the reason why physical education is an ideal setting for teaching how to recognize them and be aware about how they can swing. The objective of the study was to determine if participating in traditional opposition games causes changes to the participants' mood states. A total of 102 students participated. Each participant recorded the intensity of the mood state experienced at the beginning and at the end of the sessions, using the validated Profile of Mood States (POMS) instrument. The pedagogical experience was planned as 4 sessions with 6 and 5 opposition games each: (a) with competition in mixed groups, equally and unequally mixed; (b) without competition in mixed groups, equally and unequally mixed; (c) with competition in same-gender groups; and (d) without competition in same-gender groups. When comparing the different mood states according to session (with or without competition), the mood states of the depression, fatigue, and vigor dimensions were significantly different (p < 0.05), with higher scores in the sessions with competition for the mood states of vigor (Mcompetition = 7.27 and Mno_competition = 3.10) and fatigue (Mcompetition = 4.08 and Mno_competition = 1.80). Also, when comparing the mood states depending on session grouping and group type, the results showed differences in the scores obtained for the dimensions fatigue and anger, and general mood state (p < 0.05). These differences were found at the start of the session and at the end, with the dimension fatigue being the only one with differences in both situations when comparing the same-gender, equally-mixed, and unequally-mixed groups for the two types of traditional opposition games compared. In addition, after an analysis of the mood states depending on gender was performed, the results and therefore the significant differences found, were very similar to those obtained according to group type. Lastly, it was concluded that the type of group (equal, mixed & same gender), and gender were decisive, causing variations in the mood states of the students. This provides valuable information for teaching professionals about the structuring and organization of PE sessions, aiming to promoting positive motor experiences.

Through games a motivating learning climate is provided, generating mainly positive emotions among the students by the very nature of the game. However, while the early stages are the most important for emotional well-being development, research about scientific knowledge of emotional physical education in children is still scarce. The aims of this study were to analyze the intensity of emotions (positive or negative) produced when players took part in games of different social structure, with or without competition (winner or loser), with or without sport experience and to examine the explanations given by the participants for these emotional experiences. Participants (N = 152) were recruited from two Spanish elementary school. We applied Student’s t-test and one-factor ANOVA. Students’ subjective comments were classified through content analysis in macro-categories and we used the Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID, implemented in SPSSTM Answer Tree® 13.0). The application of a mixed-methods approach identified statistically significant differences in four variables: (a) the type of emotion, (b) motor domain, (c) type of outcome (winning, losing, and non-competitive), and (d) sport experience. The intensity of positive emotions was higher (M = 3.71, SD = 0.893) than negative emotions (M = 1.18, SD = 0.253, p < 0.001). Furthermore, negative emotions were felt with different intensities (F3 = 3.82, p = 0.011, ES = 0.071), depending on the motor action domain. Comments referring to negative emotions were more frequent in individual games. Winning was associated significantly (p < 0.05) with the highest intensity ratings of positive emotions, whereas losing produced the highest values for negative emotions. The intensity ratings for positive or negative emotions not were different between non-competitive games and competitive games. The sport experience relativizes the mean of emotional intensity, both positive and negative. The present study brings the value of considering games as a key role to promote a physical education addressed to the education of social-emotional well-being in schoolchildren, as the basis of academic training. Furthermore, the results could benefit teachers as well as coaches have scientific input to organize teaching content, generating the desired motor behaviors together with positive experiences.