為進一步梳理民俗體育的起源與發展問題,研究立足民俗體育生存文化本相,運用文獻資料、例證分析、歷史比較等方法,對其生存文化本相的符號變遷進行剖析,研究認為民俗體育在起源、發展和現代時期分別呈現出求生、勞作、交往、求偶的生存文化本相,強族強種、交感巫術、神靈祈禱、宗教信仰的生存文化本相,競技化、商業化、娛樂化、習俗擴大與簡化并存的生存文化本相。但民俗體育各個時期表現出的生存文化本相的劃分并非絕對,各種生存文化本相的符號表現形式在同一時期或不同時期會存在兼具的狀況。

In order to further clarify the issue about the origin and development of folk sports, based on the survival cultural physiognomies of folk sports, the authors dissected the symbol changing of its survival cultural physiognomies by using methods such as literature data, example analysis and history comparison etc, and put forward the following opinions: folk sports showed such a survival cultural physiognomy as surviving, working, communicating and courting, such a survival cultural physiognomy as national and race strengthening, sympathetic witchcraft, praying to Gods and religious belief, and such a survival cultural physiognomy as making things competitive, commercialization, making things entertaining, and coexistence of custom expansion and simplification, respectively in the originating, developing and modern periods; however, the classification of the survival cultural physiognomies shown by folk sports in various periods is not absolute, the symbol expression forms of various survival cultural physiognomies may be in a concurrent condition in the same period or different periods.