Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 51

But although floating in water is sufficient to preserve from immediate danger, this will not alone enable us to swim. To swim, does not mean simply to float, but to progress; and progression by this means depends, like the flight of birds, upon the law in Mechanics of every action being followed by a corresponding reaction, but in an opposite direction; and thus, as the reaction of the air compressed by the downward action of the bird's wing, causes it to mount aloft in proportion to the force it communicates by that motion; so the backward stroke communicated by the simultaneous movement of the hands and feet of the swimmer, causes his forward progress in the water. When once familiarised with the support derived from the water itself, he soon learns to make the stroke correctly, especially if aided and supported by some more experienced friend,--a far better a.s.sistant than corks and bladders.

PLACES AND TIMES FOR BATHING AND SWIMMING.

It is presumed that most young lads who go to bathe will take the opportunity of learning to swim. In crowded cities there are but few places in which the youngster can learn the art; but in the country there are many rivers, ponds, ca.n.a.ls, or lakes, where both bathing and swimming may be indulged in without annoyance. The best kind of place for bathing is on a shelving gravelly sh.o.r.e, on which the water gradually deepens, and where no awkward sweep of current may take the bather off his legs. The spot should also be free from holes, weeds, and hard stones; and a muddy bottom is to be avoided by all means. Should the banks of such a spot be shaded by a few trees, and should there be close by an open s.p.a.ce for a run on the gra.s.s after the bathe, so much the better; and the young learner will then have the chief inducement to venture the sudden dip or head-long plunge.

The best time of the day for bathing or swimming is either before breakfast, between the hours of six and eight in the summer-time, or between eleven and twelve o'clock in the forenoon. Delicate persons should not bathe early in the morning; and it would be always well to munch a biscuit before early bathing at all times. No one should ever think of entering the water on a full stomach, or immediately after dinner, and never when over-heated and exhausted by fatigue. He should also avoid entering it when cold, or with a headache. Before bathing, it is best to take a moderate walk of about a mile, and, while the system is in a glow, to undress quickly and plunge in. It is bad to walk till you get hot, then to sit down and cool, and afterwards to enter the water; many have lost their lives by this. It is also very wrong to enter the water during rain, as the clothes are often wetted or damp, which gives the bather cold.

ENTERING THE WATER.

Having stripped the body, the bather should select the best place on the bank for going down to the stream; and then, proceeding cautiously but quickly, wade up to his b.r.e.a.s.t.s, turn his head to the sh.o.r.e, and dip. He then technically, as the boys say, gets his pinch over. Should he not be man enough to proceed in this way, he should, as soon as he gets his feet wet, splash some water over his head, and go into the water more gradually, and try the rapid rush and dip when he gets bolder. He must not attempt to swim or strike out till he can master the feat of going into the water up to his arm-pits, and till he feels himself confident and void of timidity.

AIDS TO SWIMMING.

Many aids have been used for the benefit of young swimmers: corks and bladders fastened under the arms are the common ones; but they offer dangerous temptations for bathers to go out of their depth, and then should cramp, cold, or any other accident occur, the event may be fatal.

Besides, these aids often slip about from one place to the other. We remember, in our younger days, of the "corks" slipping to the hips, and of seeing a young friend, now an old man, suspended in the water with his head downwards; while collapsing of bladders and of air-jackets is by no means uncommon. The best aid to a young swimmer is a judicious friend, himself a good swimmer, who will hold up his head, when he strikes off, by the "tip of the finger to the tip of the chin," and who at the same time will show him how to strike off, and how to manage his hands and feet. It is not a bad plan to put out a spar from a boat, to which a rope is attached, which the young learner may make use of by affixing it to a belt round his body under his arms, which will afford him support while he learns to strike his legs in the water. The rope may also be held in the hand of a friend, by the side of the boat, and the learner may strike off hands and feet as the boat proceeds. The plank is a dangerous aid, from its tendency to slip about, and to take the swimmer out of his depth; and, although it has many advantages, is very unsafe. The safest plan of all is, as we have before stated, for the learner to advance gradually up to his arm-pits in the water, and then, turning about, to strike slowly out towards the sh.o.r.e, taking care to keep his legs well up from the bottom. Rigid perseverance in this course will in a very short time enable the youngster to feel himself afloat, and moving at "all fours,"--a delight equal to that experienced by the child who first feels that he can walk from chair to chair.

STRIKING OFF AND SWIMMING.

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In striking off, the learner, having turned himself to the sh.o.r.e, as before recommended, should fall towards the water gently, keeping his head and neck perfectly upright, his breast advancing forward, his chest inflated; then, withdrawing the legs from the bottom, and stretching them out, strike the arms forward in unison with the legs. The back can scarcely be too much hollowed, or the head too much thrown back, as those who do otherwise will swim with their feet too near the surface, instead of allowing them to be about a foot-and-half deep in the water.

The hands should be placed just in front of the breast, the fingers pointing forward and kept close together, with the thumbs to the edge of the fore-fingers: the hands must be made rather concave on the inside, though not so much as to diminish the size. In the stroke of the hands, they should be carried forward to the utmost extent, taking care that they do not touch the surface of the water; they should next be swept to the side, at a distance from, but as low as, the hips; and should then be drawn up again, by bringing the arms towards the side, bending the elbows upwards and the wrists downwards, so as to let the hands hang down while the arms are raising them to the first att.i.tude.

HOW TO MANAGE THE LEGS.

The legs, which should be moved alternately with the hands, must be drawn up with the knees inwards, and the soles of the feet inclined outwards; and they should then be thrown backwards, as widely apart from each other as possible. These motions of the hands and legs may be practised out of the water; and whilst exercising the legs, which can only be done one at a time, the learner may rest one hand on the back of a chair to steady himself, while he moves the opposite leg. When in the water, the learner must take care to draw in his breath at the instant that his hands, descending to his hips, cause his head to rise above the surface of the water; and he should exhale his breath at the moment his body is propelled forward through the action of the legs. If he does not attend precisely to these rules, he must invariably have a downward motion, and, as the boys say, swim furthest where it is deepest.

PLUNGING AND DIVING.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

There are two kinds of plunging; that belonging to shallow, and that belonging to deep water. In shallow-water plunging, the learner should fling himself as far forward as possible into the stream at a very oblique angle; and when he touches the water, he should raise his head, keep his back hollow, and stretch his hands forward. In the deep-water plunge, his body is to descend at a greater angle; his arms are to be stretched out, his hands closed and pointed, and his body bent, so that his nose almost touches his toes.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Diving is one of the greatest amus.e.m.e.nts connected with swimming. There are many kinds; the two most common and easiest and necessary modes of going below the surface, are--

1. The feet-foremost jump.

2. The head-foremost jump.

In the first, the legs, arms, and head are to be kept perfectly rigid and stiff. The pupil must not allow fear, or the strange sensation felt in the bowels in leaping from considerable heights, to induce him to spread the arms or legs, or to bend his body.

In the second mode, or head-foremost plunge,--which is the safest mode for persons who are heavily built about the chest and shoulders, if they have to enter the water from heights,--the head is drawn down upon the chest, the arms stretched forward, and hands closed to a point; and as soon as the swimmer feels that he has left the bank, his knees, which till then were bent, are to be stiffened. The diver must avoid striking on the belly--the general consequence of fear; and turning over so as to come down on his back or side--the consequence of pushing with the feet.

When he has gone as deep as he wishes, the arms are to be raised and pressed downwards.

SWIMMING UNDER WATER.

When under the water, the swimmer may either move in the usual way, or keep his hands stretched before him, which will enable him to cut the water more easily, and greatly relieve his chest. If he observes that he approaches too near the surface of the water, he must press the palms of his hands upwards. If he wishes to dive to the bottom, he must turn the palms of his hands upwards, striking with them repeatedly and rapidly whilst the feet are reposing; and when he has obtained a perpendicular position, he should stretch out his hands like feelers, and make the usual movement with his feet, then he will descend with great rapidity to the bottom. It is well to accustom the eyes to open themselves under the water, at least in those beds of water that admit the light, as it will enable the swimmer to ascertain the depth of water he is in.

SWIMMING ON THE SIDE.

In this, the body is turned either on the left or right side, while the feet perform their usual motions. The _arm from under_ the shoulder stretches itself out quickly, at the same time that the feet are striking. The other arm strikes at the same time with the impelling of the feet. The hand of the latter arm begins its stroke on a level with the head. While the hand is again brought forward in a flat position, and the feet are contracted, the stretched-out hand is, while working, drawn back towards the breast, but not so much impelling as sustaining.

As swimming on the side presents to the water a smaller surface than on the waist, when rapidity is required, the former is often preferable to the latter.

SWIMMING ON THE BACK WITHOUT EMPLOYING THE FEET.

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This is twofold: 1. _In the direction of the feet._ The body is placed in a horizontal position, the feet are stretched out stiffly, and the heels and toes are kept in contact; then the body is to be somewhat curved at the seat, the hands are to be stretched flatly forward over the body, and, slowly striking in small circles, the loins are somewhat drawn up at each stroke. 2. _In the direction of the head._ The body is placed horizontally, but somewhat curved in the seat, the head in its natural position, the arms are kept close to the body, with the elbows inclined inwards, and the hands describe small circles from the back to the front, at about a foot-and-half from the hips. These modes serve to exercise and strengthen the arms in an extraordinary degree without in the least fatiguing the breast.

FLOATING.

The body is laid horizontally on the back, the head is bent backwards as much as possible, the arms are stretched out over the head in the direction of the body, the feet are left to their natural position; if they sink, the loins must be kept as low as possible. In this position, the person, who is specifically lighter than water, remains, and may float at pleasure. The lungs should be kept inflated, that the breast may be distended and the circ.u.mference of the body augmented. In order not to sink while in the act of taking breath, which the greater specific weight of the body would effect, the breath must be quickly expelled, and as quickly drawn in again, and then retained as long as possible; for, as the back is in a flat position, the sinking, on account of the resistance of the water, does not take place so rapidly but the quick respiration will restore the equilibrium before the water reaches the nose.

TREADING WATER.

This is a perpendicular position of the swimmer, and is of great use to enable him to save a person from drowning. It is in general thought to be extremely difficult, but it is very easy. There are two ways of performing the action: in the first the hands are compressed against the hips, and the feet describe their usual circle; the other mode consists in not contracting both legs at the same time, but one after the other, so that while the one remains contracted the other describes a circle.

In this mode, however, the legs must not be stretched out, but the thighs are placed in a distended position, and curved as if in a half-sitting posture.

THE FLING.

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The swimmer lays himself flat upon his waist, draws his feet as close as possible under the body, stretches his hands forwards, and, with both feet and hands beating the water violently at the same time, raises himself out of the water. In this manner one may succeed in throwing oneself out of the water as high as the hips. This exercise is very useful, for saving oneself by catching a rope or any other object that hangs from above the surface of the water, or from any perpendicular height.

SWIMMING ON THE BACK.

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In this the swimmer turns upon his back in the water by the combined motion of the arm and leg, and extending his body, his head being in a line with it, so that the back and upper part of the head may be immersed, while the face and breast are out of the water. The hands should be placed on the thighs straight down, and the legs moved as in forward swimming, taking care that the knees do not rise above the surface in striking them out. Sometimes the hands are used after the motion of a wing or fan, by which a slight progression is also made at the same time that the surface of the body is well lifted out of the water.

THRUSTING.

In the thrust the swimmer lies horizontally upon his waist, and makes the common motions in swimming. He then simply stretches one arm forwards, as in swimming on the side, but remains lying upon the waist, and, in a widely described circle, he carries the other hand, which is working under the breast, towards the hip. As soon as the arm has completed this motion, it is lifted from the water in a stretched position, and thrown forward in the greatest horizontal level, and is then sunk with the hand flat into the water; while the swimmer thus stretches forth the arm, he, with the other hand stretched as wide as possible, describes a small circle in order to sustain the body; after this he brings his hand in a largely described circle rapidly to the hip, lifts the arm out of the water, and _thrusts_ it forward. During the describing of the larger circle the feet make their movements. To make the thrust beautifully, a considerable degree of practice is required. This mode of swimming is useful where a great degree of rapidity is required for a short distance.