The Book of Sports Part 4

15. Extend himself on his back again, and walk backwards with the palms of his hands and his feet.

16. Sustain the weight of the whole body upon the palms and the toes, the face being towards the ground.

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17. Lie on his back, and take hold of each foot in his hands, and throw himself on his face by rolling over.

18. Lie with the face down, and take hold of his toes while in that position.

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19. With his chest downwards, drag his body along by walking only with his hands.

20. Place himself on his back, and endeavour to advance by means of the propulsion of the feet.

21. Place his body on his hands and feet, with the breast upwards, and endeavour to bring the lips to the ground.

22. Lean on the breast and palms of the hands, and throw the legs over towards the back of the head.

23. Stretch himself on the back, and extending the hands beyond the head, at the utmost stretch, touch the ground, and, if possible, bring up a piece of money, previously to be placed there.

24. In the same manner, endeavour to seize a ball by the toes at full length.

WALKING.

These preliminary exercises having been practised, the young pupil will commence a course of more advanced exercises, such as walking, running, leaping, balancing, vaulting, and climbing. Walking is common to all, but few persons have a good walk, and nothing exhibits the person to so much disadvantage as a slovenly bad gait. It is true, that the walk of a person will indicate much of his character. Nervous people walk hurriedly, sometimes quick, sometimes slow, with a tripping and sometimes a running step; phlegmatic people have a heavy, solid, and loitering step; the sanguine man walks rapidly, treads somewhat briskly and firmly; while the melancholic wanders, and seems almost unconscious of touching the ground which he seems to slide over. But the qualities of the mind itself manifest themselves in the gait. The man of high moral principle and virtuous integrity, walks with a very different step to the low sensualist, or the cunning and unprincipled knave; therefore the young pupil will be sure that even the art of walking, which seems to be an exertion purely physical, will not be acquired properly if his mind has taken a vicious and unprincipled bias: it will either indicate his pride or his dastardly humility, his haughty self-sufficiency, or his mean truckling to the opinion of others, his honest independence, or his cringing servility. But he who has been blessed with the full use of his muscular powers, in proportion as he is virtuous, will, with a very little attention, indicate by his bearing, step, and carriage, the n.o.bility of his mind.

In walking, the arms should move freely by the side--they act like the fly-wheel of an engine, to equalise the motion of the body, and to balance it. One hand in the breeches pocket, or both, indicates the sot, and has a very bad appearance. The head should be upright, without, however, any particular call being made upon the muscles of the neck to support it in that position, so that it may move freely in all directions. The body should be upright, and the shoulders thrown moderately backwards, displaying a graceful fall. When the foot reaches the ground, it should support the body, not on the toe or heel, but on the ball of the foot. This manner of walking should be practised daily, sometimes in a slow, sometimes in a moderate walk, and sometimes in a quick pace, until each is performed with elegance and ease.

RUNNING.

In running, as the swiftness of the motion steadies the body in its course, without the aid of the oscillations of the arms, they are naturally drawn up towards the sides, and, bent at the elbows, form a right angle. Their motion is almost suspended in very swift running. In moderate running, a gentle oscillation is observed, increasing in proportion as the body approaches to the walking pace. The knees are now more bent,--the same part of the foot does not touch the ground, the body being carried forward more by the toes. The degree of velocity is acquired in proportion to the length and quickness of the steps. The person should therefore endeavour to ascertain whether long or short steps suit his muscular powers best; generally speaking a moderately short step, quickly repeated, accelerates motion most. In learning to run, the pupil should first endeavour to improve his breath by degrees: he must try his speed first in short distances, to be gradually increased: the distance will vary according to the age and strength of the runner. The first exercises in running should commence at a gentle trot over a distance of a hundred and fifty yards, at the rate of about six feet to a second: this should be varied up to eight feet in a second, for the first three or four days, and the distance increased from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty yards. On following days, the distance may be increased to five hundred yards, and afterwards gradually, until a mile can be performed in ten minutes, which is tolerably good running. Afterwards, six miles may be tried in an hour, which will be easily accomplished.

As regards rapid running, from one hundred feet to one hundred yards may be attempted at full speed, and when the const.i.tution is good, the body not too fat, the muscular developments fine, and the lungs sound, a quarter of a mile a minute may be accomplished, and a mile in five minutes, which is seldom done even in very good running. Ten miles an hour, which is the average speed of the mail, may, however, be easily performed with judicious and proper training.

LEAPING.

In leaping, that with the run, is the most common and the most useful.

The object of the run is to impart to the nerves of the body a certain quant.i.ty of motion which may carry it onwards after the propelling power has ceased to act when the body leaves the ground. The run need not exceed twelve or fifteen paces: in this the steps are small and rapid.

When the body leaves the ground, the legs are drawn up, one foot generally a little more than the other; and a great thing to be avoided, is coming to the ground on the heels. When springing, the height of the leap must be calculated, the breath held, the body pressed forward, and the fall should be upon the toes and the ball of the foot, although in an extended leap this is impossible. Leaping must, like running, be practised gradually; in the high leap, a person may easily accomplish the height of his own body, and should practise with the bar, which may be made of two upright posts bored, through which ropes should be placed according to the height required for the leap: on these should be hung a string with weights attached to each end to keep it straight. Should the leaper touch it with his feet as he takes his leap, it will be thrown off the pegs, thus showing that he did not make a clean leap.

The deep leap may be acquired from the top of a bank into a hollow, and is useful in leaping from the top of a house or wall in a moment of danger. It may be practised from a flight of steps, ascending a step at a time to increase the height, till the limbs can bear the shocks, to break which, the body must be kept in a bent position, so that its gravity has to pa.s.s through many angles. The leaper should always take advantage of any rivulet that has one bank higher than the other, to practise himself.

In the long leap, a person ought to be able to clear with a run, three times the length of his body.

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The high leap, the deep leap, and the long leap, may be all practised with the pole. For the high leap, the pole should be taken with the right hand, about the height of the head, and with the left hand, about the height of the hips; when put to the ground, the leaper should spring with the right foot, and pa.s.s by the left of the pole, and swing round as he alights, so as to face the place he leaped from. In the deep leap, the pole being placed the depth you have to leap, the body should be lowered forward, and then, the feet being cast off, swing round the pole in the descent. The long leap, with the pole, is performed much in the same manner.

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CLIMBING.

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In climbing the rope, the hands are to be moved one above the other alternately; the feet should be crossed, and the rope held firmly by their pressure: sometimes the rope may be made to pa.s.s along the right thigh just above the knee, and wind round the thigh under the knee.

In climbing the upright pole, the feet, legs, knees, and hands touch the pole. Taking a high grasp of the pole, the climber raises himself by bending his body, drawing up and holding fast by the legs, and so on alternately.

THE ROPE LADDER.

The climber must keep the body stretched out, and upright, so as to prevent the steps, which are loose, from being bent forward.

The oblique rope must be climbed with the back turned towards the ground, the legs crossed and thrown over, so that the rope pa.s.ses under the calf, and thus he must work himself up by raising his hands one above the other alternately.

The exercises on the ladder are:--1. To ascend and descend rapidly. 2.

To ascend and descend with one hand. 3. Without using the hand. 4.

Pa.s.sing another person on the ladder, or swinging to the back to let another pa.s.s.

THE SLANT BOARD.

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This should be seized with both hands, the feet being placed in the middle. The board should be considerably aslant when first attempted, and gradually brought towards the perpendicular.

VAULTING.

This exercise may be practised on that part of the balancing bar between the posts. It may be performed with or without running: it should, however, be commenced with a short run. The height should be, to commence, about the pit of the stomach, which should be increased to the height of the individual.

BALANCING.

There are two kinds of balancing to which we shall allude; namely, the balancing of other bodies, and the balancing of our own.

All feats of balancing depend upon the centre of gravity being uniformly preserved in one position. The centre of gravity is that point, about which all the other parts exactly balance each other. If a body be freely suspended upon this point, it will rest with security, and as long as this point is supported, it will never fall, while in every other position it will endeavour to descend to the lowest place at which it can arrive. If a perpendicular line were drawn from the centre of gravity of a body to the centre of the earth, such a line would be termed the line of direction, along which every body supported endeavours to fall. If this line fall within the base of a body, such a body will be sure to stand.

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When the line of direction is thrown beyond its centre, unless the base be enlarged to counterbalance it, the person or body will fall. A person in stooping to look over a deep hole, will bend his trunk forward; the line of direction being altered, he must extend his base to compensate for it, which he does by putting his foot a step forward. A porter stoops forward to prevent his burthen from throwing the line of direction out of the base behind, and a girl does the same thing in carrying a pail of water, by stretching out her opposite arm, for the weight of the pail throws the centre of gravity on one side, and the stretching out of the opposite arm brings it back again, and thus the two are balanced. The art of balancing, therefore, simply consists in dexterously altering the centre of gravity upon every new position of the body, so as constantly to preserve the line of direction within the base. Rope-dancers effect this by means of a long pole, held across the rope; and when the balancing-rail is mounted, it will be found necessary to hold out both the arms for the same purpose; nay, even when we slip or stumble with one foot, we in a moment extend the opposite arm, making the same use of it as the dancer does of his pole.

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