CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



Positions and Motions. 



The body must be drilled in the art of 

 standing and throwing out the limbs. In 

 standing properly, the person should be 

 erect, the head held up, and the face 

 looking straight forward ; the shoulders 

 are to be square, with the chest fully ex- 

 posed, so as slightly to curve the back ; 

 the legs closed ; the heels in a line, and 

 closed ; the toes turned out ; the arms 

 hanging straight down ; the elbows held 

 in to the body ; the hands open to the 

 front ; the little finger touching the legs ; 

 Fig. i. and the thumb flat to the forefinger. 

 When perfected in the art of standing in 

 this position, which is called attention, as shewn in 

 fig. I, the next thing is to be taught to march or 

 walk, as in the case of a soldier on 

 drill, the feet being alternately thrown 

 out, and both brought together into 

 position, at the order to halt. 



The pupil next learns to bend the 

 body and extend the arms. The first 

 exercise of this kind is to carry the 

 hands to the front, the fingers lightly 

 touching at the points ; now raise 

 the arms, the hands still together, 

 till they are held over the head, as in 

 fig. 2. 



The second motion is to learn to 

 hold the arms out in front, the tips of 

 the fingers touching, and returning to 

 the position of fig. i : this is to be done repeatedly. 

 The third is to extend the hands 

 separately, and raise them over the 

 respective shoulders, the fingers 

 pointing upwards. The fourth 

 motion is to keep the arms and 

 legs straight, and to bend the body 

 forward, with the head down, and 

 the tips of the fingers towards the 

 ground. This somewhat difficult 

 motion is represented in fig. 3. 



A fifth motion is to resume the 

 position of attention, allowing the 

 arms to fall freely to their place, but still without 

 bending the legs. These motions are trying to 

 the pupil, and should be done gradually ; the 

 great object is to exercise the muscles bit by 

 bit, and perfection is not desirable at first. Then 

 follow other motions as throwing the arms hori- 

 zontally out in opposite directions, stretching them 

 to the full extent forward, while the palms are in 

 contact, &c. In these, it is of importance to exer- 

 cise the left hand and arm fully more than the 

 right, in order to make them equally active and 

 strong. 



Indian Club Exercises. 



The pupil having advanced in simple personal 

 exercises, is supposed to be somewhat strength- 

 ened ; and to further the operation, he proceeds 

 to the Indian club exercise. The main object is 

 to expand the chest, and increase the power of 

 the arms. For this end, many persons regularly 

 exercise themselves with dumb-bells : these con- 

 sist of heavy pieces of metal, one being held in 

 each hand. The club exercise is an improvement 

 on that of the dumb-bells. The club bears a 

 resemblance to the bat for cricket, and varies in 



658 



Fig. 4. 



weight from two to twelve pounds. One is used 

 in each hand. The mode of exercising with the 

 clubs may be divided into three parts, as follows : 



First Part. i. Standing in the posi- 

 tion of attention, slowly carry the club 

 in the right hand round the head, until 

 the hand arrives in a perpendicular 

 line above the shoulder, with the large 

 end of the club pointing in a diagonal 

 direction to the rear ; 2. The club in 

 the left hand is raised in a similar 

 manner, and carried over that in the 

 right hand till it reaches a corres- 

 ponding position ; 3. The hands are 

 carried slowly to the right and left, 

 until they become in a true horizontal 

 line with the shoulders, the large ends 

 of the clubs still remaining to the rear ; 

 4. The hands are brought slowly to the first posi- 

 tion. Care must be taken not to stand with a 

 hollow back during this and the succeeding 

 practice. 



Second Part. i. Raise both hands to the 

 front, approaching them close together, in hori- 

 zontal line with the shoulders, the clubs being held 

 perpendicular, with the large ends upwards ; 2. 

 With the body well poised forward, 

 separate the hands, and carry them 

 to the right and left line with the 

 shoulders, the large ends of the 

 clubs remaining upwards ; 3. With 

 the head well kept up, let the clubs 

 turn over till they point in a 

 diagonal direction to the rear, the 

 hands still remaining out in a line 

 with the shoulders ; 4. With the 

 arms extended, drop them slowly to 

 the first position. 



Third Part.i. The club in the 

 right hand is circled round upon 

 the right of the body for a few re- 

 volutions of the circle, or until the word halt is 

 given ; 2. The one in the left hand is used in the 

 same manner on the left of the body, until the 

 word halt is given, when the recruit will remain 

 perfectly steady in the first position ; 3. With the 

 body rather leaning forward, circle both clubs at 

 the same time, on the right and left of the body, 

 until ordered to halt. 



Leaping Vaulting. 



The simplest kind of leaping is that of jumping 

 on level ground from one point to another, with or 

 without a run. The run adds momentum, and 

 enables a person to leap considerably farther tha_ 

 without such an aid. 'In all kinds of leaping, 

 observes Walker in his Manly Exercises, ' it is o 

 great importance to draw in and retain the breath 

 at the moment of the greatest effort, as it gives 

 the chest more solidity to support the rest of the 

 members, impels the blood into the muscular 

 parts, and increases their strength. The hands, 

 also, should be shut, and the arms pendent. The 

 extent of the leap in height, or horizontally, is 

 proportioned to the power employed and the 

 practice acquired. As it is performed with facility 

 only in proportion to the strength exerted, and the 

 elasticity and suppleness of the articulations and 

 muscles of the lower extremities, much exercise is 

 necessary to attain that degree of perfection which 



Fig- 5- 



