GYMNASTICS. 



lessens all obstacles, and supplies the means of 

 clearing them without danger. 



In leaping without a run, hold the legs and 

 feet closed, bend the knees well up, hold forward 

 the head, and throw out the hands. Skill in 

 throwing forward the body with a jerk, thus 

 doubled up, is only acquired by experience. Let 

 great care be taken to descend with an inclina- 

 tion forward, and to fall on the fore-part of the 

 feet, so as to touch the ground lightly, and by the 

 spring or elasticity of the feet and limbs, to deaden 

 the shock. 



In leaping with a run, the run preceding the 

 leap should never exceed ten paces ; the rise into 

 the air to take place at a distance from the cord 

 equal to half the height of the cord from the 

 ground. Skill should be attained in leaping from 

 either foot, or from the spring of both feet. It is 

 considered a good leap when five feet are cleared ; 

 a first-rate one is five and a half ; and an extra- 

 ordinary one, six feet which few, however, ever 

 reach. (These high leaps are usually taken side- 

 ways, one leg clearing the bar before the other.) For 

 a man to leap his own height that is, for a man 

 of six feet to leap six feet high, or a man of five 

 feet eight inches to leap five feet eight inches high 

 is usually considered the perfection or ultimatum 

 of the high leap. It may be noticed, however, [ 

 that, all things considered, the man of medium 

 size (about five feet eight inches) is almost always 

 the most successful at this species of exercise. 



What is gained in height is lost in distance. 

 To make a long leap, therefore, it is not necessary 

 to go high. The measurement of long leaps is 

 by marks on level and soft ground, and he who j 

 clears the greatest number of marks is the most 

 proficient. As in high leaping, the body must be j 

 inclined forward, and the spring made from the \ 

 balls of the toes. To clear nine feet without a run 

 is considered a good leap, and ten feet a great leap. 

 Leaping from a high to a low situation is 

 another useful exercise. To acquire proficiency 

 in it, begin with moderate heights, and learn to 

 fall softly on the balls of the toes, or fore-part of 

 the feet If the fall be upon the heels, the whole 

 body is almost certain to be jarred, and the legs 

 stove. Keep the body compact in the descent, 

 with the hands well forward, so that, when alight- 

 ing, the person may spring lightly up from a 

 crooked or bent posture. 



Vaulting is that kind of leaping in which the 

 body is helped forward by a momentary leaning 

 on an object by the hands. The art of vaulting 

 may prove useful in many circumstances in life, 



as, for instance, in 

 getting quickly over 

 a paling, fence, or 

 gate, to elude danger. 

 Exercises are per- 

 formed with vault- 

 ing-bars, of which 

 an illustration is 

 given in fig. 6 ; 

 they are of various 

 heights, and some 

 are shaped like a 

 horse with a saddle. 





Fig. 6. 



Vaulting is performed with or without a run. 

 The spring, as usual, is from the toes ; and resting 

 the hands on the bar, the legs are raised, and, 

 by a jerk, pitched over to the other side. The 



pupil should learn to vault in this manner, either 



towards the left or right When perfect in the 



exercise, he learns to vault straight forward over 



the bar, between his hands, in which feat very 



| great skill is necessary in doubling up the body 



j and limbs during the spring. The methods of 



| vaulting on and off horse-blocks are innumerable. 



i Leaping -with a pole is a combination of simple 



leaping and vaulting, and is also a most useful 



and an elegant accomplishment The pole should 



be smooth, light, and from seven to ten feet long. 



Held in the hands, as represented in fig. 7, the 



left hand below, and the right above, the pole 



is planted with its lower point on the ground, and 



Fig. 7. 



by a spring from the left foot, the body is 

 impelled through the air to the desired distance. 



In vaulting over a high object by means of a 

 pole, two posts and a cross-cord, as in fig. 8, are 

 usually employed. The leap is taken by a run ; 

 and care must be taken that the spring of the foot 

 and the plant of the pole are in the direction of 

 this preparatory run. 



Walking Running. 



The art of walking with ease, firmness, and 

 grace, forms a necessary part of gymnastic or drill 

 exercises. Few persons walk well naturally ; the 

 constraint of dress, distortion from labour, or bad 

 habits of some kind, generally contributing to 

 give a slounge to the figure, and an awkwardness 

 to all the motions. 



To walk gracefully, the body must be erect, 

 but not stiff, and the head held up in such a 

 posture that the eyes are directed forward. The 

 tendency of untaught walkers is to look to- 

 wards the ground near the feet ; but the eyes 

 should not thus be cast downward, neither should 

 the chest bend forward to throw out the back, 

 making what are termed * round shoulders ; ' 

 on the contrary, the whole person must hold itself 

 up, as if not afraid to look the world in the face, 

 and the chest by all means be allowed to expand. 

 Let the legs alone advance, bearing up the body. 

 In setting down the feet, let the outer edge of the 

 heel first touch the ground, and the sole of the 

 foot bear and project the weight of the body. 

 The length of step is of course to be determined 

 by the length of limb. Reckoning from heel to 

 heel, or toe to toe, the length of a military step at 

 drill-march is thirty inches, which is considerably 

 more than the length of ordinary steps in walking. 

 The length of step at a moderate pace, of a man 

 five feet nine inches high, is usually twenty-four 

 inches ; and this will be found a convenient length 

 for most persons to acquire the habit of using. 



The motion of the arms to and fro, in cadence 



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