SWIMMING 



5657 



SWIMMING 



to swim by himself. In so doing the following 

 suggestions will be found helpful: 



1. Wade out until the water reaches the neck, 

 and take particular notice of its buoyant force. 

 You can scarcely keep your feet on the bottom. 

 Continue this practice until you feel perfectly at 

 home in water of this depth. 



2. When you have gained confidence in water of 

 the depth described above, wade out until the 

 water reaches the chest. Face the shore. Place 

 the hands palms together on the chest, bend for- 

 ward, straightening the arms as in the act of 

 floating, previously described. The hands should 

 be three or four inches under the water, the palms 

 should be downward and the fingers close to- 

 gether. 



3. As you lean forward, and before straighten- 

 ing the arms, bend the knees so that the body will 

 be in the position shown in the first illustration. 



palm downward and level with the under side 

 of the head. It is then extended its whole 

 length and without bending at the elbow is 

 brought rigidly downward until the hand 

 reaches the legs. It is then brought upward 

 quite close to the body for the beginning of the 

 next stroke. The left hand, scoop-shaped, is 

 turned outward at a right angle with the fore- 

 arm; and the arm, with elbow bent, is thrust 

 forward and then makes a pulling stroke down 

 to the left hip. The legs are opened wide, then 

 swung together as the left arm is extended and 

 the right arm finishes its downward stroke. 



The crawl, or Australian crawl, was adapted 

 from the South Sea islanders; it is a compara- 

 tively new stroke in America and Europe. In 



THREE POSITIONS DEMANDED BY THE BREAST STROKE 



4. As the arms are straightened, straighten and 

 spread the legs so that you will take the position 

 shown in the second picture. 



5. Swing the arms outward, describing a quar- 

 ter circle with each. The palms should be turned 

 outward so that they will act as paddles in pro- 

 pelling the body. 



6. As you swing the arms outward bring the 

 legs together until the heels touch. This move- 

 ment also propels the body. 



These motions complete the breast stroke. 

 The movements should be made slowly, since 

 quick, jerky movements fail to support one in 

 the water and quickly exhaust the swimmer. 



Other Stokes. One who has mastered the 

 breast stroke will have little difficulty in learn- 

 ing what is known as the back stroke. Instead 

 of keeping the arms in the water, as in the 

 breast stroke, they are lifted into the air and 

 carried in a sweep beyond and in front of the 

 head, and the palms are kept upward. Then 

 the palms are given a half turn and the arms 

 sweep around. As they begin this latter move- 

 ment the legs are drawn up, as in the breast 

 stroke. The force of the kick which follows 

 propels the body along as the arms are being 

 extended for their next stroke. 



The side stroke carries the body forward on 

 its side. It is better to lie on the right side, 

 for the heart action is more likely to be un- 

 impaired and the leg action is freer. The right 

 arm is thrown forward beyond the head, with 



executing the crawl the swimmer lies flat upon 

 the water. The legs from the knee to the feet 

 are alternately raised above the water halfway 

 to the knee and are brought down with all 

 possible force, one leg at a time. The arms 

 are bent at the elbows, the hands entering the 

 water just in front of the head; they are then 

 pushed sharply back and come out of the water 

 near the hips. When the right arm is dipped 

 the left leg is struck down, and vice versa. 



The breast stroke and the three strokes ex- 

 plained above are the most popular with swim- 

 mers of all nations. The art of diving is ex- 

 plained on pages 1814-1815. 



Breathing. Next in importance to a proper 

 stroke is proper breathing. An expert teacher 

 of swimming says: 



To nothing else so much as breathing is due the 

 inability of those who can swim to keep up the 

 speed and regularity of movement for an indefi- 

 nite period. 



In swimming, the breathing should be di- 

 rectly opposite from what it is out of the water. 

 A quick, deep inspiration should be taken 

 through the mouth, and the air should be ex- 

 haled slowly through the nostrils, and this 

 should be done at each stroke. 



Use of Artificial Aids. Expert instructors in 

 swimming seem to be about equally divided on 

 the advantages to be derived from the use of 



