The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-04-02
IN BOXING GLOVES.
Fair Hands Acquiring Skill
in Self Defense.
WHITTIER ARE WE DRIFTINGg
What n Professional Teacher Says
The Physical Benefits OF Spar
ring-A Healthful Exercise

] In one of the japanese romances
Francisque Sarcey says; Zone does
take passion as BE does a cold" This
may be true of the tender passion, but
argument ought TO be heard before We
accept it as dictum regarding feminine
craze for novelty. as the New York
Athletic club has recently done in your
city, the socially exclusive Sparring
Club OF Philadelphia. has been accus-
toned to give an annual festival Of
games. The sports have generally in
Guided sparring. except during the reign
of innocent old Mayor King (who by
the special proclamation forbade any
thing of the kind, and a feature OF
such occasions has been the assemblage
Of 5right-faced ladies, who attended as
the guests of the club. Last falls
festival was a memorable one. Many
OF the best known and most respected
young gentlemen in the community put
on the gloves against each other.
The spectacle was very entertaining
one. The young ladies present, ever in
search of new sensation, caught at the
idea of learning to spar. Teachers were
in active demand before the first frost
| fell, and the rates have since gone
steadily upward. A young dentist of
our acquaintance shortened his Office
hours under the pretext that he had
been appointed an assistant in the
dental department of the University of
Pennsylvania. The fact is that he gives
two lessons OF sparrlng every afternoon
in the neighborhood of Rittenhouse
square. His pupils are young ladies,
and as the nature OF his teaching is con-
fidential the feminine passion for "a
strong guard" and a prompt Gross
counter" Is likely 10 grow.
Having occasion to pass part of an
afternoon recently in the company of
professional teacher of the Heretofore
exclusively manly art" the writer
asked HIM for some information regard
the growth among ladis of this fanny
for fsticuffs. Ny remarks NEST be
promised by an explanation that the
teacher in question has met the best
men Of his day in this country and
England, though never for money or
with bare knuckles. He IS a graduate
of Dulwich College, in the Surrey sub
urbs of London, and was for several
years q private tutor in one of the best
preparatory schools of Philadelphia
He is a gentleman in his intincts, and
loves the art of self-defense as many a
good American dotes on polo, rowing
or cricket. He admitted to me that ne
was teaching several ladies TO spar.
but said frankly that he did
not enjoy giving the lessons.
because he was in constant fear
of accidentally injuring his pupils. OF
course he dare not infiict any punish
ment" for carelessness. and the girls
were often so intractable that he lost
patience with them.
A lawn-tennis suit. with a we'll
padded jersey, was the usual costume.
The skirts must, of course, be short, so
the limbs can have full play. The
gloves were of the medium size, but
always reqL ired much making over He
He always adds extra hair stuffing.
Into the fingers and thumb he inserts a
castor glove, about one size larger than
fingers OF the boxing glove he cuts off
at the knuckle. so that the castor COW
cred fingers may protrude. This en-
ables the lady to close her fingers easily,
thus retaining the gloves firmly on
her hands. This alteration in gloves |
is rendered necessary, he says, by
the universal inclination among the |
female sex TO strike with the hand |
open. Thinking the teacher in tended |
to perpetrate joke, smiled at this re- |
mark. He grew grave, and by his |
manner rebuked me.
You mistake me said he. at is |
the most difficult thing imaginable to |
teach lady to close her fist. Even /
after you think she has been sufficiently |
warned of the danger she will impui- |
sively lunge at you with her open hand |
the fingers straight out and rigid. / /
lost one OF my best pupils just before
Christmas in that way. She had taken
about thirty lessons and was very en-
thusiastic. l thought / had broken her
Of the fault of thrusting out her fingers,
but when / led for her forehead she
stopped me neatly enough and followed
counter, with her left. She caught me on
the cheek bone wish such force as TO
knock two Of her fingers completely out
joint. That settled her. The pain was
excessive. She threw off the gloves and
sat down TO have a good cry. ex-
amined her hand and advised her to
call surgeon at once. She had a very
bad hand. AL her courage has since
departed. Prior to that event she would
stand any amount of work. She gener-
ally prolonged her lessons to 10 minutes.
and she caught several hard blows fac-
cidentally given, of course) during her
tlaAhih6s Out h4cu sue injured lerSeit
the sport lost its charm to her entirely.
She will probably make her appearance
again next summer among the Bryn-
Mawr tennis and archery players. but
the vigor of her aroused womanhood
has vanished.'s
do you candidly regard the sport as
a proper one for young ladies ?''
why pot2 They are taught to swing
clubs and dumb-bells at nearly every
ladies' seminary in the country. Iregard
sparring purely as sport never have
looked upon il in any other light.
have SPARED with PROFESSIONAL won
say? Yes. but never for dollar ors
shilling. learned much of the art
from them. just as / might from the
billiard tournament in New YORK
Sport, to the real enthusiasts. is Lie
love-it levels all ranks. With ladies
of course, there is no tendency whatever
to appear in public. That Is tempt
atom that Goes not assail them. In
4 family where there a-e two sisters for
example, / cannot Imagine anvtb;r.