Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-19
Written for The EVENING srkn.

n me men out of ten who taught them
INN selves TO swim do not swim correctly.
AMET To swim correctly does not mean TO
AIN keep afoat for long time or even to
~ cover a long distance in reasonably fast
time. 1t means the art of making every muscle
do its perfect work, of getting the best results
with the use Of the least strength. In-the New
York Athletic Club two mornings of every week
instruct the sons of the members in the art
of swimming. take boys all the way from
i've to sixteen years of age. many OF whom
know nothing about swimming, and in less
than dozen lessons they are comparatively at
home in the big tank, where the water varies
from five to nine feet in depth.
never force q timid boy to 20 into the water.
let him stand around and watch the other
boys, and when he is ready to go in take him
in charge. / always give my first lessons III a
small tank. where the water is little over
three feet deep. OF course not every boy who
is taught to swim can learn in a tank like this,
but any shallow water where the bottom Is firm
aud solid will answer.
CHILDREN IN THE TANK.
In this tank there ID a staircase extending
from the floor above to the bottom of the bath.
When the lad is ready have him take hold Of
the upper stair and slowly let his body down
until his feet touch bottom. When he finds
that he can stand up without being drowned
and at the same time keep hold of some object
on dry land so that he can lift himself up out
of the water he begins to have confidence in
himself. This confidence is the first quality a
swimmer should possess; without it he will
never learn more than the principles of the
art After he has found that he is not in dan
ger i have him wet his head with one of his
hands and If he is not too rimld try to per-
suade him to hold his nose with his fingers and
duck his head under water. Often, though, it
s a long time before some boys are brave
enough to learn that feat. Next place his
left hand on the second step below the water,
while his right still holds fast to the upper step.
Then ss he holds his chin Oh the level of the
water by the left arm / take his feet in my
hands and 60 through the motions Of a perfect
kick, such as is used In the breast stroke. L do
this twenty or thirty times and the first lesson
ls over. This same lesson ID repeated two or
three times more until his fear of the water ID
taken away and then begin the second exer
else.
This consists in taking the boy into the
middle of the tank and placing him directly
before me. Then / take his hands in mine and
put them in the proper form for a stroke. This
is the proper form: The hands should be out
stretched, palms downward, with the fingers
close together and the two thumbs touching
each other. While his hands are in that posi-
ton stretch them out and go through the
motions of 9 perfect stroke. Generally one
lesson upon this exercise is enough.
The third exercise requires belt and pole.
put the belt about the boys waist and attach
1t to the pole and swing him out into the
water. He already knows the proper move
ments of the legs and arms, but he has never
practiced them together. While he is sus-
pended in the water I teach him to put into
practice tbs two exercises he has already
learned. Three lessons are generally sufficient
for this part Of my system
ALONE IN THE WATER
Now have nv pupil try all three Of the for
mer exercises alone. First he stands up Then
stoops, after drawing in q great breath, the
bigger the better, draws his hands close to his
chest and strikes out for himself II he loses
his head the worst that can befall him is duck
ing, for he can easily touch bottom with his
feet. After q few trials he finds he can
swim half dozen yards or more. Now he is
ready for deep water. but if he should be a
little timid about venturing out beyond his
depth give him a life buoy This consists Of
a cork or rubber rod, about three foot long,
and nearly the diameter Of a stove pipe. put
this under his arms across the chest This
keeps his head out Of the water and he can
strike out as boldly as though he were in the
shallow tank.
have described to you my own method Of
teaching children how to swim The perfect
stroke and the correct way to kick will be de-
scribed later on. While no child can derive
much benefit from this description his father
or big brother may be able. by its aid, to put
the yOunRster In falr way OF becoming SWIM
mer. Young men who do not know how to
swim may find in my directions some sugges-
tions as TO the best way. in a measure, to over
come their fear of the water.
The rest Of this article is intended especially
for those who already know how to swim and I
will explain in it the various strokes, both
plain and fancy, used by expert swimmers and
l will endeavor to give tyros in the art some
hints that they may find of value when SWIM
ming, through accident, becomes q necessity
rathsr than q pleasure.