The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-05
HOW TO GET STRONG.
Vacation Time Talks for Boys on How to Become
Athletes Within Few Months.

Now notice one thing. If you are
standing correctly, even If you have
not acquired the science of balancing
perfectly you should feel a grand free
dom Of body. You should feel from
head to toe that your body is under
command, at least in a measure. II
you don't experience that feeling stick
to this one position. with frequent
rests, until you do.
Keeping your feet as they are, let your
body sink down until your knees bend,
then Jump" yourself to an upright
position again. Lift your left foot,
still keeping your right toe firmly on
the ground, and try to prevent your
self from tumbllng forward. Then lift
your left foot again and see how swift
ly you can draw your body back with
out shifting that ball of the right toe.
The ball of the right toe is lit. y
From it you must control all the mo-
tions your body makes in boxing.
The bali Of the right toe does so much
work for every human being in 'ordi-
nary walking that it is not hard to
make it do the work demanded In box
ing A very little conscientious prac-
tice will do wonders. Before many
attempts you viii find that you are
"springlng" from that right toe with a
| splendid sense of power. You will be
able to swing your left foot in all di-
rections, extending 1t to its fullest
reach, and yet your body will be as
| firm, and strongly pinned to earth as
If you were braced to the ground with
| both legs.
When you are so perfect that you
can twist and swing and rock and
"jounce" as violently as you please
without disturbing your balance, you
will have reached a point in the sci
enee of boxing far ahead of that reach
ed by the majority of boys who think
that they can box because they can
do pretty quick work by "sparring
with their hands.
Now stand in the correct position,
still letting your arms hang loose and
| timber at your sides. Step forward
as swiftly as If you were going to hurl
yourself ahead violently, and the mo-
ment you have reached the full limit
Of this motion draw yourself back as
If you were trying to fall bodily back
wards with all your might. This is go
| ing to take some hard practice. You
will find that the forward lunge Will
throw you ahead SO far that your mus
| cles will require a certain number OF
seconds to recover and get under way
to haul your body back.
Do you see what that means? II
means that II you had leaped forward
| this way at another boxer to strike him
you would have remained near him
| ION top of him, in fact-long enough
| to give him a beautiful chance to lei
| you have one or more good blows. i
would be just as if you had purposelS
showed your face and ribs into the wa!
! of his fists.
So don't weary until you can lung
| forward and pull back again and swinE
on that important right toe so swiftly
that, instead of seeming two motions
ii will really seem one. Come anC
recover" "come and recover" unit
your muscles act like lightning.
They must indeed, act like lightning
in boxing. Your opponent strikes mol
when he sees your arm or body move
but when he sees in your eye that you
A really good boxer, will meet youi
motions half way. So nothing slow
win answer.
And do you see now that boxing Is
done with the feet?
Consider, and you will realize that
| the boy who can strike only by get
ting in close and staying there, with
no way to save himself from return
blows except by parrying with his
hands is no match for the boxer who
can spring in, strike and in the same
! his opponent cannot reach him at all
A skilful boxer can throw himself sc
far backward, still balancing on that
right toe, that he would fall over If he
did not stick his left leg out to bal
ance himself. Thus, he can let less
skilful man strike and lunge at him
without parrying at all. He merely
pulls his head and body back so far
that the other mans hands cannot
1 quite reach him.
This is not only fine boxing, but II
has a powerful moral effect on ones
opponent There is nothing so dis
heartening and demoralizing to a box
err as to find that he cannot get at
his opponent. Many a man who will
bear lot of punching and grin as II
he liked it will lose his nerve and grit
after he has struck one blow after an
other without landing.
Now try the third STEP Stand as
before. Then Spring your body into
the air, leaving the ground with both
feet, but keeping them in position Sc
that you will land again in just the
same position as you were. Do this
until you can thus jump forwards,
backwards and sideways without any
effort that shows.
Remember that the object OF 1t is to
enable you to jump out of the direction