The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-24
NEW
SWIMMING KICK
Champion Hundred Yard Swim
mer Depreeates Scissors
Leg Stroke.

better method of propelling himself
through the water than the primitive
and slow dog-fashion stroke of his
youth.
With admiration, mixed with envy,
he gazes at the bronzed young men who
with graceful and vigorous strokes
rapidly cleave their way through the
water, and then he resolves to learn
that method for himself. He first turns |
to one of the many pamphlets on how /
to swim, but soon despairs of mastering |
the directions for acquiring the various
standard strokes, and once more IS
forced to be content with strenuous
houndering.
As matter of fact, the quickest and
best method of learning how to swim
is for the beginner, after having mas
tered the rudiments of the accomplish
ment, TO closely observe the actions Of
good swimmer. Observation is the
surest teacher.
Charles NJ Daniels, the champion
hundred-yard swimmer of the world,
took naturally to the water. He had
an Indifferent stroke, with which he
barely won his novice race in slow
time when he first began to race. Then,
as a junior member of the New York
Athletic Club, he paid daily visits to
the swimming pool in the clubhouse,
where he closely watched the move
ments of the experts.
He adopted the best features of the
various strokes thus illustrated, and
from these evolved a stroke of his own
Of course, there are a number Of per-
sons who claim the credit of having
taught Daniels how to swim, but, it Is
declared by those who should know
that Daniels is a self-taught swimmer
by the method of observation.
The most remarkable feature of his
swimming is his leg movement, or kick.
| The old-time racing kick, known popu-
| larlv as the scissors, was for many
years thought to be the best method OF
propellng oneself with the legs in the
| water. And so it was, if used proper
| ". But there was not one swimmer
| in ten thousand who could use per
feet scissors kick.
The movement consists in stretching
the legs as wide apart as possible, and
| then bringing them together with
snap resembling the closing of a pair
| of scissors. This movement results IN
showing the body along at lively rate,
but in most cases the swimmers feet,
| instead of stopping at the real finish
of the kick. pass each other, and IN the
| form of an K cause a double drag that
takes up nearly all the momentum orig
/ inaIlv given. Thus the scissors kick,
| extremely difficult to master, never
amounts to anything, except IN rare IN
| stances.
Daniels made an improvement upon
| this. He abandoned altogether the
scissors movement Lying on his breast,
with both legs extended backward,
both feet In a downward position and
| the heels Just showing above the sur
| face of the water, he would give a
| vigorous kick, first with one foot up
and down and then with the other.
This kick, while perhaps not giving
quite as much momentum as the sels-
sors kick when used by skilful swim
mer. was nevertheless devoid of the
principal objection to the latter kick,
| for there was no retarding effect, the
legs alternately working up and down,
| steadily pushing the body through the
water.
What Daniels has accomplished with
| this new form of Kick is well known
| In covering 100 yards in 50 As seconds,
as he did last year in the race for the
English championship, he exhibited
even greater speed than was ever be-
fore known to be shown by human
being in the water.
Now. the elumsiest beginner can
adopt this same kick as used by the
worlds master swimmer. Superior TO
all other forms of leg propulsion, 1t Is
also the simplest and easiest TO learn.
| Anyone can learn it, man or woman,
| boy or girl.
The kick in its crude form is nothing
more nor less than the splashing motion
of all beginners. which dates back to
the time the first boy entered the
water The most natural thing Tor
voungster to do upon first making an
aeauaintanee with the water Is TO see
how HIGH he can splash 1T. Almost
every bow knows how TO keep ms feet
| at the surface of the water and kick
them m and down. This is easy ana
also natural. for the boy rests IN
comfortable position.
This movement of the feet not only
furnishes a method of propulsion, put
i also keeps the whole body On the
surface of the water, and progress Is
II
| rendered twice as easy, as with the leg
movements the body must rest IN the
water at an angle of As degrees, max
mo if more difficult TO proceed
with the new form of kick any arm
| stoke will do. No effort need be made
TO make the arms and legs work IN
| unison.
The arm stroke best adaptedeto the
new kick is what Is known sas the
| double overarm- in which Flght anu
Lea orr, alternately come out of the
water. But the oid-fashioned breast
stroke. or even the dogfashion stroke,
! will work with It.
The Twentieth Century kick Is as old
| as the hills. the only new thing about
! il being its adaptation what IL mas
done for American swimmers Is shown
bv the new records made and the
great number OF swimmers who have
come TO the front in the last three or
four years.