Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1908-05-07
Athletic Exercises
and Sports for Boys

climb to the sixth flight OF an apart
ment house without losing breath. In
the first place, keep the body as erect
as when walking on level ground.
Keep the shoulders squared. the mouth
shut; breathe regularly, raise each
foot to the next stair as II walking on
a floor, rising on the ball OF the foot,
and not bending the legs any more
than necessary. Let the arms hang
loose at the side or clasped loosely be-
hind you. Lift the foot no higher than
is necessary In order to reach the next
| step.
Climb stairs In this fashion and you
will help heart, lungs and muscles, In
stead Of putting an undue strain on
all three. This caution as to stair
climbing Is less trivial than II may ap-
pear. More than one person climbing
long fight OF stairs has dropped dead
at the top.
come now to somewhat more adj
vanced athletics, the sort that no boy
can safely take up to any extent until
he Is at least IA.
refer to boxing, bag-punching,
fencing. football, etc.
These are all exercises within the
reach OF every healthy boy. A lad need
not be a "bruiser" or paragon OF
weight and hard muscle to excel In
them.
Boys Should Learn Boxing.
The first three-boxing, fencing and
bag .punching-should be made part
OF every boys education. They not
only bring strength, endurance and
activity, but they teach boy to think.
They teach him to use his brain as
well as his body.
Parents whose boys come home
from school with black eyes, bleeding
lips and torn clothes are wont to think
the injuries are due to boxing-or
! fighting, which in many persons minds
means the same thing. Now those
boys have not been boxing at all.
They've been in rough and tumble
fight. Between "scrapping" and box
ing there Is as much difference as be.
tween a three-year-old baby's strum-
ming on the piano and Paderewski's
playing Of the same instrument.
Instead of being vent for Ill tenn
per and quarrelsome disposition, box
ing is the best method know OF for
teaching a boy self-control. More
over, the skilled boxer Is usually the
last person to look for fight. Conf
dent in his superior skill and prowess,
he generally avoids a quarrel as long
as possible.
The boxer, too, learns to take heavy
blows without flinching. and gains
therefrom not only endurance but in
creased good temper. The boxer who
loses his temper is universally scorned
and is as thoroughly sent to Coven-
try" as though he were caught steal
ing. Self-control and fair play are the
keynotes of this finest Of exercises.
What have said of the mental ad-
vantages of boxing will be borne out
by all persons who have given 1t fair
trial. The mother who forbids her
boy to box because It Is brutal Is de-
frauding him of one of the greatest ad-
vantages he could possibly have.
So much for the mental side Of the
manly art" From merely physical
standpoint boxing develops every mus
Gle of the body as does no other exer
else; makes a boy quick on his feet;
trains the eye, and brings the various
parts of the frame into better CO.
ordination.
The main thing for boys to remem-
Der in handling gloves is that quick
ness counts for everything, and that
merely heavy blow counts for moth
ing. Slugging is not boxing. The
trained boxer can easily beat the mere
slugger. Moreover. you are boxing
with the idea Of REINFORCEMENT; not
in the hope of hurting your opponent.
or course, now and then heavy blow
cannot be avoided. The recipient
should understand that It was accl-
dental and should bear no malice nor
turn friendly bout into o smuggling
match.
Never box longer than three minutes
at most without stopping to rest for at
least one minute. Don't box in dila-
tory fashion, but keep at 1t quickly and
steadily as long as the round lasts. In
the rests" no matter how warm you
may be. put q coat or sweater on and
keep out Of draughts. 1t is after the
real work is over that the average
athlete is most often injured. It Is at
such times a fatally easy matter to
catch a severe cold or to acquire rheu-
matism.
Get Punching Bag.
Bag punching is inseparably linked
to boxing. Every boy who can do 30
should save up" to buy a punching
bag. II possible. hang It In your room
ana, as part Of your morning and