Evening star., 1914-07-26

double over-ar So to settle the matter one of them
who champion swimmer, short
course, first with his alone and then using only
his legs. Time was taken with stop watch and the
time with the first method was not only better than that
of the other but better than the best time with
which this champion had ever been credited for the
particular distance In going at top speed then the
scissors kick actually hndered the swimmer From
this series of experiments led to what is known
the Australian crawl. This stroke with the
timing of the limbs as that used by horse in
trotting. the movement and the breathing being
practically the in the double over-arm.
The idea of limit of speed being reached with the
double in sprints led swimmers in America to
adopt what is known the American crawl the
movement, but the legs being worked ndepen-
IDENTIFY of the There were numerous variations of
this leg kcksome bent the knee, others bent the leg
both at the knee and at the thgh while recovered
the legs entirely of the water and yet others kept
the legs absolutely STILL with the pointed straight
back.
From the great success that the American swimmers
had with this stroke especially that of Daniels in break
ing every record up and including that of the mc it
was argued that the American method much the
better of the two; but recent developments and the
breaking of Daniels records have demonstrated that
the trottng horse te but with two kicks, futterS,
each pull superior. For instance, the pull of
the right accompanied by major leg drive fol-
lowed Immediately by minor drive The movement
is from the hips, with the knee little ben the heel
being all that reaches the surface of the The legs
for the major drive open from twelve to eighteen nches
the minor one being mere 1utter In addition de-
cided ankle movement is advocated and used by
On the upward kick the toes pointed toward the
shns and of their accord they point straight back
the downward movement
While it is pretty well agreed that the body should
roll from side to side and that the back be arched the
pull and recovery of the vary with the locality
Some keep the straight and rigid throughout the
entire stroke hooking the wrists slightly by forcing the
hands out and starting the pull directly in front of the
head, the hands, which follow the center line of the
body suddenly swerving the very last finish the
stroke at the outside of the hips The recovery for this
is made with the perfectly straight and parallel to
the surface with the thumbs slightly elevated and the
hands almost feathering the water. Others bend the
elbow and drag the forearm behind until with the
shoulders when it is suddenly shot forward take the
without bending the wrists. The in this
not in front of the head but to the sde the
being bent and not dipped so deep possible. This
admits of quicker stroke; but it is very stiff and
awkward appearing, though much in favor among
sprinters.
A common fault is to keep the head to one side in
stead of letting roll with the body, and another is
so that the hands almost under the elbows
thus having too much dead weight to carry through the
air and making the stroke too-literal crawl
The possibilities of the crawl stroke almost limit
less 1t is being applied to distance work. and has
been used for fortytwo miles in single swim. 1t is
certainly the stroke to teach the beginner and
some experts are beginning to claim that it and its
the back the only strokes necessary for
to learn to swim.
WHEN man first turned on his back to cough and
sputter he did more than decrease the danger
of drowning: he discovered the easiest of all methods
of keeping afoat. and most pleasant way of progress
sion. The first of all back strokes probably
simple sculling movement of the wrists and arms.
The first regular back stroke almost the
of the breast stroke The recovery and pull of the
little different but the kick, the breathing and the