The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-06-29

brcust stroke, trudgeon, crawl and !
trudgeon-crawl, changing only to the |
extent OF meeting the requirements of |
the altered position of the body
The double over arm. better known
MS the English racing stroke, is practi-
caily an inverted breast stroke. The
arms start. from down alongside and
sweep upward i'm recovery pass
ing over the middle of the body-then
straighten above the head dip with
palms turned outward, catch the water
firmly and drive down to the thighs
with strong, even pun, straight at the
elbow, hands Slightly cupped, fingers
close together, thumbs uppermost, per-
forming a half circle just below the
surface.
The legs open with a downward and
outward movement, so that the knees
will not rise above water, then snap
upward and inward vigorously. This
gives double impetus to the drive, for
both the upward swing of feet and
shlns and the energetic closing of the
legs afford propulsion.
The opening Of the legs should begin
=
the snap together may be made as
soon as the arms attain full reach
above the head. During the arm pull
the legs trail on the surface, stretched
out and relaxed. with feet close and
pointing back, as IN standing on tip
toe. Particular attention should be
paid TO opening the legs very slowly,
as the movement is a negative one of
resistance.
1t is possible to use a narrow scissor
kick or crawl thrash with his stroke
instead of the frog kick, but these
drives adapt themselves far better TO
an alternate action Of the arms.
The back trudgeon, crawl and trudg-
eon-crawl all call for this alternate
arm pull, and the difference between
them is merely one of kick though il
is advisable to roll little more heavi
ly in the trudgeon and trudgeon-craw
in order to secure slanting and moro
effective direction in performing thu
narrow scissor prescribed.
In all three strokes the arms follow
one another equidistantly-na a,
one enters the water to drive the othe
y
perform the same movements, starting
from alongside, going up over the bod,
bent ut the elbow, then catching as th
body rolls and whipping down vigor
ously to the hips, comfortably e2
tended.
Leading authorities advocate a CON
paratively short reach on the pie
that il the arms are fully outstretche
the muscles are subjected to unneceE
sary strain. and there is also loss G
time and energy, for the first part {
the drive is then made outward, an
the applied pressure throws the swim
mer sideways instead of pushing hi
ahead.
In combining the scissor kick of Il
trudgeon with his arm stroke it is N,
possible TO make it quite horizonta
as the body does not roll sufficient
so the opening should be adjusted a
cOrlingly that the legs may rema
entirely submerged and find the wan
ed leverage.
In swimming the back crawl the lie
move up and down alternately al
continuously at whatever speed is su
able to the resources of the individu
md the distance to be covered. T
rhythmic thrashes consist of two, 70
and six beats to each complete stro
OF the two arms. like i'm the true GRAY
and It must be left to the swimmer
experiment and discover which bt
fits his natural characteristics.
1t IS still claimed by many that I
back crawl can be used only fer spri