The Swing
Let no one despise this exercise. It is worth learning, if only as a preservation against sea sickness. If any one can stand a twenty feet swing for half-an-hour, the sea may toss its worst, for he will come off unscathed. Now, I do not mean to say that merely sitting on a board and getting swung by some one else is any great object: far from it. But there are some very graceful exercises to be managed on the swing. Here are some:-- 1. The way to get into the swing is as follows:--Take one rope in each hand, just above the seat; walk backwards until the ropes are freely stretched. Now run sharply forwards, letting the hands glide up the ropes as far as possible, and the instant that you feel a check, grasp the rope tightly, and spring into the seat standing. When there, work easily up by alternately bending and straightening the knees. (See 1.) 2. When in good swing, slip the feet off the seat (which should not be more than four inches wide); let the hands slide down the ropes, and come down sitting. To recover the standing position, reach upwards with the hands as high as possible, and draw yourself upwards as the swing is going forwards, when the seat will place itself exactly under your feet. 3. Now for some feats.
Let the swing go very gently. Place both hands at the level of the shoulders, and suddenly extend them, keeping the arms straight. Take care, as there will be a violent vibration, and you will be shot out of the swing before you know where you are. Practise it first while the swing is still, but do not be satisfied until you can do it while in strong swing, and without closing the hands, merely letting the palms rest against the ropes. (See 2.) Swing still. Stand up on the seat, and grasp the rope with the hands as low as possible, without bending the body or the knees. Now lean forward, making your hands the pivot, and do not be astonished at finding your heels in the air, and your head downward. To recover yourself, the body must be bent a little. (See 3.) Stand sideways on the seat, grasp one rope with both hands leaning your back against the other, taking care to have the rope well between the shoulder blades. Put the inner centre of the left foot against the opposite rope, and fix the right foot in the same manner against the left heel. Now let go both hands, and lean well backwards, when you will be exactly balanced. When you are secure with a quiet swing, practise it while the swing is moving, until you can lie securely against the rope while you are moving freely. The balance is entirely kept by the shoulder blades against the rope, and the arms must be folded in order to throw the shoulder blades well back. If the gymnast gets alarmed, and puts his hands out to save himself, the rope slips off his back, and out he goes. (See 4.) While the swing is working, suddenly hang out at one side, supporting yourself by one hand on the rope, and one foot on the seat. Practise this on both sides. (See 5.) Seize the left rope with both hands, press the feet firmly against the ropes where they join the seat, and fall out forwards. The ropes will now cross, and when the swing is in full operation, the curves described are most elegant. To recover the ordinary position, wait until the swing is going backwards, and a powerful twist of the body will uncross the ropes, when the right hand should take hold of the right rope and steady the wing. (See 6.) When the swing is in motion, grasp the ropes as tight as possible, and raise the feet until they are high in air between the ropes. Take care of the balance in the back swing, as, if the body is suffered to bend backwards, the hands will hardly bear the strain. Now slide slowly and carefully down the ropes until the head rests on the footboard.
To make a telling exit from the swing, two ways may be adopted. First way:--Get the swing into a firm, steady movement, sit down, and bring both hands inside the ropes; and just as the swing has passed its centre, strike the seat away with the hands and you will shoot forward several yards. Take care to come down on the toes, and to lean well backwards as you eave the swing, as the impetus will bring you upright as you touch the ground. (See 7.) The second method is, to seat yourself in the same manner, and as the swing crosses its centre backwards, lean well forwards and strike away the seat. You will then be hurled backwards, and if your balance is good, will come to the ground in a very elegant attitude. Be sure to lean well forward, cross the feet, clasp the hands, and come down on the toes. (See 8.) Great care must be taken to lean well backward if you shoot out forwards, and well forwards as you shoot backwards, or in the one case you will come with your nose on the ground, and in the other you will find the back of your head rather damaged. So practise with gentle swings at first, and then increase. I have often done it with the swing at full speed, and in one instance in a public gymnasium, I shot so far forward that the spot was marked by a row of iron nails driven into the floor.
In a volume of this nature, it is impossible to give more than a comparatively slight sketch of any subject. I am sure, however, that if the reader will master even these short instructions in gymnastic exercises, he will be able to realize that great blessing, the sound body, in which only a sound mind can reside. His trained eye will be accustomed to measure instinctively any obstacle in his way, and the training of his body will enable him to put forth the full power of his muscles to overcome the obstacle. Dauger will lose half its perils to him who thus knows how to meet it. A strong rope will be as safe as a staircase to him; it will be perfectly indifferent to him whether his head or his heels be uppermost, and he will be enabled by the presence of mind which such studies engender to think out calmly modes of escape from danger which would instantly overwhelm those whose bodies are uninstructed. But even to pass by the question of utility, it is a duty of man to preserve his body in health, and to develop its powers. Every man would think himself wrong to neglect the mind; surely then, every man ought no less to think it wrong to neglect the body, which is made by the same mighty Hand that implanted the mind within it. Indeed, the neglected body is sure to injure the mind, and therefore those who improve their bodies are at the same time improving their minds.
I know one young man, who owes all his health, and probably his life, to gymnastic exercise. From his earliest childhood he was always ailing, and through the whole of his childhood was never suffered to sleep unwatched. When he entered upon manhood, the childish illness changed into annual fevers, which held their sway until lie had been for some time at one of the Universities.
His medical attendant advised him to take regular exercise, and recommended the study of gymnastics. He rapidly improved in health and strength, his fever has not attacked him for eight or nine years, and he actually led the gymnasium for a whole year.
Were I to have the charge of a school, I should consider the gymnasium as part of the regular school discipline, and take care that the boys were exercised as carefully in their bodily as their mental powers.