If these directions be observed, the body will move from twenty-five to thirty feet under the water, then gradually rise to the surface and float onwards in a straight line ; the plunge terminating when the swimmer finds the air in the lungs ex hausted and is thereby compelled to raise the face.
When the body is rising to the surface after the dive, care should be taken that the head and arms do not come too far out, but remain well on the surface ; otherwise the impetus gained by the dive will be greatly lessened, and the distance of the plunge curtailed. The impetus of the dive tends to send the body well up after the immersion, but if the direction be not carefully guided by the head and arms, the swimmer simply rises, and, although his face be not exposed, sinks again on to the water instead of gliding slowly onwards.
To be a good plunger it is necessary first of all to be a clean diver, and well able to judge the angle at which to take the water when the height of the diving base from the surface varies, no matter how slightly, from that usually adopted for practice. If the legs are liable to sink, a slight drop of the head and bend of the knee will usually counterbalance this. As soon as the feet begin to sink, the onward movement almost if not entirely ceases, as they at once offer a dead resistance to the water, and it is at this point that previous practice in float ing becomes exceedingly valuable.
In order to hang on,' or otherwise expend to the greatest advantage the progressive power which has been gained from the dive, it is essentially important that the management of the breath should be made the subject of careful study, as it is the principal difficulty with which a plunger has to contend.
There is, of course, a great strain on the respiratory organs when a long plunge is being taken, and it will therefore be evident that immediately before the dive the lungs should be fully inflated with pure air, so as to allow the plunger to enter the water under conditions which will enable him to make the longest possible stay, with his mouth and nostrils below the surface, without undue strain.
There is another system of plunging which is but little practised now—that of entering the water feet first. The best known exponent of this method was Horace Davenport, Presi dent of the Amateur Swimming Association, and in his day a swimming and plunging champion who most successfully held his own for a number of years.
The swimmer stands on the side of the bath, inflates his lungs, and then leaps outward as far as he can, at the same time throwing his arms out beyond the head to the same position as in the ordinary plunge. The body must be forced well back, and then, with the legs, straightened and stiffened. The body must enter the water at a similar angle to that of the ordinary plunge. In practising this method great care must be exercised by the novice in the first few attempts, so as to avoid the danger of striking the side of the bath or the diving board with the head, as in the endeavour to get into the proper position one is apt to misjudge the distance which it is neces sary to leap.
if the plunger desires to rise to the surface quickly, the arms should be slightly dropped back, and the legs raised from the hips. In this method an unpleasant sensation is sometimes experienced by the pressure of the water in the nasal passages, and as this may cause the plunger to discontinue his efforts, the foregoing hint may be useful.