When the upper arm is about opposite the shoulder in its pull through the water, the legs should begin to open for the leg-stroke (fig. 9). They should be in position for beginning the kick when the hand leaves the water, and the kick should be completed and the legs straightened before the left hand is replaced ready for the next stroke.
A peculiar screw-like leg movement is the distinctive and most important feature of this style of over-arm swimming.
In describing it the best plan is to take the legs together as at the completion of a dive, and after the body has been turned on the side. The legs are opened, and brought together again simultaneously, the left or upper leg being kicked a little forward, the knee slightly bent, and the foot kept in its ordi nary positior, not allowed to hang free. The right or lower leg is bent aouble until the foot approaches the thigh, the tendon Achilles acting as a cut-water, and the foot swinging as on a hinge, so that there is really very little resistance. In the effective part of the stroke the left foot is sent a little forward, and then the whole leg is straightened with a stamp at the same time as the right leg meets it with a vicious kick. In the first part of the kick, the whole of the calf and instep of the right leg whip through the water, and in the second part, the wash from the top leg meets the swirl from the lower leg and sends the bndy forward. Both feet should be kept near the surface, except at the end of the stroke, when the right foot dips to come just under the left.
The time of the different parts of the over-arm stroke will be best understood by a glance at the diagram (fig. to).
The head, for fast bath swimming, should be kept straight on the shoulders ; but in open water it is better to keep it well up on the top shoulder. In a bath, it is possible to swim straight by looking at the side ; but in open water, some mark must be fixed upon at each end of the course, as high and as conspicuous as possible, so as to be of use as a guide. The body is sustained by the downward pull of the under-arm, whilst the sole of the upper foot, and the calf and instep of the lower leg, all act as inclined planes to force the body and legs to the surface.
Breathing should be regular, and in time with the stroke. The egress of air should be stopped at the back of the mouth by the tongue and uvula, instead of at the lips. In the latter
case, if water passes the lips, it is bound to go down the throat, whereas if the proper way is practised, use becomes nature, and the stoppage of the water seems to occur almost involuntarily ; it' washes in and out the mouth quite naturally: Inspiration's are taken during the forward swing of the top arm, and tions made from the mouth through the water at will, orelse through the nostrils.
There are, of course, slight variations from the orthodoX style of swimming over-arm. For instance, one of the best exponents, E. T. Jones of Leeds, used to take a decided kick with the upper leg, making a kind of double kick, yet giving time for the top leg to create a wash to meet the lower one ; but these variations need not be detailed, as hardly any two men swim exactly alike.
A confirmed breast-stroke swimmer, unless he has very con stant practice with a good over-arrn swimmer, will have 'great difficulty in changing his style, and it is perhaps best for • the learner, after practising the breast-stroke until he can swim too yards, to drop it completely until he has acquired the over-, arm, when he can perfect his breast swimming. With one or twa notable exceptions, the best-known over-arm swimmers. have never been fast breast-stroke swimmers, the alteration in the leg-kick after long practice in another style forming the difficulty.
In breast swimming each leg goes to the side. In over-arm swimming the top leg goes to the front, the lower leg behind, whilst the body must also be kept absolutely on its side, and not allowed to roll over as the upper arm is brought forward.
The best method of learning is to take hold of the rail at the side of the bath with the upper hand, and place the lower hand beneath it and against the side. The body should be turned on the side, fully extended, and the leg-movements as described should then be gone through. After considerable practice a few strokes should be attempted, but the upper arm should not at first be taken out of the water, or farther in front than the shoulder. If the body be kept on the side, it is impossible to take a breast-stroke kick without sending one leg out of the water, and it is, therefore, advisable that a friend, or preferably another learner, should be asked to see that the side position of the body is maintained throughout the practice.