THE SIDE-STROKE This method of progression through the water was at one time considered the best style of swimming for racing purposes, but the advent and perfection of the over-arm and strokes have caused it to become almost obsolete. It is now rarely taught, or even practised, except for the purposes of exhibition. The leg-stroke in side-swimming is similar to that which will be described under the heading of over-arm swimming,' the latter style being an improvement on the former. Before side-swimming was perfected, the breast-stroke kick of the legs was used by many swimmers, and although the body was upon its side when the upper arm was being drawn through the water, the recovery was made upon the breast. In a treatise on the 'Art of Swimming,' by Captain P. H. Clias, which was published early in the nineteenth century, the system of side-stroke swimming taught by the author, about the year 1809, is thus described The body is turned either upon the right or left side, and the feet perform their usual motions.. The arm from under the shoulder stretches itself out quickly, at the same time that the feet are striking. The other arm strikes at the same time with the impelling of the feet.
The hand of the latter arm begins its stroke on a level with the head. While this hand is again brought forward in a flat position, and the feet are contracted, the stretched-out hand is, while working, drawn back towards the breast, but not so much impelling as sustaining. As swimming on the side presents to the water a smaller surface than on the waist (breast), where rapidity is required, the former is often preferable to the latter.
It may be of interest here to state that the grandsons of Marshal Bliicher were taught this system by Clias. Since then numerous persons have posed as 'inventors or originators of the stroke, but, as we have previously pointed out, some such method was known to the ancients.
Gradual improvement in the leg-kick led to the develop ment of the arm movement. The upper arm was usually carried through the water for the recovery in a half-bent posi tion, and, in making the propelling stroke, the palm of the hand was turned towards the feet, and swept in a line from the forehead to the hips, within a few inches of the body. As soon as the arm approached the hips, the recovery move ment was begun, the arms being folded and pushed through the water with the hands turned sideways, thumbs uppermost. Another method of propulsion with the upper arm was that known as the 'scull' stroke, the arm then being stretched to its fullest extent, and swept round in a semicircular direction from the head to the hips, the recovery being effected in the ordinary way.
Side-stroke swimming may be used when the first few attempts are made to acquire the over-arm stroke, as it will give the learner the opportunity of gradually passing from the breast to the side, and be more likely to teach him the exact position in which to keep his body in the water, in order to gain the greatest momentum. The chapter on over-arm swimming should, however, first of all be studied, so that the principles of the modern leg-kick may be known.