FLOATING, also, may well precede swimming. Many persons master it at the first trial ; every one should learn the knack as early as may be, for it helps with the swimming, and gives the learner confidence. It is, moreover, a most val uable accomplishment. With it, the tired or winded swimmer can wait in comfort to recover himself. No one, in fact, who cannot float should ever venture into water beyond his depth.
Individuals differ greatly in the ease with which they float. Women usually excel men ; plump, small-boned people do better than the lean and muscular. In general, one is floated either on his fat, or else by his lungs ; so that different in dividuals will float somewhat differently, as they depend most on one or the other of these. The former class has little to learn. The latter must often acquire the art of keeping the lungs always nearly full, especially at the bottom ; and breath ing, so to off the top.
Floating is almost entirely a matter of balance. The feet, hands, and head will always sink ; the chest will always float, and lift the other members. The arms, legs, and trunk are always close to the line, and may do either. The position of the head is fixed; the problem is to dis tribute the weight of the feet and hands so that the whole body will just balance on the chest as a fulcrum.
To learn the art, select shallow water; lie on the back, with feet inshore and on the bottom. The hands should extend at the side, and the finger-tips may at first touch the bottom. In this position, mas ter the side-to-side balance until the body can be kept from rolling. The head must be thrown well back, and submerged as far as possible. For most persons, this means that the water will cover both ears, and come up on the forehead almost to the eyes.
For the end-for-end balance, extend the arms horizontally at the sides, keep the hips high and the lungs full of air. At first let the heels rest on the bottom, but gradually, by slight rocking of the feet, try to work them clear of all sup port. Every movement must be made slowly and with much caution. A few fortunate persons can float in this posi tion. Nearly all, however, will find that the feet sink, and that more weight must be shifted forward.
In this case, carry the hands cautiously above the head ; do not bend the elbows very much, and be sure that nothing pro jects from the water except the face, and perhaps the front of the chest. Usually,
by the time the arms are stretched at full length over the head, where they are con veniently held by locking the thumbs, the feet will come up off the bottom. Oftentimes, it is sufficient to clasp the hands under the head. If holding the arms at full reach proves insufficient, it becomes necessary to reduce the leverage of the feet. For this the legs may be straddled apart, or bent to a right angle at the knee, or both. If these measures do not suffice, nothing remains but to fat up or to expand the lungs. Half the bat tle, however, is in getting the head well back, to take off as much as possible of the load of this especially dense member.
There are two adjuncts to floating, both of which are most convenient, especially when the water is too rough for floating low in it, or when one has to float suddenly with no time to catch the proper balance.
The first of these is a sort of pedaling movement with the feet, almost exactly like the movement of riding a bicycle. This serves to keep the feet up and leaves the arms free for other matters, such as undressing.
A still more useful device is a sculling movement of the hands, held at the sides opposite hips or waist. They move in and out from the body, the upper arm motionless, and the action at wrist and elbows. As the hands go out, both going out together, the little-finger side is carried higher than the other and as they come in, the slant is reversed. The hand is kept very flat, and really acts as an inclined plane to lift the body. A mo tion of six or eight inches, back and forth, is quite sufficient. Moreover, if the fingers are higher than the wrist, the body will move along headforemost. If the wrist is higher than the fingers, the body moves feet first.
This sculling movement is the basis of many amusing feats in the water ; for since the power is applied continuously, it is surprisingly efficient. A useful form of the back-stroke is swum with this movement in place of the usual pull of the arms. With it, the back-stroke may be swum with the head out of water. Taken alone, the sculling motion is a valuable means of resting ; for the action is so different from all other movements used in swimming, that it is the complet est possible change. Essentially, it is a device for floating high in the water.