The principal difficulty with this leg stroke, however, seems to be that the mus cles which lie on the inside of the thigh close up to the body and draw the two legs together get very little use in com mon civilized life except by persons who ride horseback. In consequence, they are both weak and ill-controlled. For this reason, most people will save time in the end, by going through a few simple exer cises for these muscles. Squeezing a chair seat or other fair-sized object between the knees is good; or standing a-straddle on a smooth floor, either in stocking-feet or on a rug, and then drawing the feet together with a straight leg. One can easily invent such exercises ; anything which draws the feet together will answer. Of all the sepa rate movements of all swimming-strokes, this breast-and-back-stroke kick is by far the most difficult.
The arm-action of the back-stroke, on the other hand, is the easiest of all. The arms, which have been lying at the sides during the slide, are bent a little at the elbows, and carried in the air nearly parallel with one another to a posi tion well in advance of the head. They are then straightened, dropped into the water, and brought down just beneath the surface to their resting position at the sides. The motion is essentially like rowing with two oars. During the stroke, as in all cases, the wrists should be bent, first forward and then back, so that the palm of the hand is at right angles to the long axis of the body. The only point where it is possible to go wrong with this stroke is in not carrying the arms well clear of the water on the recovery.
The breathing follows the usual rule : the breath comes in when the arms are under water. The head will lift a little with the pull of the arms, and the breath should begin to be taken in when this lift begins to be felt ; that is to say, when the arms are nearly down to the leve of the shoulders. It goes out during the recover, when the arms are in the air. This breathing is, unfortunately, a little artificial, for the natural impulse is to reverse the order and inhale as the arms go up.
Unlike all other strokes, the back stroke can be timed variously, taken with one slide or with two, and swum equally well, though not with equal speed, with the arms or without using the arms at all. Since, however, the back-stroke is essentially a resting stroke, the beginner at least should take it in slow time. The most leisurely method of all, and one of the most delightful of all ways of swim ming when the sun is warm and the clouds bright overhead, is : leg-stroke — slide ; arm-stroke — slide. Both slides are made with the arms at the sides, and endure until the swimmer feels inclined to move again. At this naturally, breath will be taken several times at each cycle. At full speed, the legs are drawn
up as the arms are brought down, the arms rest at the sides the kick, such slide as is allowed follows immedi ately after the kick. Then the arms are thrown above the head, and as they catch the water, the legs begin their recovery. Between these two timings, the swimmer can compromise almost any where. One of them at least should be mastered before entering the water.
There are various other forms of the back-stroke, but this is by far the com monest and most useful. Its very consid erable speed is due to the fact that the arms recover in the air, and so save both time and resistance ; and that the knees, at the point where they drag most heav ily in the breast-stroke, are in the back stroke several inches above the surface.
The back-stroke being really learned on land, it remains only to transfer it to the water. Beginners who have practiced faithfully the preliminary exercises, who are not afraid, who already know how to float, and who float easily, should swim the back-stroke at the first trial.
For this, begin in the water very much as with the side-stroke. Lie on the beach with the legs in the water, and practice the kick. Gradually work offshore into deeper and deeper water, supporting the body on the shoulders and hands at first, and later by the hands only, holding them opposite the hips so that the body balances. Don't bother with the arms. Learn the stroke with the legs only. After you can swim it freely, add the arm-stroke. In working off into deeper water, make haste slowly. Get off a foot or two at first and come aground again with one stroke. After this, move off farther and try two.
All beginners at this point make the same mistake — unfortunately, a most serious one. They should lie flat on the water, the hips at least as high as the shoulders ; and the head thrown back as far as possible, so that the ears are sub merged and the water comes almost to the eyes. A practiced swimmer, using legs only, can lift his head from the water and look round him, but the beginner must float every possible ounce of weight by keeping his head down. Instead, however, of keeping the hips up and the head down, the novice usually wants to have the water round his neck, and to swim sitting down. Then the drive of the legs, which should lift the body in the water, merely doubles it up. The correct position for the learner is as if he were lying crosswise in bed, with his head hanging back over the edge. Timid persons are often helped in learn ing this stroke by using " water-wings " placed at the waist. But the less of these the better. An instructor can help also by lifting lightly on the belt, preferably by means of a cord attached to a light and springy rod.