THE BOY’S OWN BOOK
OF
INDOOR GAMES AND RECREATIONS.
CHAPTER I.—GYMNASTICS.
By a Member of the London Athletic Club.
I.—Preliminary Hints as to Dress, Diet, and Exercises without Apparatus.
That fine old Latin motto, ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ (‘A vigorous mind in a sound body’), has stood the test of years, and happily its truth is day by day more forcibly asserting itself. The feeling is becoming general that body and mind ought to be developed to the utmost, for they are both gifts to us, divinely bestowed, and for the proper use of them we are responsible.
The benefits of judicious exercise to the human frame cannot be over-estimated. In these days of sedentary occupations, it becomes an absolute necessity, an antidote, in fact, to the labours of the brain. By its use the balance between mind and body is preserved.
Irrespective of the increased health that gymnastics impart, and the spring which they give to the mind, they possess one great advantage, namely, that they endow the gymnast with presence of mind in difficulties. In positions of danger how much better chance of escape those who have trained themselves to use their limbs will have over those who have not!
Foremost as we stand among nations, it is surprising that such indifference should have hitherto prevailed with regard to the development of the body. In many continental countries (Germany and Switzerland more especially) gymnastics form part of a boy’s education; here, at any rate until quite recently, they were indulged in only as an accessory, and often without the aid and direction of an experienced teacher. Boys are allowed to enter the gymnasium, make their own choice of apparatus (and they generally select that which requires the greatest skill), and, in imitation of some expert gymnast whose performances they have witnessed, attempt feats far beyond their strength, which can only be successfully accomplished after a systematic course of practice. The result is often positive injury, and always discouragement.
As in other things, there is no royal road to gymnastics. The learner must begin with simple and gentle exercises if he wishes to acquire a graceful and easy style, increasing them in difficulty in regular degree, according to his strength and progress. The extra time and trouble devoted to the simple exercises, in which lies the groundwork of the most ‘taking’ feats, will be acknowledged to have been well expended, and the acquirement of a cool, easy, and elegant style will prove sufficient recompense for having assiduously practised them.
The best material for dress is undoubtedly white flannel. A pair of trousers made to fit the legs tolerably closely, with plenty of room in the seat (not ‘baggy,’ of course), a close-fitting ordinary under jersey, minus the sleeves (to give freedom to the arms), and a pair of canvas shoes without heels, are all that are necessary for wear during actual practice. Add to these a loose jacket of medium thickness to slip on during intervals of rest, and you have your costume complete.