Part 3
Contains advice for beginners; how to become a figure skater, showing how to do all the different tricks of the best figure skaters. Pictures of prominent skaters and numerous diagrams. Price 10 cents.
No. 282—Official Roller Skating Guide.
Directions for becoming a fancy and trick roller skater, and rules for roller skating. Pictures of prominent trick skaters in action. Price 10 cents.
No. 178—How to Train for Bicycling.
Gives methods of the best riders when training for long or short distance races; hints on training. Revised and up-to-date in every particular. Price 10 cents.
Group XIV. Manly Sports
No. 140—Wrestling.
Catch-as-catch-can style. Seventy illustrations of the different holds, photographed especially and so described that anybody can with little effort learn every one. Price 10 cents.
No. 18—Fencing.
By Dr. Edward Breck, of Boston, editor of The Swordsman, a prominent amateur fencer. A book that has stood the test of time, and is universally acknowledged to be a standard work. Illustrated. Price 10 cents.
No. 162—Boxing Guide.
Contains over 70 pages of illustrations showing all the latest blows, posed especially for this book under the supervision of a well-known instructor of boxing, who makes a specialty of teaching and knows how to impart his knowledge. Price 10 cents.
No. 165—The Art of Fencing
By Regis and Louis Senac, of New York, famous instructors and leading authorities on the subject. Gives in detail how every move should be made. Price 10 cents.
No. 236—How to Wrestle.
The most complete and up-to-date book on wrestling ever published. Edited by F. R. Toombs, and devoted principally to special poses and illustrations by George Hackenschmidt, the “Russian Lion.” Price 10 cents.
No. 102—Ground Tumbling.
Any boy, by reading this book and following the instructions, can become proficient. Price 10 cents.
No. 289—Tumbling for Amateurs.
Specially compiled for amateurs by Dr. James T. Gwathmey. Every variety of the pastime explained by text and pictures, over 100 different positions being shown. Price 10 cents.
No. 191—How to Punch the Bag.
The best treatise on bag punching that has ever been printed. Every variety of blow used in training is shown and explained, with a chapter on fancy bag punching by a well-known theatrical bag puncher. Price 10 cents.
No. 200—Dumb-Bells.
The best work on dumb-bells that has ever been offered. By Prof. G. Bojus, of New York. Contains 200 photographs. Should be in the hands of every teacher and pupil of physical culture, and is invaluable for home exercise. Price 10 cents.
No. 143—Indian Clubs and Dumb-Bells.
By America’s amateur champion club swinger, J. H. Dougherty. It is clearly illustrated, by which any novice can become an expert. Price 10 cents.
No. 262—Medicine Ball Exercises.
A series of plain and practical exercises with the medicine ball, suitable for boys and girls, business and professional men, in and out of gymnasium. Price 10 cents.
No. 29—Pulley Weight Exercises.
By Dr. Henry S. Anderson, instructor in heavy gymnastics, Yale gymnasium. In conjunction with a chest machine anyone with this book can become perfectly developed. Price 10 cents.
No. 233—Jiu Jitsu.
Each move thoroughly explained and illustrated with numerous full-page pictures of Messrs. A. Minami and K. Koyama, two of the most famous exponents of the art of Jiu Jitsu, who posed especially for this book. Price 10 cents.
No. 166—How to Swing Indian Clubs.
By Prof. E. B. Warman. By following the directions carefully anyone can become an expert. Price 10 cents.
No. 326—Professional Wrestling.
A book devoted to the catch-as-catch-can style; illustrated with half-tone pictures showing the different holds used by Frank Gotch, champion catch-as-catch-can wrestler of the world. Posed by Dr. Roller and Charles Postl. By Ed. W. Smith, Sporting Editor of the Chicago American. Price 10 cents.
Group XV. Gymnastics
No. 104—The Grading of Gymnastic Exercises.
By G. M. Martin. A book that should be in the hands of every physical director of the Y. M. C. A., school, club, college, etc. Price 10 cents.
No. 214—Graded Calisthenics and Dumb-Bell Drills.
For years it has been the custom in most gymnasiums of memorizing a set drill, which was never varied. Consequently the beginner was given the same kind and amount as the older member. With a view to giving uniformity the present treatise is attempted. Price 10 cents.
No. 254—Barnjum Bar Bell Drill.
Edited by Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, Director Physical Training, University of Pennsylvania. Profusely illustrated. Price 10 cents.
No. 158—Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic Games.
A book that will prove valuable to indoor and outdoor gymnasiums, schools, outings and gatherings where there are a number to be amused. Price 10 cents.
No. 124—How to Become a Gymnast.
By Robert Stoll, of the New York A. C., the American champion on the flying rings from 1885 to 1892. Any boy can easily become proficient with a little practice. Price 10 cents.
No. 287—Fancy Dumb Bell and Marching Drills.
All concede that games and recreative exercises during the adolescent period are preferable to set drills and monotonous movements. These drills, while designed primarily for boys, can be used successfully with girls and men and women. Profusely illustrated. Price 10 cents.
No. 327—Pyramid Building Without Apparatus.
By W. J. Cromie, Instructor of Gymnastics, University of Pennsylvania. With illustrations showing many different combinations. This book should be in the hands of all gymnasium instructors. Price 10 Cents.
No. 328—Exercises on the Parallel Bars.
By W. J. Cromie. Every gymnast should procure a copy of this book. Illustrated with cuts showing many novel exercises. Price 10 cents.
No. 329—Pyramid Building with Chairs, Wands and Ladders.
By W. J. Cromie. Illustrated with half-tone photographs showing many interesting combinations. Price 10 cents.
GYMNASTIC AUXILIARY.
No. 333—Official Handbook Inter-Collegiate Association Amateur Gymnasts of America.
Edited by P. R. Carpenter, Physical Director Amherst College. Contains pictures of leading teams and individual champions, official rules governing contests, records. Price 10 cents.
Group XVI. Physical Culture
No. 161—Ten Minutes’ Exercise for Busy Men.
By Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, Director of Physical Training in the New York Public Schools. A concise and complete course of physical education. Price 10 cents.
No. 208—Physical Education and Hygiene.
This is the fifth of the Physical Training series, by Prof. E. B. Warman (see Nos. 142, 149, 166, 185, 213, 261, 290). Price 10 cents.
No. 149—The Care of the Body.
A book that all who value health should read and follow its instructions. By Prof. E. B. Warman, the well-known lecturer and authority on physical culture. Price 10 cents.
No. 142—Physical Training Simplified.
By Prof. E. B. Warman. A complete, thorough and practical book where the whole man is considered—brain and body. Price 10 cents.
No. 261—Tensing Exercises.
By Prof. E. B. Warman. The “Tensing” or “Resisting” system of muscular exercises is the most thorough, the most complete, the most satisfactory, and the most fascinating of systems. Price 10 cents.
No. 185—Health Hints.
By Prof. E. B. Warman. Health influenced by insulation; health influenced by underwear; health influenced by color; exercise. Price 10 cents.
No. 213—285 Health Answers.
By Prof. E. B. Warman. Contents: ventilating a bedroom; ventilating a house; how to obtain pure air; bathing; salt water baths at home; a substitute for ice water; to cure insomnia, etc., etc. Price 10 cents.
No. 238—Muscle Building.
By Dr. L. H. Gulick. A complete treatise on the correct method of acquiring strength. Illustrated. Price 10 cents.
No. 234—School Tactics and Maze Running.
A series of drills for the use of schools. Edited by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick. Price 10 cents.
No. 325—Twenty-Minute Exercises.
By Prof. E. B. Warman, with chapters on “How to Avoid Growing Old,” and “Fasting: Its Objects and Benefits.” Price 10 cents.
No. 285—Health by Muscular Gymnastics.
With hints on right living. By W. J. Cromie. If one will practice the exercises and observe the hints therein contained, he will be amply repaid for so doing. Price 10 cents.
No. 288—Indigestion Treated by Gymnastics.
By W. J. Cromie. If the hints therein contained are observed and the exercises faithfully performed great relief will be experienced. Price 10 cents.
No. 290—Get Well; Keep Well.
By Prof. E. B. Warman, author of a number of books in the Spalding Athletic Library on physical training. Price 10 cents.
No. 330—Physical Training for the School and Class Room.
Edited by G. R. Borden, Physical Director of the Y. M. C. A., Easton, Pa. A book that is for practical work in the school room. Illustrated. Price 10 cents.
SPALDING’S ATHLETIC LIBRARY GROUP XIV., NO. 102
Ground Tumbling
BY HENRY WALTER WORTH Formerly Physical Director of Armour Institute of Technology Chicago
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING COMPANY 21 WARREN STREET, NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT, 1910 BY AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING COMPANY NEW YORK
INTRODUCTION
❧
Oh, do you remember, how, when a small boy in the country, in the months of April, May, June, July, August and September (it mattered little what time of the year it was, just so the ice was out of the water), you used to run to the river at a “twelve-second gait,” make two simple twists of the wrist, thereby removing a waist and pair of trousers, and plunge into the water with speed equalled only by the rapidity with which you say your prayers on a cold night? Of course you do. Great fun, was it not? I used to think there was nothing like it. I could not get into the water quick enough. That was before I learned to turn the “back” and the “flip,” however.
After I learned to turn the back and forward somersault, when I was about eleven years old, I would linger on the bank, or soft sandy beach, “tumbling,” until I saw the other boys coming out to dress, then I would dive in, swim a few strokes, just to say I had been in swimming, come out and dress with the rest.
Like the proverbial “Wandering Willie,” the water lost much of its charm for me after I found what royal fun the turning and twisting on the bank afforded. I have wondered many times if the Almighty, when He created beaches like Manhattan, Rockaway and Nantasket, making them slope gently down to the water, and put the soft, but not too soft, yielding sand there, if He did not think how admirable they would be to “tumble” on.
Any one who has experienced the pleasure of a few “backs,” “flips,” “snap-ups,” etc., on the soft sand, immediately after donning the light bathing suit, will agree with me that it is “great fun.” And he who has never been taught, never practiced any acrobatic work, I hope will begin “easy” at first; a few simple feats and practice carefully every opportunity he has.
I am sure whoever takes an interest, tries, and advances as far as the “round-off,” “flip” and “back,” will feel fully repaid for all the time passed in learning. He will find so many opportunities of performing, and it will be a means of great pleasure to himself, if not to his friends.
Many of the acts can be performed in the parlor or in a very small space. However, they should never be _practiced_ in the parlor.
Now a few words upon the benefits, physical and mental, derived from practicing tumbling.
An expert tumbler has an everlasting faculty of always landing on his feet. If thrown from a horse, street car or carriage, like a cat that is dropped from a window, and the man who strikes a match on the sole of his boot, he always lights on his feet. There is a sort of wriggle or twist that a man who has practiced tumbling long can make in the air that will invariably bring him down feet first.
The mental benefit is derived from the pleasure found in practicing, as all recreation is a mental benefit. I feel that all I could preach, say or sing about the benefit of any certain exercise would be feeble indeed. Boys and young men—and they are the ones who will probably be most interested in this book—are not appealed to by advice on “what they ought to do.” They will never practice any of the feats described in this book for the good it will do them. They know that plenty of sleep is good for them, and they know that tobacco is bad for them; but it makes no difference.
This book is intended more for the boy who wishes to learn but does not know just where and how to begin. What we all need in this world is encouragement. I should like to encourage every boy who wishes to learn. Don’t be discouraged because it takes you so long to learn the handspring; when that is once learned, the other acts will be easier.
Do you remember the comparative lines used by a baking powder company in advertising their baking powder? There was the long line reaching nearly across the page, representing this firm’s powder, “Absolutely Pure.” Then there was the next line, not as long, representing some other firm’s powder—not as long a line, and not so pure a powder. Then there were other lines along down the list, shorter and shorter, until the last, which was only about an eighth of an inch long. Now, I think these lines might serve as an excellent illustration of the length of time it will require one to learn the different feats. Let the long line represent the length of time it takes to acquire the first trick; the practice for the first trick will help you with the second, the second with the third, and so on, so that when you have practiced and learned many feats the time required to learn each will grow shorter and shorter, although the acts grow harder.
This rule will apply to all athletic and gymnastic work as well as to tumbling.
To boys who are apt to get discouraged I love to tell of a boy I knew in Chicago. He was far below the average in natural ability when I first knew him—awkward and clumsy—but he became interested in gymnastic work and kept “everlastingly at it.” He fairly lived in the gymnasium. As a result of this faithful labor, in less than three months’ time he participated in a gymnastic exhibition, turning a forward somersault through a blazing hoop.
Practice, don’t be discouraged! You will probably never become as great an acrobat as one of the Nelson Brothers, but you will certainly find great pleasure and accomplish some good results by Ground Tumbling.
THE AUTHOR.
DIRECTIONS
❧
_1. The Switch._
This is an act which is easily performed and affords much amusement for spectators. Stand in an erect position with hands hanging at sides, spring up a foot-and-a-half from the ground and give a quick jerk or switch with the body and come down facing in the opposite direction. Do not jump around. The turn is made by a twist of the body, not with the feet or legs.
_2. The Sit Down._
Stand with the feet about one foot apart, bend over, keeping the legs perfectly straight, until the finger tips nearly touch the toes, then fall back to a sitting position on the floor. Do not bend the knees. If performed correctly this can be done on a very hard floor without hurting the performer in the least. (See illustration.)
_3. The Back Roll._
Performed the same as No. 2, only instead of stopping at the sitting position the performer rolls back on the shoulders and head, and with the use of the hands comes to a standing position on feet.
_4. The Fish Flop._
Lie on stomach, feet close together with the toes touching the floor. Place hands on sides, near ribs, flop over onto back with help of hands and feet, keeping the body perfectly rigid. (See illustration.)
_5. The Front Roll._
Stand with heels close together, toes turned out. Bend over, place hands on floor about one foot apart and about a foot-and-a-half in front of feet, bend head in toward body and touch the back of head on floor between hands and, with a push from the feet, roll over on back and up onto feet again. “Curl up” in doing this act. Bring feet well under body.
_6. The Cart Wheel._
Stand erect, throw left hand hard down on the floor, about two feet from the left foot, follow with the right hand, two feet from the left hand, then the right foot down about two feet from the right hand, and so on. The feet and hands should be placed as nearly on a straight line as possible. Arms and legs moving like the spokes in a wheel, hence the name.
_7. The Round-off._
This may be done with either running or standing start. Strike hands on ground in front of feet, letting the left strike a little before the right, as in the cart-wheel. Place them about ten inches apart, at the same time swing the body over and around, so as to land in a sitting position directly opposite the one in starting.
_8. The Handspring._
Possibly the most common acrobatic feat. May be done from running or standing start; strike hands hard on the ground, turn head under and in, throw feet over head and as they begin to come down give a hard spring or push up with the hands, curling feet down and back under body and coming to standing position, facing the same way as when starting.
_9. The One-hand Handspring._
Same as No. 8, except that but one hand is used. The weight of the body should be brought well over the hand used.
_10. The Headspring._
Instructions same as for No. 8, only the spring is made from the head instead of the hands. (See illustration.)
_11. The Snap Up._
Lie on back, carry feet up and back over head so that the toes nearly touch the ground, bearing the weight on the back of head, neck and shoulders. The hands should be placed on the ground near shoulders and neck. Give a quick hard whip with the feet and legs over toward first position and a hard snap or push up with the neck, shoulders and hands. With a little practice it can be done without the aid of the hands. It is a pretty act and a good “finish” to every act ending with a fall on the back. (See illustration.)
_12. The Elephant Walk._
A comical contortion act. Place hands on floor in front of feet as near to toes as possible. Do not bend the knees. Walk.
_13. The Long Dive or Lion’s Leap._
This is a long dive made on the mats or some soft place, much as one dives into the water. Take a short run, strike both feet at the same time on a spot about five feet from the mat, make a dive toward the centre of the mat striking first the hands, then the head (which should be well turned down and under), allowing the force of the dive to be about equally divided between the hands, neck, head and shoulders. Curl up well as in No. 5.
_14. The Hop Over Hand and Foot._
Grasp left foot with right hand, with thumb of right hand under great toe joint; fingers of right hand over top of toes with backs of fingers up. Jump over hand and foot with right foot. The point to be observed in performing this trick is to keep the right hand and left foot perfectly still while jumping with the right. If moved, they are apt to trip the foot when jumping. This is excellent practice in developing quickness in handling the feet, which is an important factor in tumbling.
_15. The Hop Back._
Jump back to original position from finish of No. 14. Try the same trick with both feet over and back.
_16. The Jump Over Stick in Hands._
Practice this with a cane or rattan that can be bent down while jumping over. Grasp stick with ordinary grasp, hands placed as far apart as the width of shoulders. Jump over stick between hands, keeping stick in hands. Jump back.
_17. The Jump Over Hat._
Same as No. 16, except jump is made over hat held in hands.
_18. The Jump Over Razor-Blade._
This should never be practiced until the performer can successfully jump over short lead pencil held in hands. It is a “stage trick” that takes well and usually makes a hit. It should be done with a razor-blade so dull that if struck with the feet it would do no harm. Hold the blade of the razor in the hands so loosely that if tripped upon by toes it would easily slip from hands without injury.
_19. The Jump Over Hands._
This is one of the prettiest and most difficult acts that is performed. Entwine the fingers together and jump through the arms and over the hands. It may take months of practice to get this feat, but, when once learned, the legs will be so supple and quick that nearly all other acrobatic feats will come easier in consequence. (See illustration.)
_20. The Twist Handspring._
Performed the same as No. 8, only, after touching the hands, the body gives a quick turn or twist to the right or left so as to finish the act facing in position used in starting.
_21. The Twist Snap-Up._
Same as No. 11, only the body gives a quick turn or twist to the right or left after the shoulders leave the ground so that the finish is made opposite the position taken in starting.
_22. The Cradle._
First do the snap-up, No. 11, and immediately after landing fall back onto the shoulders, neck, head and hands as in the snap-up, then snap back to feet and continue to rock back and forth.
_23. The Kicking Jackass._
Stand with heels close together, jump onto hands, with the feet carried well back and the back arched. Then spring (not fall) back to the feet from the hands and continue the movement. Be sure that the feet leave and strike the ground together, also the hands. Do not “crow-hop,” that is, don’t strike first one foot and then the other, a sort of “ker-flap,” “pit-pat” sound.
_24. The Curl._
Stand erect, fall slowly forward on the hands, keeping the body perfectly straight. Break the force of the fall by letting the arms bend slightly, but straighten them immediately. Curl up, bringing the knees well up toward the chin and carry the feet through between the hands, not letting them touch the floor; extend legs in front of arms, curl up again, carry feet back through hands and straighten into the “handstand.” This is a difficult feat, but it may be practiced with perfect safety. It is excellent practice for developing the muscles of the stomach and abdomen. (See illustration.)
_25. Running Forward Somersault._
Take a quick run of about twenty yards, strike both feet together on the mat or floor. Jump well into the air, duck the head down and in, and try to describe a half circle through the air, with the feet landing in a position, the same direction as when starting. It is well to practice this over a very soft place, having a board or some hard object to turn from and land into hay, shavings, soft sand, sawdust or tan-bark. When one has a soft place on which to practice he should go at it boldly; he will then be less apt to jar himself. A quick hard run is the important thing, and a leap of about five feet should be made before striking the take-off. (See illustration.)
_26. The Back Somersault._
This is done from a standing position. Get two men to hold you up while trying. The “lungers” that are generally used in the gymnasium—“coward-strap” they are called—may be used with perfect safety. However, I think the best kind of strap is a long strong towel.