HOCKEY AND INDIAN CLUBS
$Hockey.$--Hockey is a game which has become very popular in England
during the past few years. It is generally believed to be a southern
form of the Highland game of shinty, the great game of the clansmen
in years gone past, and still played in many of the northern glens,
notably on the Dumbartonshire side of Loch Lomond. The hockey of the
North is not played according to any scale of points, the winning
team being that which secures most goals; in the South, where it is
frequently played on ice as well as on _terra firma_, certain marks of
merit are awarded, after the style of Rugby Union football.
The modern hockey stick is to some extent an artificial contrivance
after the style of the driver or play club of golf. Indeed, to golf
it bears some little semblance, and strangers frequently confound
the two pastimes. The Scottish school-boy, when hockey comes on in
its turn with other recreations of the playground, sets out for the
woodlands with a strong, sharp pocket-knife. He examines carefully all
the hedge-rows to see if there is any young plant which has a natural
turn at the end. If he can find such with a three feet shaft and a
four-inch crook at the end he sets to work there and then, and in due
time his "shinty" or hockey stick is pruned and ready for the game. The
full-grown Highland player will possibly provide himself with a very
heavy oak sapling, and with this he will strike powerful strokes, with
his right hand, or both hands if required, when in a close contested
maul or fray in front of the goal. These naturally-grown clubs have
more spring in them than those of artificial make, but unless they are
carefully bound with cord the head is apt to give after a little hard
play.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A good deal of the art of the game consists in passing or nursing, as
in Association football. A novice would strike the knag or knob away
from him as soon as he had obtained his opportunity. Not so the adept,
who would "dribble" it forward, to use a football phrase, a few yards
at a time, work it on to his partner, back up, and keep following it,
then, with one swinging blow, make a shot for goal. In hockey on the
ice the dribbling game is seen to most advantage, as the skilful skater
can take the knag a hundred yards or more by adroit nursing or passing;
were he to strike it away with the first blow the chances are that it
would be immediately returned with interest, and a goal scored to the
opposite side.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
In the Highlands it is a grand sight to see two opposing bodies of
clansmen--met as of old they met with targe and claymore--to fight
out a friendly game. Everything is cast aside but shirt and kilt,
and bare-headed and bare-legged the contestants seem to have walked
out of the picture of some ancient Highland foray. Striking off in
mid-ground the welkin soon rings with their shouts in Gaelic, their
cheers and expostulations. Blows that were meant for the knag sometimes
fall heavy upon an opponent's knees, and soon legs are to be seen
streaming with blood. In the heat of the play they feel it not, though
next day they will possibly not have a part of their under limbs
without bruises between ankles and knees. With terrific swing Donald
or Duncan, who stands six-feet two in his socks, will drive it like
a cannon ball through the air; and arrested by Malcolm's head in its
flight the latter drops like a stone, only to recover his senses in
a minute again and go off in wild pursuit. When the sun sinks, the
game is proclaimed over, and both sides shake hands, dress, and depart
homeward, well pleased with their sport, no matter whether they may
have won or lost.
[Illustration]
$Indian Clubs.$--Club swinging, if carried out in the correct style,
brings almost every muscle into play, develops the chest and arms,
imparts an easy carriage to the figure, and, if persevered in, under
proper conditions to be hereafter mentioned, will ultimately enable
the most round-shouldered individual to assume that lissom and
perpendicular attitude which is the characteristic of the finished
athlete.
First let me impress upon you the importance of avoiding heavy clubs
when you commence the exercise, or even after becoming moderately
proficient. Difficult feats are not easy to accomplish with very heavy
clubs, besides the latter, instead of strengthening the muscles, are
more likely to produce the opposite effect. Directly the club is heavy
enough to sway you about on your feet, the exercise is doing you harm,
and your attitude will appear ungraceful. Should you be ambitious to
swing very heavy clubs, be advised to proceed cautiously, and gradually
increase the weight at long intervals. Clubs recommended for ordinary
use should weigh between 1-1/2 and 2 lbs. each, as that weight affords
plenty of muscular exertion to strong and comparatively weak men alike,
especially in difficult exercises. After becoming fairly proficient
with the lighter weights, heavier clubs might be used with advantage,
say three or four pounds each, but a practised athlete of great
muscular power may safely swing clubs of twenty pounds or more. A club,
say twenty-two inches in length, made of willow which should weigh
about 1-1/2 lbs., is the most suitable for young boys or ladies. The
club should be well tapered towards the top and artistically shaped:
an ill-shaped club is a very awkward and unsatisfactory instrument.
In nearly all exercises the feet should be some distance apart in
proportion to your height: for a man of five feet nine inches, about
the proper distance between heels would be seventeen inches. For many
exercises the shoulders should be kept square to the front, while in
others it is necessary to turn more or less to the right or left. If
the shoulders are turned through half a right angle, reckoning from
the position with the shoulders square, the shoulders are said to be
half-right or half-left; if the shoulders are turned through a complete
right angle, the shoulders are considered full right or full left as
the case may be. Style is a most important item to be considered,
not only for the sake of appearance, but also in order that the
utmost physical benefit may be derived from the exercise. An eminent
authority, in speaking of style, remarks: "If you swing clubs without
regard to style, you will naturally contrive to cast almost all the
labour upon your strongest muscles, so that the exercise, instead of
searching out and strengthening your weak points, will merely tend to
increase the muscles which are already disproportionately developed;
whereas, if you attend carefully to style, you will be compelled to
bring a great variety into play, so that your weakest muscles will be
at first most severely taxed, and will gradually become developed in
proportion to those which are naturally strong."
It is necessary that the knees be kept straight and the muscles of the
legs well braced, as there is a tendency at first, especially with
heavy clubs, to let the knees bend in the course of certain movements;
the head should be carried erect, and should turn with the shoulders,
so that you always look in a direction at right angles to the line of
the shoulders. The best way to keep the head steady and in its proper
position is to fix the eyes on some point a trifle above their own
level, in a direction at right angles to the line of the shoulders for
the time being. Should you allow your eyes to wander, you will find
it impossible to keep the head steady. In summing up the chief points
relating to style, the following should be kept in view, viz.:--
(1) All unnecessary movement of the body should be avoided, the head
should be carried erect, and the feet firmly placed at a distance apart
in proportion to your height.
(2) In swings, keep the arm as nearly straight as possible; in twists,
the hand should be kept almost in the same place throughout the
movement.
(3) The movement of the club should be kept even, and avoid all abrupt
or sudden changes of pace.
(4) The clubs should be kept in accurate turn with each other.
In order to correct your own style, a good plan is to practise before a
looking-glass.
The proper position for holding the club before beginning an exercise
is called "the carry." Stand erect and grasp the club with the right
hand, lift the club and hold it up vertically, with the hand just in a
line, and not raised higher than the shoulder.
Club exercises are divided into four series. The first, called Outward,
are those in which the right club moves in the same direction as the
hands of a clock facing you, whilst the left club moves against the
hands of the clock.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
Inward exercises are those in which these conditions are entirely
reversed, and parallel exercises are those in which both clubs swing
with or against the clock. Windmill exercises are explained at Fig.
2, the subject is made clear in Fig. 1, where, for the sake of
simplicity, both hands are holding the same club; the right hand, which
is travelling in the same direction as a clock facing the athlete,
is making an outward circle, as the left hand is working against the
clock, the left hand is making an inward circle, and as both hands are
swinging with the clock, a parallel exercise would be in progress, if
there were two clubs instead of one as shown in the illustration.
The outward front swing follows "the carry" as a natural consequence.
Straighten the arm completely till the hand is above and about three
inches in front of the shoulder; the point of the club should then
be allowed to move slightly forward, with the wrist turned in, then
let the hand and club move to the right, the arm being kept straight,
and the club being kept in a straight line with the arm throughout
the movement. A circle can then be described and a return made to the
initial position.
To make this description more easily understood, I have a capital
illustration in front of me, and I cannot do better than quote it.
"If you were to stand with a wall about ten inches in front of you,
the point of the club, would, in the preparatory position, just touch
the wall at the highest point you could reach with the club; and as
you did the swing, the point of the club would always touch the wall,
and, if it were chalked, would draw a circle on the wall, of which the
radius would be as nearly as possible equal to the length of your arm
and the club together."
This is one of those simple-looking movements which are by no means
easy of accomplishment. The arm should be kept straight with the arm
and the club in a line, and avoid stooping as the club passes in front
of the legs. Beginners should practise front swings, and follow them up
until they are done with before attempting anything else.
CIRCLES, SWINGS, AND TWISTS.--It should be noted that circles are
divided into "swings" and "twists". The club and forearm acting in
a straight line during the movement would come under the heading of
"swings," whilst circles swung from the wrist with the hand as a centre
point are reckoned as "twists." Some of the very advanced movements,
however, unite the characteristics of both swings and twists, and it is
difficult to say under which heading they should be classed.
Fig. 2 illustrates the outward front swing with both clubs. The
exercise shown is a cross windmill, the performer with both clubs
straight above the shoulder swings the left club outwards; so soon as
the left club points downwards he will swing the right club outwards,
and it will arrive at the lowest point just as the left club has
completed its circle.
THE OUTWARD BACK TWIST.--From "the carry," raise the hand a little
above the shoulder, passing it slightly to the rear, so that the
forefinger is level with and within two inches of the lobe of the ear,
the elbow being raised to the right till it is nearly as high as the
shoulder, allowing the club to slope a little backwards from the hand.
From this preparatory position, let the point of the club move to the
right, and, keeping the hand close to the ear throughout the movement,
a circle can be described by the point of the club.
In this twist get the point of the club sufficiently to the right
and to the rear as the club descends, in order to avoid letting the
point of the club pass too far to the rear as it ascends. Care should
be taken to keep the hand in the same place throughout the twist,
and don't duck the head forward during the ascent of the club. This
tendency is produced by the fear of a blow on the head while the club
is travelling in its upward course.
WINDMILL EXERCISES.--The exercises known as windmill are very
interesting. As in parallel exercises, the one club does outward
circles and the other inward circles, keeping exact pace with each
other, the one being always half a circle ahead of the other;
therefore, when one club points straight up, the other points straight
down, so that when viewed from the front, the clubs appear always to
point in exactly opposite directions. A windmill exercise is difficult
to learn, but when grasped, you should at once tackle the corresponding
form on the other side.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Fig. 3 shows the inward back twist being cross windmilled.
THE OUTWARD CROSS FRONT TWIST.--In this twist the hand should be kept
close to the left breast throughout the movement, and as the club
descends, turn the wrist out and bend it over, the while turning the
wrist out as the club ascends till it is horizontal on the left, again
turning it sharply as the club finishes its ascent. Twists similar to
the cross front twist may be performed with the hand above or below the
height of the shoulder, also a cross front twist may be done with the
hand at the height of and in front of either the right or left hip.
Avoid letting the clubs go too far forward while they are below the
horizontal, and too far back during the higher part of the movement.
Each front swing should be done in good style, and endeavour not to
stoop as the clubs pass each other when they begin to ascend.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4A.]
Fig. 4 shows the outward cross front twist with the right hand at
arm's length, whilst the left club is simultaneously making an outward
back twist at arm's length, it must be noted, that although the right
club is moving towards the performer, yet as it is moving in the same
direction as the hand of a clock, parallel, and in front of the twist
made, it is called an outward twist.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
Fig. 5 shows an outward back twist at arm's length with the right club,
the left club is making an outward front twist, the only difference
being, that the circle is made with the left club entirely in front of
the left arm, instead of in the rear of it.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.]
Fig. 6 shows an inward swing with the right club done simultaneously
with an inward swing with the left club. This exercise can be made into
a cross inside windmill in the same way that Fig. 2 can be made into a
regular outside exercise, instead of being a cross outside windmill.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.]
Fig. 7 shows an inside back twist at arm's length above the head and
an inward cross front twist at arm's length downwards, the connecting
inward front swings being also shown. This is very difficult.
PARALLEL EXERCISES.--These consist of an outward circle with one
club and an inward circle with the other, in which the two circles
are begun together, and in which the two clubs keep exact pace with
each other throughout, consequently both clubs appear to be always
parallel to each other. This is called a "parallel" combination. When
the various parallel combinations have become familiar to the learner,
he may continue such combinations in succession to each other and
profit thereby. Parallel exercises are considered the greatest test of
proficiency with clubs, as the slightest error will cause a divergence
of the clubs and be at once detected.
Endeavour to master a parallel combination thoroughly, and then the
combination on the other side will come easy enough.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.]
Fig. 8 shows a parallel exercise, an inward front swing with R. being
done simultaneously with an outward front swing with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.]
Fig. 9 shows an outward back twist with R. and an inward cross twist
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.]
Fig. 10 shows an inward back twist with R. and an outward back twist
with L., followed by an inward front swing with R. and an outward front
swing with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.]
Fig. 11 shows an inward back twist with R. and an outward front swing
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 11A.]
Fig. 11A shows an outward front swing with R. and an inward back twist
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.]
Figs. 12, 13, 14 show some of the movements of clubs as generally
practised on the Continent, but we consider dumb-bells more suitable
for lunging movements.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.]
Figs. 15, 16 show some wrist exercises, which are sufficiently plain to
need no explanation.
Fig. 14 shows the outward cross front twist with the R. hand near left
breast, while the left club is making an outward front swing; the
corresponding movement would be an outward cross front with the L.
whilst the R. made the outward front swing.
MISCELLANEOUS CIRCLES.--Circles which may be done with the arm passed
behind the neck, and the hand brought forward over the left shoulder,
require extraordinary length of arm and elasticity. Circles are
sometimes done in which the centre of gravity of the club is caused to
remain stationary while the hand moves in a circle, which conveys the
impression that the club is revolving about an axle through its centre
of gravity. These are difficult movements, and very attractive.
THROWING THE CLUBS.--These exercises require great dexterity before
satisfactory results can be obtained. To let go the club and cause it
to turn twice or more in the air and catch it again, is a feat that
entails endless practice. Dealing only with the right club, a few brief
notes regarding some of the simpler movements must suffice. (1) Perform
an outward front swing, and as the club approaches the horizontal in
its ascent let it go, and after it has made one revolution in the air
catch it again; this is the outward throw. (2) The inward throw is an
exact counterpart of the outward throw, but done by an inward swing.
(3) "The double outward throw" and "the double inward throw" are done
by allowing the club to turn twice before catching it. There are
endless varieties of other throws, all of which allow unlimited action,
as the shoulder cannot be kept strictly in position, because the clubs
have to be carefully watched while they are in the air.
Without doubt, Indian club exercise is an attractive pastime, and
entails no strain on the system, unless by the foolish practice of
using too heavy clubs.