GROWING MUSCLES
Whenever the cadets leave the seclusion of West Point and appear in
public in uniform, their erect carriage, their smart tight-fitting
dress coats that show off their broad muscular shoulders and slender
waists never fail to excite favorable comment and praise. It most
generally finds expression from a group of giggling maidens who evince
a great curiosity about the cadets’ slender waists, either openly
remarking that they are artificial or more specifically assuring
themselves, when advantage can be taken of a cadet, by poking the gray
bound torso around the middle line, timidly asking him if he wears
corsets, a remark that usually serves as an introduction to a harmless
flirtation.
The splendid set-up of the cadets is not, however, due to stays,
whalebones in the dress coats, Dr. Quack’s abdominal bandages, or to
any other mechanical appliances. It is the result of a very highly
intelligent system of physical training, to which the supple young body
of the cadet is submitted for four years. Naturally, little by little
his muscles, through exercise, attain their proper development, and
since no one set of muscles is neglected, the body gradually assumes
a well-rounded, finished appearance. The material for instruction is
good and healthy, because all of the cadets have been submitted to a
rigid physical examination before entrance. They are not, however,
all perfect specimens, for many possess minor defects and blemishes,
unimportant as far as affecting their military value to the Government,
but which can be eradicated by proper physical training.
The instructor of physical training is greatly aided in his actual
work, by the kind of life the cadet leads, so that he has not to
struggle with a crowd of men who after having received physical
training daily, indulge themselves to their heart’s content. He has,
on the contrary, a set of young men who live under the strictest and
simplest conditions in a healthy environment, and whose diet is most
wholesome. No late suppers, no beer, no rich food are at work to keep
up the rotundity of the stomach, the _coram nobis_ of the Romans, or
to produce a lot of flabby fat, but good cereals, nourishing meats and
vegetables, even the despised “slum,” are indirect factors in keeping
healthy the cadet’s body.
West Point believes that for a man to do the best mental work,
his body must be in the best condition. The Academy was the first
educational institution in the country to recognize that hand in hand
with the student’s mental training must go the proper development
of his physical powers. As long ago as 1817, Captain Partridge, the
Superintendent of the Military Academy, incorporated in the curriculum
bodily exercises. Since that time the importance of physical training
in the cadet’s course has been given recognition, but frankly there
was no real system of physical training until 1846. A gymnasium was
then prepared and instruction given by First Lieut. H. C. Wayne, First
Artillery. This was a beginning, but the authorities were hampered
by lack of equipment, and also by no very great knowledge of how to
proceed. The science of physical training was in its infancy, it must
be remembered, but crude as was the instruction it was the genesis of
the splendid course that now exists.
For a long period after the Civil War, 1865-1882, cadets attended the
gymnasium as they saw fit, a system that was no system. The original
course from which the present course has developed was inaugurated in
February, 1885.
The daily routine at the Academy is extremely exacting and hard, and
I doubt very much if a large number of men could stand the strain and
daily grind of the Academic year, if they were not physically prepared
to meet its requirements. Since all Academic duties are suspended
during part of June, July, and August, in order to devote these
months to practical military instruction, the new cadets are directed
to report in June. Two months are then at the disposal of the
authorities to strengthen the new arrivals’ bodies, both by prescribed
physical exercises and by the exercise incident to the drills and
maneuvers, before the studies begin in September.
[Illustration: The Exterior of the Gymnasium]
During the first three weeks of the new cadet’s training, setting-up
exercises begin his day’s work. After his breakfast has had time
to digest, he and his fellows are marched over to the main room of
the gymnasium for forty-five minutes’ physical drill. Although the
setting-up exercises may be given outdoors, and have always been
heretofore, the gymnasium is now used to eliminate the distraction of
the cadet’s attention by passersby whose amusement at the efforts of
the stiff and awkward “beasts” reacted upon the new cadets.
The recruit instruction begins with the most simple exercises. The
cadet is taught first the position of attention; that his heels must
be together, his feet turned out just so much, his knees devoid of
stiffness, in a word, what he shall do with his hips, arms, and hands,
keeping his head erect, his chin drawn in, and his eyes straight to the
front. Simple as is the position of attention, many men take a long
time to learn it. Some never can comply with all the requirements, for
how can the bow-legged man and the knock-kneed chap keep their legs
“straight without stiffness”?
Then follow breathing exercises to increase the wind capacity, to
permit longer and more extended drills, and to lead up to the simple
movements designed to develop the muscles upon which the position of
attention is dependent.
The cadets line up on the gymnasium floor. The instructor commands:
“Count off!”
“One--two--three--four!” “One--two--three--four!” in weak voices and
strong voices, diminuendo and crescendo, is repeated all down the line,
each man snapping his head to the front as he calls his number. The
inequality of tone of voice is gradually eliminated so that after a few
drills the count off is uniform in pitch.
“Take distance. March!” commands the drill master followed by “Company,
halt!” when the men have become sufficiently separated to perform the
exercises without interfering with one another.
Various exercises are then taught, the simple ones first, followed by
the more complex movements to develop a coördination of all muscles
and a feeling of control over one’s body. The set of exercises used
at the Academy are simple in the extreme and executed by even simpler
commands. It is astonishing how in a few minutes a perfectly green
squad can be taught to execute movements not only in unison, but even
with precision and smartness. The great value of the commands lies in
the fact that no elaborate explanations are necessary. All the recruit
has to do is to watch the instructor. Let me illustrate by an example.
The instructor commands:
“1. Arms forward. 2. Raise.”
The cadet raises his arm in front of him to height of shoulders,
holding them in this position while the instructor says:
“Swing arms down at 1 and up at 2. Ready! exercise! One! Two! ... One!
Halt!”
All movements cease with arms in raised position.
“Arms down.” All drop their arms smartly.
Of course, to the simple movements are added various combinations,
and all exercises are executed both at a halt and while marching. The
walking with measured step gives poise and grace of carriage. The
recruits are also practiced in the run and double time, the latter a
military step to gain ground rapidly, but with a minimum inroad upon
the wind and endurance of the soldier. Setting-up exercises are the
most valuable preliminary training for any body of men entering the
military service. For the first week the body is sore and aches to the
point of great fatigue, but after the preliminary soreness disappears,
a feeling of control supplants it, and the general health of the body
is better. No brown pills are necessary; no headaches from biliousness
exist. A good forty-five minute setting-up drill every morning, plenty
of wholesome food, and eight hours’ sleep contribute to the cadet’s
good health. The Mess Hall, not to be outdone by other departments,
lends its aid by serving judicious plates of prunes. These preliminary
setting-up drills, given during the first few weeks, are discontinued
for a short period in camp when the cadets are busy learning other
drills.
Swimming now replaces the setting-up exercises until the battalions
return to barracks in September. The new cadets must be able to swim at
least ten minutes without changing their stroke, which standard each
cadet must measure before he is excused from attendance at the swimming
drills. These drills are never a bore, however, but anticipated with
great pleasure by nearly all of the men. Nothing is so refreshing on a
hot summer’s day, after a tedious drill upon the dusty Plain, than the
march over to the “Gym” for a swim in the deliciously cool clean water
of the tank. Instruction is also given in resuscitating men who are
apparently drowned.
When September comes and the studies are commenced, the Fourth Class
resumes its setting-up exercises, to which are added gymnastic work.
In the fall each cadet is given a thorough examination at which all
of his measurements are accurately taken, and various strength tests
are made. This information is entered on a card and filed for future
reference, because later on the cadets are again measured and tested in
order that the improvement may be noted.
Measurements are made of the height, chest, waist, arms, legs; and
strength tests are made of the arms, hands, back, and legs. These
methods quickly reveal wherein the cadet is deficient, and allow
the instructor, like a doctor, to prescribe for each individual
the necessary exercises. For example, those whose chests are
under-developed are assigned to the chest weights until the deficiency
is made up, and where the smaller muscles of the arms and shoulders
need attention practice is given with the Indian clubs and medicine
balls.
[Illustration: Gymnastic Exercises]
To develop in all of them power, vigor, and endurance, the groups of
large muscles of the back, chest, abdomen, and legs are improved by
setting-up exercises, dumb-bells, and wands, jumping, climbing, and
lastly by apparatus work. This class of exercises is reserved until
the muscles have been more or less controlled and respond to the will,
for the execution depends not so much upon muscular effort as it does
upon agility. It would never do to start in green men on the apparatus
work, because there would soon result broken legs and arms. This work
is hard enough for those lacking “muscle sense,” even after many months
of preliminary exercises.
Included in the schedule for the first year’s work is instruction
in the saber and the foils, but as the amount of time that can be
devoted to these branches of instruction is limited, only the most
elementary features of the arts can be taught. An opportunity, however,
is afforded cadets to perfect themselves in the use of both the saber
and the foil after regular hours. During the winter months, when
the vigorous weather requires a suspension of outdoor drilling, the
fencing master gives individual lessons to those who desire to take
them. The volunteers are formed into a squad known as the Fencing
Squad, from which are organized, for each weapon, class teams. The
interests at West Point are so many and varied that it is impossible
for each cadet to be an accomplished fencer, boxer, wrestler, gymnast,
or swimmer, but each one is given instruction in the fundamentals. The
cadets usually select the art that appeals to them most and perfect
themselves along the chosen line. The saber is popular, and many
cadets acquire great dexterity in its manipulation. It is distinctly
a soldierly exercise, so that it exercises a fascination for the men,
especially for those who intend to choose the cavalry.
Instruction in the use of the foils is given to the entire class
assembled by sections, and consists of preliminary instruction in the
single rank without weapon, in the single rank with foils, and in the
double rank with foils. As with the saber, the men whose sport by
predilection is fencing with foils take individual lessons from the
fencing master every afternoon from November until March. The interest
in fencing at one time was exceedingly great, and the sport was
regarded as one of the major activities of cadet life. This interest
was due to the participation of cadet teams in the Intercollegiate
Fencing Meet, but five years ago the Academy authorities prohibited
cadet teams from attending these competitions. This action killed the
interest in fencing for several years, but at present the former
popularity of this excellent sport is returning, and a visitor may now
see the thirteen double mats, accommodating fifty-two men, constantly
filled.
When President Roosevelt, in 1905, ordered that all cadets should
attend gymnasium daily, assistants were detailed to assist the officer
in charge of physical training. For the fencing, the Academy secured
the services of a _maître d’armes_ under whose careful and scientific
training, the fencing teams of the Academy continued their brilliant
achievements begun in 1902. Beginning with that year until 1910, West
Point sent to the annual intercollegiate championship meets, teams
that contested with Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia,
and the Navy. Out of the nine meets, West Point won six, and obtained
second place in the other three, yielding their supremacy to their
great rivals, the Navy. This remarkable record was accomplished by the
untiring efforts of the team and of their much-liked instructor, M.
Vauthier, whose skill excited their admiration and inspired in them a
splendid spirit of emulation.
More attention is now paid to the bayonet fencing due to the extended
use of that weapon in the present European War, but as with the other
arts, the limited time permits the teaching of only the fundamentals.
The cadet learns enough in each branch to build upon afterwards and
make himself a competent instructor.
Not less popular than the fencing are the boxing and wrestling
exercises. The first year men are assembled in classes and given
instruction in boxing in the guard, footwork, parries, simple direct
leads and counters. Similarly in wrestling, the simple holds, resultant
falls, and the breaks for the simple holds are all taught.
It is not, however, to the regular class work that one must go to
judge of the grip that these manly sports have upon the cadets. In the
afternoon, after recitations, embryo Jeffries and Fitzsimmonses gather
in the boxing room to receive the holy instruction from the master, Mr.
Jenkins, or “Tom,” as he is affectionately called among themselves.
There he teaches the aspirant pugilist how to land a blow and how to
avoid one, and occasionally to make the lesson more realistic he treats
his young charge to the experience of receiving one. Some experiences
in a man’s life grow dim, but never this one.
When the preliminary bouts are being fought, large numbers flock to the
boxing room to cheer for the weaker fellow even though he be of another
class than one’s own. Boxing develops fine qualities among the men. It
teaches them to give and take, to receive punishment without flinching,
and to respect the skill of a good opponent. Besides it gives a man
confidence in his powers, making him think quickly and move quickly,
all excellent qualities for an officer of the army.
Boxing, however, shares the popular appeal with wrestling. This manly
sport that we have inherited from our ancestors of the stone age
fascinates men chiefly by virtue of its brute strength and to a lesser
degree by its skill. It is a game for men of all sizes, provided they
possess the necessary qualities of courage and strength.
The boxing room on winter afternoons presents a warm and pleasing
contrast to the cold and snow outside. The mats are covered with agile
forms in black jersey tights wriggling and squirming, the perspiration
rolling off the wrestlers as they endeavor to grind the shoulders of
their opponents to the mat. All men receive instruction in wrestling
in class, but like the other sports, its devotees must repair for
extra instruction to Mr. Jenkins during recreation hours. It is in
this time that men practice for their class teams, one for each of
the following weights: unlimited, heavy, light heavy, middle, welter,
light, and feather. The four class teams meet each other successively
to wrestle for the class championship. There is besides a contest for
the individual championship, the final bouts which take place publicly
at the Annual Indoor Meet.
Prior to the resumption of the afternoon military drills in March, the
cadets hold their annual gymnastic event called the Indoor Meet. The
contests, which are held with great ceremony in the Gymnasium, include
races, pole climbing, work on horizontal bars and parallel bars, long
and short horse, rings both stationary and flying, and the tug of war
between the classes.
Each class enters so many men for each event, and for the awards of
first, second, or third, the contestant receives a designated number
of points. The class receiving the greatest total wins the meet. This
athletic event is a very fitting way to end the winter course, for it
offers an opportunity to those men who have labored faithfully during
the winter afternoons to reap the reward of their efforts. It also is
an incentive for better work because of the spirit of competition. The
Athletic Association upon this occasion, presents sabers, both to the
captain of the football team and to that member of the First Class who
during his cadet career has done the most for athletics. It is a very
proud night for these young men as they walk forward to receive the
coveted saber, the first part of their officer’s equipment.
There is great rivalry among the classes during the events. The four
corners of the room are filled with the members of each class, who
yell like demons to encourage their representatives. Almost every
minute the air is filled with shrieks and yells of excited cadets whose
“Zis-boom-ahs!” “Rah! Rah! Rahs!” “1917! 1918!!...” are hurled at one
another to the delight and amusement of the spectators, young and old,
hanging over the iron railing of the gallery.
The courses in gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing, increase in
difficulty according to the class, so that the Third and Second
Classmen pursue a more advanced course than the plebes. When, however,
the cadets become First Classmen, emphasis is laid upon the theories of
physical training with the object of preparing these “near officers”
for their duties as instructors in the service. The needs of the Army
are carefully considered in the training of the last year in order to
send out from West Point men who can at once take hold of a group of
recruits and whip them into good physical shape, according to the most
intelligent methods.
Unfortunately, the setting-up exercises in the Army are only
spasmodically taught. There is very little uniformity in the method,
despite the excellent manual with which the troops are provided.
West Point is at present making an effort to influence the Service to
a better appreciation of the results to be derived from regular drill
in setting-up exercises. To this end, the First Classmen are taught to
act as instructors, and are grounded not only in actual practice but in
theory. Every year extra classes are held to develop good instructors
for the coming summer camps, and for future service in the Army. It
is to be hoped that commanding officers will make good use of these
enthusiastic young teachers.
Although the control of athletics at the Academy is not under the
gymnasium authorities, still it is fitting to speak of the sports in
this chapter. The Academy has its football, baseball, basketball,
and hockey teams, and in addition the cadets play golf, polo, and
tennis. There is little in the training or conduct of these teams that
differs from other educational institutions, except the question of
time allowed for preparation. It has always been the rule at West Point
that no inroads shall be permitted upon the Academic course to aid the
development of any athletic team. Consequently, what practice the teams
get must be during recreation hours. The only concessions made are
supper a half-hour later for the football men, and exemptions twice a
week from parade for the baseball men. Athletics receive, however, the
greatest support and encouragement from the authorities, whose aim is,
however, not to develop a few good men or an excellent team in any one
sport, but to seek a good average.
Every cadet is urged to join in some form of athletics instead of
remaining in his dress coat along the side lines as an interested
spectator. The efforts made in this direction have received a warm
response from the cadet body, so that during recreation hours the Plain
presents a busy scene of cadet activities. The green parade ground is
dotted with the golfers in gray shirts and white trousers; the tennis
courts are filled with animated figures; groups of happy cadets ride by
on horseback for a gallop in the woods, while others prefer the more
sedate hiking in the surrounding hills. It is a great temptation after
the recitations and drills to be lazy, hang around one’s room, or
“bone fiction” which means reading novels, but in recent years the men
have become more and more sensible of the many advantages offered them
during their cadet days, and a new spirit of _carpe diem_ has come over
the Corps.
[Illustration: The Athletic Field
_Photo by White_]
But to return to my subject of physical training proper. No opportunity
is lost to impress upon each man the practical use to which he will
put his knowledge of physical training when he becomes an officer. He
is urged to prepare himself to the best of his ability to become a
proficient instructor for the enlisted men whom he will later command.
In this connection, the cadets learn in their course of Military
Hygiene that the object of all physical training is to develop the
human body in its entirety in order that there shall result a perfect
equilibrium between all its functions. Many recruits join the Army
without the slightest coördination of their body. Although well
formed they are awkward, clumsy, stoop shouldered, without ability
to make their different members act in unison with their minds. If
an officer does not know what to do with these men he will never
succeed in getting good work out of them. His first duty therefore is
to develop the recruit’s body, especially the functions of control,
the coördination between eye and hand, because the success of line
troops is largely dependent upon physical aptitude. The modern war
makes greater demands than ever upon the soldier’s physique. I heard
an observer, recently returned from the European War, state that the
infantryman is now so loaded down with packs, steel helmets, hand
grenades, and rifle that he finds it difficult to advance faster than a
walk. The strain upon the physique of the infantryman carrying his pack
is greater than upon soldiers of other arms, and since graduates in
time of war will be concerned largely with the training of infantry, it
is of paramount importance that cadets should understand the building
up and care of the bodies of their men. A soldier must possess more
than the average muscular strength, endurance, and organic vigor.
I see before me daily the fine results of the system of physical
training at the Academy. Ungainly plebes gradually assume a
well-rounded appearance, an erect carriage with head up and an elastic
walk. I sometimes have to rub my eyes when I behold a cadet whom I once
remembered as an unformed plebe, as loose jointed as a big Newfoundland
puppy, but who now appears before my astonished vision as a smart
soldierly First Classman. When the cadets have completed their four
years course they have a decided physical stamp, showing that each one
has been trained by the same system.
At the end of the year in June, when the Post is thronged with
visitors, relatives, and friends of cadets who are present for the
graduation exercises, an outdoor demonstration of the setting-up
exercises is given on the Plain. The precision and uniformity with
which the movements are executed arouse great interest as eight hundred
supple young bodies respond as one to the sonorous commands of the
instructor perched on a solid wooden table.
[Illustration: Setting up Drill on the Plain]
This drill is usually followed by the Outdoor Meet, the annual athletic
event corresponding to the Indoor Meet. Each class has its best
representatives entered to win a victory in the dashes, hurdle races,
long distance races, hammer throwing, jumping, and pole vaulting. Back
of the roped lines surge the cadets of the various classes, cheering
themselves hoarse for their own representatives. Mothers, sisters,
sweethearts, friends, friends’ friends, in the fluffiest and gayest
summer dresses devouringly trail their “Kaydet,” and give excited
and exaggerated opinions about things of which they are totally
ignorant,--but bless their hearts! their presence is an inspiration to
the young gods at their Olympian games.
On the June morning of the Outdoor Meet, West Point usually offers one
of her incomparably beautiful days as a fitting setting for the display
of her cadets’ physical prowess. And when the Meet ends, the cadets
all feel that one more year’s progress been made in their physical
development. The First Classmen who on the morrow will go forth into
the Army, leaving the protecting walls of West Point, reflect with
emotion and gratitude upon all that West Point’s training has done to
strengthen their bodies to endure whatever hardships that might arise
in their new lives as officers.