ROWING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 7, 17 August 1910, Page 9

ROWING.

How to Scull. A WORLDS CHAMPION’S METHODS. ID VICE BY DICK ARNST. On Thursday next Dick Arnst defends his title of ’ world’s champion sculler against Barry, England’s hope and champion. The observations of a scifller likel Arnst, who flashed in a meteoric fashion from the topmost rung of the cycling track into the midst of the sculling world, and defeated all before him, should prove of great value to those Aucklanders who are seeking honours in that sport, and also those intending to become scullers. Arnst’s advice is to the point, and emphasises the great necessity oi being properly boated right from the start. THE FIRST ESSENTIAL. “ The first essential,” explained Arnst, “ is to learn to grip the sculls properly. Carelessness in this detail invariably leads to serious faults, and it is certainly a bar to rapid progress. The handle of the scull should be gripped,

not too tightly and not too loosely, by the four fingers and palm of the liand, with tire thumb over the end. The wrist must on no account be stiff, but as loose and pliable as possible, so as to ensure a quick manipulation of the blade in coming to the feather over the water and then to the * catch.’ Of course, 1 am presuming that you are properly boated. It is practically half the kwttlo to get suited at the beginning of your career. If you start off sculling in a boat with fittings that do not suit you, then you will fall into a wrong way of sculling, and when you do get properly fixed, with slide, stretcher, riggers, and sculls to suit you, you will find them very awkward to handle, and it will take a considerable time to get rid of your old and incorrect style. THE CATCH. “ Having learnt how to hold your sculls, you must next look to the ‘eateh.’ Come well forward on your slide, lean forward —not too far —and get in a comfortable position, and one in which you can bring your body, legs and arms into play with the same strength. The blades of the sculls must be dipped in the water just deep enough to cover them well. You then use the drive, and special care must be taken not to ‘shoot’ your slide or to hold it too long. By ‘shooting’ the slide, that is, pushing it away from you, you lose practically the whole strength of your legs. The best plan is to hold it until you have a good grip of the water, and then drive with your legs, pushing the body and arms back, and reaching the end of the slide in the same position as you started. The catch is one of the hardest parts about sculling to learn, and too much attention cannot be paid to it. The blades should enter the water square, and be kept in that position throughout the stroke, Many scullers have a habit of taking the water with their sculls on an angle, the top of the blade inclining to the bow of the boat, and the bottom towards the stern. That is a bad practice, because they not only lose a certain amount of water, but finish the stroke with a ‘ scoop.’ The blade should be straight up and down if the best results are to be achieved. THE DRIVE. “ The ‘ drive,’ that portion of the stroke from the time you leave the front chocks of the slide till you reach the back chocks, is accomplished entirely by the legs and back, the arms acting simply as a connection between the shoulders and sculls. When you have got the catch you lift the body slightly, and then—keeping the body in the same position—push hard with your legs until you reach the end of your slide, always keeping the hands, as far as possible, on the same level. THE FINISH AND SWING. “Having completed the leg-work, the next thing is to ‘finish’ the stroke. When you arrive at the back chocks, swing your body hard back, and rip your hands into the body, dropping the wrists immediately, so as to lift the blades out of the water. Then without hesitating shoot the hands away, straightening the arms, and recover the body. When the body is perpendicular, go slowly back to the slide till you touch the front chocks, gradually inclining the body forward till you are again ready for the catch. The hard swing of the body at the finish, and sharp ripping in of the hande give the boat great impetus, which carries it quickly and smoothly over the water while you are preparing for the next stroke. It is most essential, however, that the blades of the eculls should be brought out of the water square. They must enter and leave the water at right angles. The ‘scoop’ at the finish, that is, bringing the blades out of the water with the top of the blades inclined towards the bow of the boat, retards the running of the shell between the stroke. The same disadvantage is also caused by coming back on the slide too quickly, or in a jerky fashion. As soon as the sculls leave the water the wrists should immediately come into play, ami flash the blades over into the ‘feather,’ in which position they should be carried until they almost reach the position for ‘catch.’ Then they are twisted to the square again, and the catch taken without any delay. You will sec some scullers take their blades back on the feather all the way, and then poke them in the air, twist them round to an acute angle, and dash them into the water; this causes waste of time, and also loss of ground, as the blades cut into the water fai a diagonal fashion, and by the time the drive is used, some feet of water are

wasted. Then there are those who, when they have come forward for the catch, dwell before dipping, and thus they also lose time. The correct method is to sweep the blades back close to the surface of the water, and without dropping the hands or dwelling, twist the wrists so as to bring the blades square, and then eateh hard. SCULLING IN ROUGH WATER. “In rough water sculling the usual methods are altered considerably. In the first place, you must remember that the longer you are with your seulls out of the water the more the waves and wash play up with you. You are washed out of your course, and your beat is twisted round in all directions, and you must necessarily waste considerable time, pace, and energy in straightening up again. Consequently you will see the great advantage of wasting no time in getting from the ‘finish’ to the ‘catch’ again. When in rough water always use a shorter stroke. By this method I have less space to cover in getting back Ito the ‘eateh,’ and my sculls are not out of the water so long. By employing the shorter stroke I thus row quicker, and I pay special attention to catching and finishing as hard as I can. Another important item is to lose no time in getting the hands away. “With a heavy sea striking you broadside on or going with you, the light man has an advantage, but in going against it the heavy man is better, as hie weight carries him through it. A heavy man in a rough sea that is running broadside on is something like a tree in a gale. He is top-heavy, amt consequently must be very careful not to roll over, while the lighter man has not ithis difficulty to contend with to so great an extent. This also applies to a strong sea running with you. CRAWL BEFORE YOU WALK. “To those scullers who are just learning or intend learning. I would like to give a little special advice. Tell them not to try and walk until they know how to crawl. This is one of the most important things for a beginner to remember, and shotlid be taken the greatest notice of. The quicker a man wants to leant to scull, the more time he should take oyer the groundwork. Many scullers, having learnt how to sit their boat, get out and row as hard as they can, and when they have been able to acquire a moderate amount of speed think they are doing well. That is the greatest mistake they ever made, because their groundwork has been so neglected that they just reach a certain point, and, no matter how they try, can never get any further. Therefore, you will see the great importance of taking your work by stages, mastering each step as you go along, and when you know all your work thoroughly, and not till then, you can work up speed. The old proverb, ‘The longest way round is often the shortest,’ applies admirably in sculling. POSITION OF THE KNEES. “Several scullers, and one or two good ones among them too, scull with their knees together. In my opinion that is wrong. For several obvious reasons it is most advantageous to keep the knees well open. In the first place we will look at a sculler rowing with his knees together. He comes forward on his slide to take the ‘catch,’ and what do we find? His thighs and knees are jammed up against his body, thus cramping him and seriously interfering with the wind. Then, again, he is more liable to topple over, as his knees being straight up make the boat more top-heavy, and minimise his balancing power. With the knees wide open, your body goes between the thighs and leaves your wind free from obstruction, while at the same time the fact of the knees spread out over the sides of the boat gives the boat more stability, and often saves a spill by reason of the extra balancing power acquired. If a man who rows with his knees together is called upon to row a very hard and gruelling race, it will tell on him before half the course is covered. “Another feature to be remembered is that the arms should not be bent till the ‘finish.’ The straighter the arms are kept the more weight can be got into the drive. Rowing with bent arms strains Ihe biceps, and also detracts from the full force of the drive. TRAINING. “Before a sculler starts to train, he should see that he is in good health. I always make sure that I am physically strong before I enter upon a course of training for a race. I then start slowly, taking easy work to commence, and, as

I get condition, so do I increase my work until I reach my best form. Then 1 put in my very best work, and toil as hard as 1 can. There is nothing more injurious than for a man io row hard before he is lit to do so. “The time of training, of course, depends upon the size oi a man and what class of work hr has been used to. 1 always allow from eight to 12 weeks to prepare myself, but a lighter man can do with six or eight weeks. If, however, a man does labouring work and is always in fairly good fettle, then he can do with less; but »n no account must be tackle the bullocking part of it till he has worked up to it. Two or three weeks before the day of the race I put in my hardest and most violent work. 1 make it a special feature during that stage to punish myself as much as possible, so as to be prepared for it if my opponent is cap able of punishing me in the race. A few days before the race 1 ease up slightly, so as not to go stale. RACING. “A sculler can never say before the race how he is going to row. He might make up his mind to adopt all sorts of tactics, but when he is racing finds that he is not in a position to carry out his intentions. If it van be managed without exhausting yourself too quickly, to lead your man from the jump is always the best. The reasons for this are two fold. Firstly, you can give him your wash all the time; ami. secondly, watch what ho is doing, ami how he is shaping, without any trouble to yourself; while l he man in the rear is practically ignorant of how you are going and what signs of distress you show. ‘‘Well, tho»e arc the methods I use in my sculling, and so far they have stood me in good stead, and I see no reason whv they should not do so in the future.” Dealing with Barry’s training just l>cfore his departure for the Zambesi, the London “Sportsman” says: “Barry pulls down tho scale at 11.10. This is just the poundage that those interested in him wish him to maintain, and, indeed, it is a key to his good health, for there is no doubt that the English champion, is a stronger and better man at that

weight than any other. Whether he will have the good fortune when he arrives in Africa to keep at that remains to be seen. Meanwhile all care is bring taken, and every effort being made tn achieve that end. According to the timetable, Barry should arrive at the Zambesi on July 16, and will immediately resume training with 33 days in which to get used to the climate, and will, it is hoped, do well. He is taking his three racing shells with him, as he has not yet decided which he prefers. In that, he is wise, for the conditions of the Zambesi are certain to be very different from thoM experienced on the Thames.”