rious details, and will
explain the method I have found fastest and easiest for the pupil. The
crawl, except for short distances, is not the stroke used for racing.
The trudgeon crawl is the stroke par excellence for racing purposes.

_Leg Strokes._--Extend the arms at full length in front of the head with
face under water, while practising with the legs. While doing this hold
the breath, but not after you have learned the completed stroke. When
practising these movements you must kick the legs a trifle faster than
will be necessary when combining with the arm movements.

The legs must be relaxed, especially at the hips, kicking them up and
down alternately; in doing this do not open them more than from about
ten to fifteen inches as in Fig. 29. This will depend a great deal on
the physique and buoyancy of the swimmer. The toes should be pointed
behind and the feet turned inward. Be careful that you do not make the
mistake of kicking them too high or opening them too much, also that
they do not come out of the water. In doing this thrash stroke you will
readily know if you are making these mistakes, because the legs will
become tired and cramped very quickly. Some fast swimmers bend their
legs at the knees as illustrated in Fig. 27, others take a sort of
pedalling motion by bending the ankles back and forth.

[Illustration: FIGURE 27]

This is done by bringing the toes up as the leg rises, and pointing them
down as the leg snaps back. At the present time the fastest sprinters
swim without the great bend in the knee; some bend them slightly to help
relax the legs.

The trudgeon crawl kick is a combination of the crawl and the trudgeon,
and the reason it is used for sprinting in preference to the crawl is
because it is less tiring, thus affording greater speed for long
distances. This may be swum in either two, four, six, or eight beats.
The eight-beat is not used very often. The six-beat is used by most of
the fastest swimmers, but the four-beat is the easiest for pupils to
learn and time; it also is very speedy. The legs should be kept close
together at all times and after taking two, four, six or eight beats,
whichever the case may be, the kick should be formed that the first and
fourth kicks amount to narrow scissors kicks, then follow with the
regular thrash kick, which is straight up and down, as illustrated in
Fig. 28. Point the legs and turn the feet in slightly.

Quite a few swimmers believe their legs are