Page images
PDF
EPUB

ON WHAT ARE NOW CALLED GYMNASTIC EXERCISES.

BY MR. SHIELDRAKE.

(From the Lancet.)

ONE of the most remarkable of the revivals, or re-discoveries, which has lately been pressed into notice, is what has been called gymnastic exercises. If they are to be be lieved who have endeavoured to get them universally adopted, they are not only a revival of the gymnastics of the ancient Greeks and Romans, but have, in themselves, the power of giving to the human figure every perfection of which Nature is susceptible, and to the mind many perfections which cannot be so easily obtained in any other way, besides many other good qualities, that it will require more time than ought to be so employed to enumerate. All this is absurd, and would be ridiculous, if it did not tend to produce, and had not really been productive, of much serious mischief. The avowed object of those who have set these practices in motion is, to induce persons of every rank in society, and of each sex, to form clubs, or societies, in which the practice of these exercises shall be the general pursuit. Some such clubs have been formed among the lower orders of men; some gentlemen, I have been told, amuse themselves in similar pursuits, in places that are better suited to their rank in society than those gymnasia can be. To all this no objection can fairly be made, because, although the practices that are followed in such places are really productive of much injury, every one has an undoubted right to amuse himself in any way that he thinks proper; if, in the practice of these exercises, he gets a hernia, a broken leg, rib, or violent contusion, or luxation of any kind, he will have the satisfaction to reflect, that he procured it for himself, by practising what would be of no real use to him, and in which he had no occasion to employ himself at all.

But this encouragement has not been sufficient for the professors of gymnastics; they have attempted to establish schools for the instruction of young ladies, females of the superior classes of society, in the practice of these exercises; if they succeed in this, they will reduce their scholars, in point of personal accomplishments, to a level with the tumblers at Sadler's Wells, and other places of public amusement; this, I believe, no parent would willingly do; but, in their anxious wish to give their children what they intend to be accomplishments, they become the dupes of speculators, who, in all probability, actually not knowing what mischief they must produce, promise to do what they, in reality, cannot perform.-Many young ladies, I

know, have been seriously injured by accidents that have happened in these schools; none of them have acquired the accomplishments which they sought to obtain, and some will, at a future period of their lives, be subjected to evils of great magnitude, in consequence of their engaging in these practices, which those who recommended them did not foresee.

I shall endeavour to point out these evils, and the causes that will produce them. In doing this I shall confine myself to an expla nation of the facts which these professors of gymnastics say, in a triumphant manner, they intend to produce. As they take merit to themselves for these practices, which they believe to be meritorious, it will, of course, be understood that they actually do what they describe; and, in what I shall say upon this part of the subject, I shall confine myself to a true explanation of what I find written in one of their own tracts.

In one place, the writer, from whose tract I quote, has written:-"In such cases, the gymnast, from the acute perception of his eye, the flexibility of his joints, and superior strength of his muscles, it is easy to perceive, would have greatly the advantage."

recom

Again:" By the exercise we mend, the joints are rendered exceedingly flexible, and the whole body active and agile. The want of agility is a common defect among almost all classes of people in England"!!!

The impudence, as well as falsehood, of this declaration, cannot easily be exceeded, and will be answered, most effectually, by referring to the opinion of Belidor, an eminent French engineer, in the service of Louis XIV. Belidor was employed in most, if not all, the great military works of his sovereign, and has published an account of them; in that account, he regularly states, that the work of four English labourers is equal, in effect, to the work of six Frenchmen of the same class.

:

Again this gymnastic writer says"Leaping ranks among the most excellent of the gymnastic exercises; it strengthens and gives elasticity to the feet, legs, knees, thighs, and indeed the whole frame; it braces every muscle, invigorates the courage, incredibly improves the faculty of measuring distances by the eye," &c. &c.

The passages that are now quoted prove, very effectually, that those who wrote them relied very much upon the credulity and want of knowledge in their readers, when they supposed that they could believe all that was told them about the wonderful effects that would be produced by their gymnastic exercises.

The truth, as it relates to these exercises, which are now called gymnastic, is, that they do not, in principle, or in any essential point

of practice, differ from those practices by which the tumblers, those who dance, as it has been called, upon the slack rope, as well as those who, in less enlightened times, were called posture-masters, were taught the arts which they practised. These arts consisted in distorting such parts of their own persons, as they chose to subject to these practices, into such positions as it was quite impossible to give to the bodies of those who were not specially educated for such occupations. It is true that these persons obtained applause and money by their pursuits; it is true that, for the short time they were under public observation, they showed both strength and activity which could not be displayed by those who had not had the same education; but it is likewise true, that by constantly repeating these practices, the parties who indulge in them soon become debilitated, and irrevocably sink into decrepit old age.

This termination of the existence of ropedancers, tumblers, and gymnasts, has been but little, if at all, known to the public, because the public neither know nor care any thing about what is offered to notice as a matter of amusement, after it is removed from observation; the persons who have been objects of attention for their powers in these occupations, pass into obscurity, but it `is well known that, so long as they continue to live, they exist in a state of great debility. This is the necessary consequence of the practices by which they acquired the power of performing those feats which made them so remarkable, and upon this subject I shall mention such facts as have passed within my own knowledge.

I have seen a tumbling boy place his hands upon the ground, suddenly throw his heels into the air, and place them against a wall that was behind him, so that he might be said to stand upon his hands, with his head downwards, and his feet raised up in the air; while in this situation, he brought his feet lower and lower upon the wall, and, at the same time, carried his face nearer to the earth, till his spine resembled an arch, and, with his mouth, he took a piece of money from the ground, which was placed there for that purpose.

I saw another boy stand erect, and then gradually bend his head backwards till he passed it between his legs, and looked the spectator full in the face, while he was in that situation; he then gradually returned himself into his erect position.

To enable themselves to perform these feats, those boys must have repeatedly, and for a great length of time, strained themselves in the manner that I saw one of them do, by which they increased the contractable action of all the muscles of the back to such an extent, that they produced much extension of all the very strong ligaments which connect different bones of the spine together.

These ligaments are so strong, that while the body is in its natural state, they bear all the most violent actions to which men subject themselves without any inconvenience. All these alterations must be produced before the spine could be drawn into the circular form, which in one case I saw, and in the other I saw in progress towards the same state, which I believe the boy would, in the end, arrive at, if he continued to use the means which I saw him employ; but whether he did so I have no means of knowing.

Besides producing these alterations, they must have produced so much extension of the very strong ligaments, which connect the bodies of the vertebræ together, that while the spinal processes were, by this most unnatural practice, made to describe a circle, the bodies of the vertebræ were made to describe a circle that was larger than the other, by as much as the thickness of the whole vertebræ, bodies and all. This necessarily implies an extension of all the ligaments of the spine, to an extent that, as we have no opportunity of seeing, one is really unwilling to calculate. Moreover, there must have been extraordinary extension of all the abdominal muscles, in proportion as the contractile action of the muscles of the back was increased; and, as the performers were able to place themselves in, and remove themselves from, the extraor dinary and unnatural attitudes in which they had chosen to place themselves, by the action of their own muscles, without any extraneous assistance, and entirely by their own personal exertions, it is certain that they had acquired great strength, flexibility, and activity. These are the qualities which the people who teach these gymnastic exercises pique themselves upon communicating to their pupils; and it is also to be observed, that they teach them by the very same means, viz. by bending themselves "slowly and forcibly down, till their knees nearly touch the ground, and rising therefrom slowly without any assistance from the hands, and by these means giving every different flexion of which the joints are capable."

As the exercises of these gymnasts, and the means by which they are taught to practise their feats of activity, are now identified with the exercises and means in which the tumblers, and other persons of a similar description, use to instruct their pupils, it remains to show what effects are ultimately produced, and must be produced, upon those who practise them. To do this effectually, it will be necessary to inquire into the struc ture and uses of different parts of the body. Those who are acquainted with the subject know that the bones are the solid basis upon which the whole depends. The ligaments connect the bones with each other, and are so proportioned to the bones which they unite, that they allow to each joint so much motion as is necessary to what may, properly, be

called its natural action, and no more. The ligaments are, in their own nature, said to be inelastic, but have, in reality, a limited degree of elasticity, which adapts them to their natural functions; so that, while they are in their natural, healthy state, and duly proportioned to the bones which they connect, they preserve those joints in what may be called their natural condition, and they are capable of performing all the functions for which Nature intended them. These ligaments, when they are forcibly strained beyond the point to which Nature has limited their action, pass into a state of high inflammation, and then always become painful, often dangerous, as they know, by experience, who meet with violent sprains, and other accidents of a similar nature.

When these ligaments are acted upon by very gentle means, they extend very slowly, and without pain; but, having little elasticity, they do not again retract, but remain in the state to which they have been unnaturally extended. This peculiar property of the capsular ligaments has been discovered by the people who practise or teach tumbling, and similar exercises, as well as by those who teach these gymnastic exercises, though none of them know the cause or the consequence of what they do; and pique themselves upon the great flexibility which they give to the joints of their scholars, which, before they became scholars, were stiff and rigid. The muscles are the powers by which all the actions of the body are performed their powers may be increased by exercise, and injured by it when carried to excess. In the muscles, as well as in other parts, there are certain proportions between the size and strength of the muscles, and the uses to which they should naturally be applied. This strength may, by proper exercise, be increased to a certain extent, but, if carried beyond that, becomes debility, and injures the party that uses it. When a man, whose members, and all their parts, are in a healthy, natural state, takes so much exercise as produces fatigue, he lays down to rest, and recovers himself, because the cessation of action allows all the parts to recover their natural tone.

:

This may be called the natural state of man; it continues so long as he remains in youth and in health, diminishes gradually as age and decay approach, when he finally sinks into his grave. This is the state of man when his life has been active, his body healthy, and his exertions natural; but the case is very different with all tumblers, posture-masters, or people who practise what are called gymnastic exercises: by their prepara tory exercises, as they call them, they acquire a certain portion of muscular strength; they overstretch the capsular ligaments; and thus produce that great degree of flexibility in the joints, which the writer, from whom I

have quoted, piques himself upon producing; although it is evidently without knowing that great flexibility becomes mischievous debility, which will entail lasting misery upon his scholars, at a future period of their lives.

Those who are competent to understand the subject, will perceive that, so long as the muscles retain their full strength, they are able to support the scholar under the exercises he is engaged in, but, when the muscles become weak, the joints are deprived of the extraneous support they had derived from the muscles; they have lost the support they naturally and originally had from their own natural structure and strength, and are no longer able to support themselves under their natural exercise; their debility increases, and goes on increasing, till positive lameness ensues, and permanent ill health presses the patients, in their latter days, into a very miserable existence. Of this, many examples have happened within my own knowledge, particularly among those who were connected with a certain class of theatrical performances.

The most remarkable person of that class, in his day, was Delphini; he was a native of Venice, and had been a gondolier there. Those people, during the Carnival, and on other occasions, employ themselves in practising feats of strength and activity, to amuse themselves and their countrymen. Delphini became so eminent in these pursuits, that he relinquished his gondola, and betook himself to the stage: he came to England about sixty years ago, and was employed for several years, both at the Opera House and at Drury Lane, as a buffo performer, and was, in every respect, the most eminent performer of that kind in his day. He was the strongest man that I have known, and, in his business, exhibited many feats which no other actor could then perform. After he had been long upon the stage, a nobleman, to whom he rendered himself serviceable, gave him something which enabled him to live without continuing his occupation, and he returned into private life.

The last time I saw him was about 40 years ago; he was walking in the streets; he was so much debilitated, that he could scarcely place one foot before the other, and had every appearance of being in the last stage of existence. I believed he was dead, and always thought of him as one who had been destroyed by his professional exertions, till I was surprised, by reading in the newspapers, during the present year, that Delphini died a few days before, at his lodgings, in Lancaster Court, in the Strand, in the ninety-ninth year of his age!

That he should have lived so long, is to be taken as a proof that his stamina was good, and that his occupation, though it diminished his health and strength, had no direct

of practice, differ from those practices by which the tumblers, those who dance, as it has been called, upon the slack rope, as well as those who, in less enlightened times, were called posture-masters, were taught the arts which they practised. These arts consisted in distorting such parts of their own persons, as they chose to subject to these practices, into such positions as it was quite impossible to give to the bodies of those who were not specially educated for such occupations. It is true that these persons obtained applause and money by their pursuits; it is true that, for the short time they were under public observation, they showed both strength and activity which could not be displayed by those who had not had the same education; but it is likewise true, that by constantly repeating these practices, the parties who indulge in them soon become debilitated, and irrevocably sink into decrepit old age.

This termination of the existence of ropedancers, tumblers, and gymnasts, has been but little, if at all, known to the public, because the public neither know nor care any thing about what is offered to notice as a matter of amusement, after it is removed from observation; the persons who have been objects of attention for their powers in these occupations, pass into obscurity, but it is well known that, so long as they continue to live, they exist in a state of great debility. This is the necessary consequence of the practices by which they acquired the power of performing those feats which made them so remarkable, and upon this subject I shall mention such facts as have passed within my own knowledge.

I have seen a tumbling boy place his hands upon the ground, suddenly throw his heels into the air, and place them against a wall that was behind him, so that he might be said to stand upon his hands, with his head downwards, and his feet raised up in the air; while in this situation, he brought his feet lower and lower upon the wall, and, at the same time, carried his face nearer to the earth, till his spine resembled an arch, and, with his mouth, he took a piece of money from the ground, which was placed there for that purpose.

I saw another boy stand erect, and then gradually bend his head backwards till he passed it between his legs, and looked the spectator full in the face, while he was in that situation; he then gradually returned himself into his erect position.

To enable themselves to perform these feats, those boys must have repeatedly, and for a great length of time, strained themselves in the manner that I saw one of them do, by which they increased the contractable action of all the muscles of the back to such an extent, that they produced much extension of all the very strong ligaments which connect the different bones of the spine together.

These ligaments are so strong, that while the body is in its natural state, they bear all the most violent actions to which men subject themselves without any inconvenience. All these alterations must be produced before the spine could be drawn into the circular form, which in one case I saw, and in the other I saw in progress towards the same state, which I believe the boy would, in the end, arrive at, if he continued to use the means which I saw him employ; but whether he did so I have no means of knowing.

Besides producing these alterations, they must have produced so much extension of the very strong ligaments, which connect the bodies of the vertebræ together, that while the spinal processes were, by this most unnatural practice, made to describe a circle, the bodies of the vertebræ were made to describe a circle that was larger than the other, by as much as the thickness of the whole vertebræ, bodies and all. This necessarily implies an extension of all the ligaments of the spine, to an extent that, as we have no opportunity of seeing, one is really unwilling to calculate. Moreover, there must have been extraordinary extension of all the abdominal muscles, in proportion as the contractile action of the muscles of the back was increased; and, as the performers were able to place themselves in, and remove themselves from, the extraor dinary and unnatural attitudes in which they had chosen to place themselves, by the action of their own muscles, without any extraneous assistance, and entirely by their own personal exertions, it is certain that they had acquired great strength, flexibility, and activity. These are the qualities which the people who teach these gymnastic exercises pique themselves upon communicating to their pupils; and it is also to be observed, that they teach them by the very same means, viz. by bending themselves "slowly and forcibly down, till their knees nearly touch the ground, and rising therefrom slowly without any assistance from the hands, and by these means giving every different flexion of which the joints are capable."

As the exercises of these gymnasts, and the means by which they are taught to practise their feats of activity, are now identified with the exercises and means in which the tumblers, and other persons of a similar description, use to instruct their pupils, it remains to show what effects are ultimately produced, and must be produced, upon those who practise them. To do this effectually, it will be necessary to inquire into the structure and uses of different parts of the body. Those who are acquainted with the subject know that the bones are the solid basis upon which the whole depends. The ligaments connect the bones with each other, and are so proportioned to the bones which they unite, that they allow to each joint so much motion as is necessary to what may, properly, be

called its natural action, and no more. The ligaments are, in their own nature, said to be inelastic, but have, in reality, a limited degree of elasticity, which adapts them to their natural functions; so that, while they are in their natural, healthy state, and duly proportioned to the bones which they connect, they preserve those joints in what may be called their natural condition, and they are capable of performing all the functions for which Nature intended them. These ligaments, when they are forcibly strained beyond the point to which Nature has limited their action, pass into a state of high inflammation, and then always become painful, often dan gerous, as they know, by experience, who meet with violent sprains, and other accidents of a similar nature.

When these ligaments are acted upon by very gentle means, they extend very slowly, and without pain; but, having little elasticity, they do not again retract, but remain in the state to which they have been unnaturally extended. This peculiar property of the capsular ligaments has been discovered by the people who practise or teach tumbling, and similar exercises, as well as by those who teach these gymnastic exercises, though none of them know the cause or the consequence of what they do; and pique themselves upon the great flexibility which they give to the joints of their scholars, which, before they became scholars, were stiff and rigid. The muscles are the powers by which all the actions of the body are performed: their powers may be increased by exercise, and injured by it when carried to excess. In the muscles, as well as in other parts, there are certain proportions between the size and strength of the muscles, and the uses to which they should naturally be applied. This strength may, by proper exercise, be increased to a certain extent, but, if carried beyond that, becomes debility, and injures the party that uses it. When a man, whose members, and all their parts, are in a healthy, natural state, takes so much exercise as produces fatigue, he lays down to rest, and recovers himself, because the cessation of action allows all the parts to recover their natural tone.

This may be called the natural state of man; it continues so long as he remains in youth and in health, diminishes gradually as age and decay approach, when he finally sinks into his grave. This is the state of man when his life has been active, his body healthy, and his exertions natural; but the case is very different with all tumblers, pos ture-masters, or people who practise what are called gymnastic exercises: by their prepara tory exercises, as they call them, they acquire a certain portion of muscular strength; they overstretch the capsular ligaments; and thus produce that great degree of flexibility in the joints, which the writer, from whom I

have quoted, piques himself upon producing; although it is evidently without knowing that great flexibility becomes mischievous debility, which will entail lasting misery upon his scholars, at a future period of their lives.

Those who are competent to understand the subject, will perceive that, so long as the muscles retain their full strength, they are able to support the scholar under the exercises he is engaged in, but, when the muscles become weak, the joints are deprived of the extraneous support they had derived from the muscles; they have lost the support they naturally and originally had from their own natural structure and strength, and are no longer able to support themselves under their natural exercise; their debility increases, and goes on increasing, till positive lameness ensues, and permanent ill health presses the patients, in their latter days, into a very miserable existence. Of this, many examples have happened within my own knowledge, particularly among those who were connected with a certain class of theatrical performances.

The most remarkable person of that class, in his day, was Delphini; he was a native of Venice, and had been a gondolier there. Those people, during the Carnival, and on other occasions, employ themselves in practising feats of strength and activity, to amuse themselves and their countrymen. Delphini became so eminent in these pursuits, that he relinquished his gondola, and betook himself to the stage: he came to England about sixty years ago, and was employed for several years, both at the Opera House and at Drury Lane, as a buffo performer, and was, in every respect, the most eminent performer of that kind in his day. He was the strongest man that I have known, and, in his business, exhibited many feats which no other actor could then perform. After he had been long upon the stage, a nobleman, to whom he rendered himself serviceable, gave him something which enabled him to live without continuing his occupation, and he returned into private life. The last time I saw him was about 40 years ago; he was walking in the streets; he was so much debilitated, that he could scarcely place one foot before the other, and had every appearance of being in the last stage of existence. I believed he was dead, and always thought of him as one who had been destroyed by his professional exertions, till I was surprised, by reading in the newspapers, during the present year, that Delphini died a few days before, at his lodgings, in Lancaster Court, in the Strand, in the ninety-ninth year of his age!

That he should have lived so long, is to be taken as a proof that his stamina was good, and that his occupation, though it diminished his health and strength, had no direct

« PreviousContinue »