Page:Japanese Physical Training (Hancock).djvu/172

116 of saving life under such circumstances more easy. The author, while seated in a hotel lobby reading his newspaper, was able once to drop the paper, spring forward, and instantly take away the weapon of a man who had drawn it for use in a row over politics. It was the first time the author had had occasion to use the feat in earnest, but it is an excellent trick to know, and yet it is valuable when it is employed merely as a means of strengthening the muscles and of increasing agility and dexterity.

None of the feats described can be made of value merely by looking at the photographs and reading this text. Every one of the tricks must be practised with great patience and frequency. No one of them can be mastered in a single practice bout, but many of them may be acquired after a few attempts. When a student has acquired one thoroughly he should pass on to another that seems more difficult, and devote most of his time to this one—but should always go back for frequent practice of the feats of which he believes himself fully a master. Eternal "keeping at it" is what