Early Modern Era Swimming

Superior Essays
Swimming has become an extremely popular and well-enjoyed sport or activity. But what most people do not know is the origin of this unique sport. Swimming can be dated all the way back to ancient times as prehistoric men had to swim in order to cross large bodies of water, but there were also many written works related swimming in the Early Modern Era and moreover, swimming eventually became a competitive sport during the 19th century. The competitiveness of swimming has translated into different markets as well ranging from pools to swimwear. Swimming has also shown itself to be extremely beneficial for health.
During the ancient times there was very limited choice for mode of transportation, and this led to men being forced to swim whether
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For example, Leonardo da Vinci had made sketches of lifebelts. In 1539, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book Colymbetes. (“Early Modern Era”) This book was written to reduce the dangers of swimming. Many people were fascinated with swimming and connected it to their passions of writing. A book called The Art of Swimming was written by a French author, Melchisédech Thévenot in 1696 had described a breaststroke being significantly similar to the modern breaststroke.(“Early Modern Era”) And later this book was translated into English and had become he standard reference of swimming for many years. To add on, another author, Guts Muts wrote a book “Kleines Lehrbuch der Schwimmkunst zum Selbstunterricht”(“Early Modern Era”) in 1798 which was a small study book of the art of swimming for self-study, that recommended the use of a “fishing rod" to aid individuals in the process of learning swimming. (“Early Modern Era”) All of these various books written during this time were helpful in informing the readers about the dangers they could face and what steps they could take to prevent these dangers and even learn how to …show more content…
For example, some of the physical benefits of swimming include increase of circulation and balance, endurance build up, and a stronger heart muscle. (“Benefits of Swimming”) Through doing this enjoyable activity individuals are able to gain so much physically and even socially/mentally. Swimming is not only a fun activity but it is a key in teaching patience, releasing tension, and even making individuals more aware of their surroundings and care for well being. Moreover, in an article about swimming from Bucknell University explains how swimming and various exercises in water can be better and more beneficial than exercises done outside of water. It reveals how water offers 12-14% more resistance than when exercising on land, and this better for safety in order to prevent injuries since resistance does not allow sudden body movements. (“Benefits of Swimming”) Lastly, water is constantly cools the human body and this makes it more comfortable for individuals to exercise, as they do not have to worry about overheating and such. Swimming is overall just a very unique and beneficial

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