Kneeling

“ When they salute a person of rank, they bend the knee in such a manner as to touch the ground with their fingers." We are shown the same thing equally well, or better, in China, where, among the specified gradations of obeisance, the third is defined as bending the knee, and the fourth as actually kneeling. ”

“ Not dwelling on the transition from descent on both knees to descent on one knee, which, less abject, comes a stage nearer the erect attitude, it will suffice to note the transition from kneeling on one knee to bending the knee. That this form of obeisance is an abridgment is well shown us by the Japanese:
"On meeting, they show respect by bending the knee; and when they wish to do unusual honor to an individual they place themselves on the knee and bow down to the ground. ”

“ The left leg, hand, and arm, and the right shoulder, should be in the same vertical plane when firing in the open kneeling on the right knee. When kneeling on both knees, the body may rest on both heels, or be kept upright to suit the height of the cover, the elbows in both instances being unsupported by the body. ”

“ To Guard when Kneeling.—Bring the toe of the left foot square in front, plant the right foot to the rear, kneel on the right knee, bending the left, hold the broom at an angle of 45 degrees, pointing directly to the front, the right hand pressed firmly against the side, the left hand holding the point of handle upward. ”

“ The kneeling position can be taken more quickly than either the sitting or the prone position. It is, therefore, the position naturally assumed when a soldier, who is standing or advancing, has to make a quick shot at a moving or disappearing object and desires more steadiness than can be obtained standing. ”

“ No. 3, four accused men wearing heavy chains, and kneeling with their foreheads one inch from the ground, but not allowed to touch it. These men are undergoing the mildest form of torture—protracted kneeling without support in one position, with coarse sand under the bare knees. No. 4 is a very old and feeble man, also kneeling, a claimant in an ancient civil suit. ”

“ The man on his knees, the woman on her back with her legs open.
12. The woman on her back with her legs resting on the man’s loins, who is kneeling.
13. The woman on her back, one leg stretched out, the other one resting on the loins of the man, who is kneeling.
14. The woman on her back with her legs on the shoulders of the man, who is kneeling.
15. The woman on her back with one leg resting on the loins of the man, who is on his knees, and the other one on his shoulder.
17. The man kneeling gets into the woman, who is in a sitting position with her thighs open. ”

“ To rise from a sitting to a standing position, all the muscles should work in unison and the body arise at once to a standing position. To kneel the same play of the general muscles should be applied. A cow or a camel is not very graceful when performing the act of kneeling preparatory to lying down, but that is because they are animals and not human. The mere act of touching the hat in salutation is graceful or awkward as the muscles are trained. A graceful sweeping curve of the arm, a gentle bend of the muscles of the neck, inclining to a curved bow, and the salutation is graceful. ”

“ I have tried this position kneeling, with my husband on his back; but it does not equal the chair fuck. One has so much better a spring from one's feet than from one's knees, besides, the man is brought more face to face, and there is more facility for mutual embracings; but both ways have their charm. I had repeatedly observed that the Count apparently lost his place, and on recovering it, partially penetrated the smaller orifice, which you so picturesquely describe. ”

“ Kneeling is not of the essence of prayer, but imagine, first prohibiting the posture of kneeling, and then remonstrating with those who complained of the prohibition, on the ground of postures being unimportant. ”

“ If we arrive late, and take station near the door we shall be presented with the spectacle of several hundred backs in a kneeling position—that is, the individuals to whom the backs belong will be found kneeling. ”

“ Shown, by the practice in our churches, to be intermediate between the humiliation signified by kneeling and the self-respect which sitting implies, and used at courts as a form of homage when more active demonstrations of it have been made, this posture is now employed in daily life to show consideration ”

“ Rear line kneels on right knee, but does not join hands until the front line rises, unclasp hands and steps quickly backward between those kneeling. This takes one measure. Then the kneeling line clasp hands as at No. 6a, and those standing repeat No. ”

“ then kneeling in the pulpit’s bows, folded his large brown hands across his chest, uplifted his closed eyes, and offered a prayer so deeply devout that he seemed kneeling and praying at the bottom of the sea. ”

“ When about fifteen I once made a great scandal by taking out my knife in prayer meeting and assaulting a young man who, while I was kneeling down during the prayer, stood above me and squeezed my neck. ”

“ The reason the knees are used is to be accounted for by the fact that, owing to the great length of the human leg and thigh in proportion to the length of the arm, the knee would naturally be brought to the ground, and the instep and top of the toes would be used instead of the sole and heel of the almost inflexible foot. Why the elbow should be employed instead of the hand is less easy to understand, but probably it is better suited to give support to the head and fore-part of the body. ”

“ A twist of the firm knee in a convenient angle of the rock, or a sidelong ‘steady’ with the heel of the firm foot against the back or side of its rock hold, gives us often balance enough to allow the other foot to descend without using the hands at all. This is what is really happening in the ‘rushing’ movements alluded to above. The expert is using any and every part of him, [Pg 189] from ankle to elbow or shoulder, for friction and balance touches while his feet descend; and consequently he has both hands free to tighten or pull in the rope as he goes, even in mid step. ”

“ A shoemaker called my attention to the baggy trousers knees observable in connection with the wearing of high-heeled boots, and said, "Elevation of the heel thrusts the knee forward." The human body should stand erect from the heels upward, but the projection of the knee makes necessary a bending forward of the whole frame, to maintain an equilibrium. This is undoubtedly one cause of the ungraceful round shoulders and poked-forward head noticeable with so many women and girls.
The shoes of men, as a rule, are not so badly constructed and worn as the shoes of women and children. ”

“ The line of the back from the shoulder to the bent knee of the resting young body is of a unique softness; the transition from the thigh to hip is like velvet in the softness of the body; the feet and toes are of classic beauty. ”

“ For the knee spring a suitably protected heavy elastic web is slipped over end of the rod and adjusted from outside of leg with buckskin strings; as leg is flexed in act of walking, the rod is forced through the hickory bar, stretching the web and forcing the lower part of the leg forward in position for next step; when lower part of leg is flexed at right angles with the thigh, as in sitting, the pressure of spring is automatically released. This change simplifies the knee-joint construction, is lighter and more convenient of adjustment. ”

“ The knees should be strait and braced, and the body, though perfectly strait, not perpendicular, but inclining as far to the right as a firm position on the right leg will permit. The right arm must then be held out with the palm open, the fingers straight and close, the thumb almost as distant from them as it will go, and the flat of the hand neither horizontal nor vertical, but exactly between both. ”

“ The kick could be prevented by bending the knee so as to bring the heel up to the buttock, and projecting it, when the knee caught the administering player on the leg-bone above the knee with such force as to paralyse it for a while, and it has even been known to break it. ”

“ Where the leg, for instance, has been lost, they feel as if the foot was present, but as though the leg were shortened. If the thigh has been taken off, there seems to them to be a foot at the knee; if the arm, a hand seems to be at the elbow, or attached to the stump itself. ”

“ If, viewed in front, the dress, at every step, is as it were, gathered toward the front, and then tossed more or less to the opposite side, the knees are certainly too much inclined.
In considering the relative size of each portion of the limbs—if, in the walk, there be a greater or less approach to the marching pace, the hip is large; for we naturally employ the joint which is surrounded with the most powerful muscles, and, in any approach to the march, it is the hip-joint which is used, and the knee and ankle-joints which remain proportionally unemployed. ”

“ The man softly, yet awkwardly, lifted the robe, folded it back, and slowly uncovered the knee. The leg was worn away almost to skin and bone, but the knee itself was swollen with inflammation. He bathed it with some water, mixed with vinegar and herbs, then drew down the deer-skin shirt, and did the same with the child's shoulder. Both shoulder and knee bore the marks of teeth,—where a huge wildcat had made havoc—and the body had long red scratches. ”

“ The knee also is formed from it as a center. But as the inside of the leg is a straight line and the outside of the leg is hollow at the knee, it follows that, for a close-fitting pants leg at the knee, the outside first requires a reduction of say three-eighths to one-half an inch, on double cloth, which again is allowed at the inside, after which the width may be reduced equally on each side, if such reduction is necessary. ”

“ The greater part of the body, from the waist down to the knee is covered with it, variegated here and there with neat regular stripes of the untattooed skin, which when they are well oiled, make them appear in the distance as if they had on black silk knee-breeches. ”

“ The change in the knee is most significant. The armour plating of thicknesses has tended to disappear. The knee is usually innocent of patches and often left, in Tyrolese fashion, uncovered. The change is due to our change in style. While the foot still demanded broad holds, necessarily found at longer intervals, for its balance, the knee was constantly in requisition for an intermediate push up. While grip climbing obtained, the knee was more useful than the foot to jam with or to scrape downward against the rocks. ”

“ The word is also used of articulation resembling the knee-joint in shape or position in other animals; it thus is applied to the carpal articulation of the fore leg of a horse, answering to the ankle in man, or to the tarsal articulation or heel of a bird’s foot. ”

“ Now notice the difference in the way the different men ‘lock’ their knees. The knee should be perfectly straight or ‘locked’ as the foremost foot reaches the ground, and should continue so through the beginning of the stride. ”

“ My one eye aches when I read for too long, and the stump below the knee is too tender still to fit the false leg on to, and I cannot, because of my shoulder, use my crutch overmuch, so walking is out of the question. ”

“ LONDON PROMENADE DRESS, 1836.
In all seriousness, however, the trouser is an{56} absurdity even from the point of view of mere comfort. A man cannot sit down without first hitching himself up at the knee. The knee is the natural place for the garment to be drawn in, as a certain degree of looseness is necessary at that point in order to allow of the free movement of the limb. Nature herself rebels against the trouser, and does her level best to produce variety of fold, which makes for beauty. ”

“ As the body is sinking, the right knee is to be thrown so far back that the left leg may be right up and down, the right foot a little turned out, the body straight, and the head as much up as if shouldered; the firelock must be upright, and the butt about four inches to the right of the inside of the left foot. ”

“ I do not intend to bring into evidence the peculiar position and nature of the organs contained within the pelvis, but to call attention to the peculiar structure of the knee, and the shallowness of the pelvis, and the delicate nature of the foot as part of a sustaining column. The knee-joint of woman is a sexual characteristic. ”

“ And it is striking to discover that there's a practical connection between the joints of the knees and the joint of the will. The bending of knees to a sharp right angle affects the will. It is easier to bend it. It bends better and more. And this grows. The habitual bending of the knees helps make habitual and stronger and more intelligent the bending of the will. ”

“ A Loose Cartilage, or a Displaced Cartilage in the Knee Joint is apt to become caught in the hinge between the thigh bone and the leg bone, and by causing a sudden stretching of the ligaments of the joint to give rise to intense pain. ”

“ The knee-cap in women looks straight forward, while in men it is turned a little outward; and in women the knees touch, or even overlap each other, while in men they are quite free. In running, a woman has to move the knees round each other, and to throw the feet out in a succession of small semicircles, which accounts for the peculiarity in her gait. ”

“ If one’s knees and legs are unfortunately tender, knicker-bockers with long stockings and leggins should be worn; ordinary trousers tend to bind the knee. Better still, if one’s legs will stand the exposure, are shorts, not coming down to the knee. ”

“ The ankle-joint is a loose hinge, and the great muscles of the calf can straighten the foot out so far that practised dancers walk on the tips of their toes. The knee is another hinge-joint, which allows the leg to bend freely, but not to be carried beyond a straight line in the other direction. ”